I was headed to grab lunch and went through an intersection on a green light, some *** ran the redlight smashing into me. He was very nice at the time of the accident and because he was an 'older' man, I did not want to make the situation even worse, so I didn't reinforce the fact that he ran the red light and not me. We exchanged info and he gave me his insurance info and business card. He said, "If you have any problems with anything, give me a call."
Well, when I called his insurance about 30 min later, he had already called and told them I ran the red light. Long story short, I am stuck with the bill for my car ($4000+ ) and he walked away with barely a scratch on his truck! Oh, and by the way... he is a defense attorney and owns his own firm... so what can I legally do in a situation like this??
2007-09-13 08:56:26 · 19 answers · asked by just wondering 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
A police officer did drive by after the accident. The guy waved him down, and he came over. He said, because it was raining, the city was on 'slick streets alert and unless we were injured, there was nothing he could do and then he left without even leaving a name or card. And I did call my insurance first and they are well aware of the situation and are taking my side. But that still leaves me out the deductible, the cost of renting a car while mine was in the shop and a decent amount of missed work! I looked for witnesses, found none, searched for cameras, found none. And nobody in the surrounding area saw it that I could find. Sounds like I am out of luck. What an &@!*#!!
2007-09-13 12:09:30 · update #1
Do you have any witnesses? It's your word against his that you had the green light. This scumbag knows that. I'm assuming you have car insurance. Contact your own insurance company and tell them what happened. They will investigate and should cover your damages, then they will go after Mr. Bigshot Attorney and his insurance company.
2007-09-13 09:05:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
1st off, now you see the reason for calling the police; even if they said they cant/wont come, there will be a record you called;
also; if police had came; they would have taken statements and even if both of your said you had the green, it would have been noted on the police report.
call your insurance company and report this accident; since his company believes you ran the red, they will subrogate that $4K on your policy anyway; it will be your company that will need to investigate the details of the accident and make their determination if they will owe it or not;
your company will not want to pay if not owed; they have a contract with you, so it is in their best interest to fight for you;
they may do a scene investigation, check the light sequence, direction of travel, where both of your damages are to make a final liability decision;
just because he is an attorney does not make him more believeable; this could be a situation of a "he said, she said" and consequently, your company may deny the claim; it all depends what state you live in and the laws that govern negligence in your state if they pay or not;
also; when you talk to your company find out what rights you have; they will explain the procedures and guide you;
also; go back to the scene and check around at the businesses and ask if anyone saw this accident; since you were grabbing lunch, someone may have seen something;
also; check to see if there are any video cameras at the intersection; in some cities they have them; also in the businesses, they might have video cameras also;
good luck
2007-09-13 16:39:12 · answer #2 · answered by lucy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds bad and is happening more and more every day everywhere. A police officer told me once that one should ALWAYS call the police so that all of the details are taken down by an impartial third party. I understand that some cities no longer come out to auto accidents unless there are injuries. But surely there were witnesses to your wreck. You should always get their names and addresses too. I am certainly sorry. This is just another incident showing how Americans are quickly losing their moral values.
2007-09-13 16:12:03 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
An insurance company is almost always going to believe their insureds version of the accident. If you do not have a police report or any witnesses it will be your word against his. The best thing to do it let your own insurance company pay for the damages (so long as you have collision coverage).
2007-09-13 17:00:41 · answer #4 · answered by blb 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not much, other than live and learn.
You can call him, and tell him how disappointed that a person that is sworn to uphold the truth and justice would stoop to this level. Then tell him you will be filing a complaint with the state bar association over the incident.
Thats about all you can do.
Next time remember to do as your insurance company tells you... always call the police, look for eye witnesses immediately, and say as little as possible to the other party.
2007-09-13 16:07:33 · answer #5 · answered by patrick 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Did the police respond? if so there is a police report that states that you had the right of way. If not, it is really going to turn into a battle of your word against his. If he is a defense attorney, he probably knows his way around, to get him to pay you will have to get an attorney, that will be able to work with him and his insurance company.
Good Luck!!
2007-09-13 16:06:48 · answer #6 · answered by ckcool192000 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why didnt you call the cops? Without a police report, the insurance company doesnt have anything to go by except your word against his. Contact YOUR insurance company and have them deal with the other company. I'm not saying they will pay, but it's about the only thing you can do at this point.
2007-09-13 16:04:29 · answer #7 · answered by My Pits A Lover Not A Fighter 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No police report?? Not smart. The police would have investigated and made a predetermination of fault. You should not be calling his insurance company...you should be calling your own. You will still have to file a police report. Once your insurance has the report they will take it from there. Doesn't sound good for you without the police on the scene. Even still...report it to your insurance.
2007-09-13 16:06:05 · answer #8 · answered by mrsdeli 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Contact your insurance company and bring them up to speed and go to the police department that is in the city where the accident happened and file a police report.
Your agent should be able to help you. I would also contact your state Attorney General and contact the BAR association in your state, the BBB and wait for the $%^# to hit the fan!!!
Good Luck!!
2007-09-13 16:07:57 · answer #9 · answered by Ford Sales Guy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get a witness, or if it's a big city or a busy intersection sometimes the city will have cameras.
Oh and contacting the BAR and the Attourny General is a fantastic idea. Maybe if you can eventually prove hes lying, you can make a case of it and sue his ***.
2007-09-13 16:22:16 · answer #10 · answered by wulirob83 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋