A truck ran a red light and hit my car on the passenger side, then said that I ran the light! (my light was green the whole time!). The police officer said he cant accuse anyone of doing it because there were no witnesses but he said he's going to put his opinion in the report and that is that he thinks I'm telling the truth, he thinks the truck did run the light. I'm waiting on the report to go to the insurance company but I'm so nervous that this guy is going to get away with this and im not going to get a settlement for my car and back injury! Should I not be worrying about it? Any advice or opinions would be great! Thanks...
2007-11-19 14:57:14 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
Deidra,
The first thing to do is to go to your insurance company and to file the claim with them stating the facts as you know them to be. The problem hear is if there hasn't been a ticket issued to either you or the other driver, then no matter the opinion of the police officer, there isn't evidence for proving the case.
The thing that will happen next is your insurance carrier will pay for your damages to get you in the road and dependent upon the amount of insurance you have and the coverage you have, they may pay your medical bills. Generally an accident that is not claimed to your fault will not effect your insurance rates etc, so if your insurance company tries to say that they want a 50/50 loss, don't allow them to, make sure they know where you stand. Your insurance company will then do what is called a subrogation, or the subrogation process in which they will either take the other man to court or they will take his insurance carrier to court dependent upon their findings in their investigation process. Your insurance company is required to give you updates of every process they are taking and they will do everything in their power legally to gain the funds they pay out back from the other carrier if possible, again it all depends on their investigation.
The best thing to do is to speak with your agent and have a sit down with him/her and go over this process.
Hope this helps.
-not intended as legal advice-
2007-11-19 15:33:39 · answer #1 · answered by Lock 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You can worry all you want to but it won't change a thing. You have no control here.
If there is no independent witness that can confirm who had the red and who had the green, then you may be out of luck.
The insurance company will do an investigation - that includes taking a recorded interview/statement from you and the other driver, looking at the vehicles, possibly the scene, and getting a copy of the police report. If the officer gave the truck driver a ticket for running the red light - that could help you if the truck driver pays it or is found guilty in court.
Odds are - the police report may not put fault on either party - if the officer is not able to determine fault.
In many of these cases where fault can't be determined - it gets determined to be a 50/50. How that is handled depends on the negligence laws of your state.
***not to be taken as legal advice ***
2007-11-19 15:11:49 · answer #2 · answered by Boots 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As already mentioned, not only do police offers not determine liabilty for insurance companies (insurance companies consider the officers information in their liability investigation) but they certainlly don't put much weight in an officers "opinion" about who may or may not be lying.
What will play a big roll is the statements given by you and the other drivers. They will ask things like, where there other vehicles stopped at the intersection and/or other vehicles going through the inersection. They will also look at the points of impact (it helps that yours is on the side, but only slightly).
There is a good chance your carrier will determine the other party is at fault. But there is also a good chance the other carrier will deceide your at fault. The two carriers will then try to prove their case and to me honest, neither one can probably _prove_ the other person is at fault. It happens. This is why it's a good idea to have collision insurance so that your own carrier can address your damage.
2007-11-20 02:35:49 · answer #3 · answered by Todd C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry- the other insurance company absolutely WONT pay here. SO yes, you should be worried.. actually you should be prepared.
This is a "word vs word" situation- how on earth can they find their driver at fault when there is no evidence? they cant. and they wont.
You will need to go through your carrier and use your auto/health insurance for your injury.
Sorry- but thats life. no amount of whining, screaming, or hiring attorneys will change a thing. insurance companies need PROOF to determine fault.
2007-11-19 15:14:51 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Turn it in to your insurance company and let him fight it out with the other company involved. Was there per chance a red light camera? If so it will show who was at fault. If not, it will be a "he said she said" situation.
2007-11-19 15:08:21 · answer #5 · answered by oklatom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you don't need to worry about it. If the officer says he thinks you're telling the truth, then it should go in your favor.
Hope you recover from your injury. Those can be painful.
2007-11-19 15:07:18 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
YOU NEED TO GET THIS REPORTED TO YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY NOW FOR YOUR PROTECTION AND I DON'T THINK THAT YOU NEED TO WORRY BECAUSE OF WHAT THE POLICE OFFICER ALREADY STATED.
GOOD LUCK
2007-11-20 01:37:31 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋