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T-boned.

2K views 22 replies 8 participants last post by  tjalsma 
#1 ·
I got t-boned yesterday in a pep boys parking lot. Big damage to the driver side door and read passenger door etc. The guy admitted fault, in the police report and said he'd like to try to pay out of pocket. He thought the damage would only be 500 dollars at most. I went to a couple of shops, the decent ones want at least 1000$ + replacement door. So now he's trying to back out. Luckily i called my insurance company ahead of time and prepared them to go through with the insurance claim. I'm giving this guy one more chance to come clean. If not I'll go through with the insurance claim.

Update* called insurance company because I do not have collision. I have to file through his company.

I have a recording of the guy admitting that he was at fault and that he would pay for damages as well as the police report which collaborates this.

Is there a way he or his insurance company can weasel out of this?
 
#2 ·
Doubt it...He admitted fault, the police report will say its his fault, it looks like either it will be on him (because his insurance will say he opted to pay out of pocket, and he'll get screwed with a large ***** repair bill), or, his insurance will take care of it, because again, he was at fault. Probably end up being the later of the two. It's his fault, he admitted it, you'll be covered either way. If YOU had caused the accident, because you don't have insurance, it would be out of your pocket, but this is not the case.
 
#3 ·
hate people like that who don't own up to their own actions.

I went through a similar experience... My baby got sideswiped (hit and run) in my school parking lot and i found a car that matched the damage and blue paint that was transferred. The girl admitted fault after i approached her and told me she would talk to her dad about it when he got home from work and then give me insurance details.. so the dad calls me and tells me that theres no way his daughter did it and that im a liar.etc I go to her house and line up the damage and it lines up 100% perfectly, but her dad persistently tells us it wasnt his daughters fault and that i had no evidence besides his daughters word. Then her little rat brother also comes out and says that he and his friend can testify in court that she didn't hit me cause they were in the car that morning. Since i didn't have a police report (i didn't get one the same day like i should have) i was basically **** out of luck and ended up fixing it from my own pocket. I just wish we had more honest people out there who take responsibility for their actions.
 
#4 ·
You have two years after the accident to file claim legally.

But the truth of the matter is I don't trust anyone. That is why as soon as it happened i waited for the police report and then I made a recording of him(with his permission) that he was the one at fault.

To be honest he was like he would pay then he told me to go this mechanic because it would be cheaper for him. I did as he asked I got a quote I wasted two days going back and forth. The mechanic said he could have everything fixed for 1000$( which I don't even believe would be possible, because I asked around quite a bit and for the paint to match they have to do at least one more panel) .

He wouldn't even pay the 1000$ his mechanic told him. Saying "come on man does the rear door dent really have to cost 300 dollars? to fix? What you want me to buy a new car? I can't afford it I live on a month to month basis."

I understand that sometimes its tough, but at the same time if you can't pay the sum up front then do it through your insurance. There is no way I can hold anyone to their word about making payments and I don't want to get screwed because some guys feels like he paid enough.

W.E. If you're gonna offer to pay to fix some one's car at least try to work out and look for quotes on your own. My job isn't to find the cheapest mechanic on the block.

Anyways I just hope stuff like this doesn't happen to anyone. And I hope that I myself will never perpetuate such demeanor.
 
#6 ·
Makes me feel better reading this at least. I usually don't carry insurance other than liability on my "pleasure vehicle" but I was out with my buddy a few weeks ago and he just retired as an adjuster. My 1998 Corvette only has about 6,500 miles on it and his point was that the most valuable car in our family was the most under insured. So just yesterday I made the call and upped it.

About 15 years ago I had a very politically connected farmer pull out of his driveway in front of me, I only had liability since this 1989 Mercedes was my pleasure car. At first it seemed like a no-brainer since the State Police gave him the max ticket for reckless driving, he almost killed me. Then when I got summoned to court the judge reamed me out for coming (I should have seen this coming) and his charge was reduced to careless.

In the binding arbitration hearings, his lawyer started trying to beat the snot out of me making it look like my fault. Seems when I was out of ear shot the good judge reduced his ticket to "failure to wear a seat belt". I did get the full value for the car including taxes but the fight was unreal. A lot of lawyers will take these cases on for free and only get paid if you win. Me? I got stupid again and got a "nice Irish Catholic kid" from down the street all the time my pals were telling me to get a good shark.
 
#7 ·
Be careful....I was backed into by a careless driver in a parking lot, who also admitted fault and said she'd cover it. First, once I got an estimate she of course denied being there, much less paying for it. Also, even with a police report, the insurance company treats parking lot collisions as 50/50 liability as it is not a road and no rules of the road apply. This was explained to me that even if you blow a stop sign in a parking lot, it's not a road, so it doesn't matter. This was 1993, and in NY, but I would look into it.


I never listen to the "I'll pay for it..." crap. They have insurance, it is easier and cheaper for all if it goes through them. The other is an attempt to stall, delay and eventually worm out of paying for one's mistake.


Sean
 
#8 ·
First off, I am NOT an insurance salesman.
The odds are close to 50% that if you are the victim of a serious auto collision that is not your fault, the driver at fault will be under-insured or uninsured.

When I say "serious auto collision" I mean one that causes you personal injury. When I say "under-insured" in this context, I mean carrying state minimum coverage or cut-rate collision/liability (more than state minimum, but low nonetheless).

In these cases, you will almost certainly have to use your own insurance med-pay coverage for your initial and later medical bills. If the accident is truly serious, you will probably use some of your personal health coverage too. Your insurer will be automatically subrogated and will recoup from the offender's coverage when the matter is finally decided, by agreement or otherwise.

Okay, here is the reason for the first sentence disclaimer: GET A LIABILITY UMBRELLA POLICY.

The premiums for these usually run around $250.00 per year for $1,000,000.00 in additional liability coverage. They enhance your homeowner's and auto policy coverages. Thus, they protect you from catastrophic liability claims involving your premises (mailman slips on your icy front porch and breaks some verterbrae in his lumbar spine, your dog bites a kid on a bike, etc. and so forth). In many cases your homeowner's policy alone may not provide sufficient liability coverage to fully insulate you from out-of-pocket liability for such events, so the additional liability coverage can come in very handy indeed.

But the true value added component of many of these policies is that they greatly increase your under-insured or uninsured coverage. Accordingly, they greatly increase the amount of money you can obtain from your insurer if you are hit by an under-insured or uninsured driver. This is just so imporatant given the woefully inadequate coverage provided by state minimum liability requirements.

State-by-state minimums are below (in thousands). There are 3 numbers. The first number is the minimum amount to cover per person bodily injury. The second number is the cap for bodily injury coverage per accident, regardless of the number of persons injured, or the amounts they have been damaged. The third number is the minimum required for property damage.

Alaska 50/100/25
Alabama 25/50/25
Arkansas 25/50/25
Arizona 15/30/10
California 15/30/5
Colorado 25/50/15
Connecticut 20/40/10
Delaware 15/30/10
Florida 10/20/10
Georgia 25/50/25
Hawaii 20/40/10
Idaho 20/50/15
Illinois 20/40/15
Indiana 25/50/10
Iowa 20/40/15
Kansas 25/50/10
Kentucky 25/50/10
Louisiana 15/30/25
Maine 50/100/25
Maryland 30/60/15
Massachusetts 20/40/5
Michigan 20/40/10
Minnesota 30/60/10
Mississippi 25/50/25
Missouri 25/50/10
Montana 25/50/10
Nebraska 25/50/25
New Hampshire 25/50/25
New Jersey 15/30/5
New Mexico 25/50/10
Nevada 15/30/10
New York 25/50/10
North Carolina 30/60/25
North Dakota 25/50/25
Ohio 12.5/25/7.5
Oklahoma 25/50/25
Oregon 25/50/20
Pennsylvania 15/30/5
Rhode Island 25/50/25
South Carolina 25/50/25
South Dakota 25/50/25
Tennessee 25/50/15
Texas 30/60/25
Utah 25/65/15
Virginia 25/50/20
Vermont 25/50/10
Washington 25/50/10
Wisconsin 50/100/55
West Virginia 20/40/10
Wyoming 25/100/15

I live in Ohio. When you look at our minimum coverages (12.5/25/7.5), you can see why I pay for the umbrella. I think it is one dangerous Russian Roulette game to not carry it, at least here.
 
#10 ·
Well i have the police report in hand now. I hope it doesn't go 50/50.

In the report it says he backed up into me with out seeing me.
That is generally not a defense to an action for negligence as every driver has a duty to exercise due care. If such were allowed as a defense, every at fault driver could escape liability by saying "I did not see you."

From the New York State Vehicle & Traffic Laws, Title 7:

§ 1211. Limitations on backing. (a) The driver of a vehicle shall not back the same unless such movement can be made with safety and without interfering with other traffic.
(b) The driver of a vehicle shall not back the same upon any shoulder
or roadway of any controlled-access highway.
(c) the driver of a motor vehicle engaged in retail sales of frozen
desserts as that term is defined in subdivision thirty-seven of section
three hundred seventy-five of this chapter directly to pedestrians shall
not back the same to make or attempt to make a sale.

§ 1100. Provisions of title refer to vehicles upon highways;
exceptions. (a) The provisions of this title apply upon public highways,
private roads open to public motor vehicle traffic and any other parking
lot, except where a different place is specifically referred to in a
given section.
(b) The provisions of this title relating to obedience to stop signs,
flashing signals, yield signs, traffic-control signals and other
traffic-control devices, and to one-way, stopping, standing, parking and
turning regulations shall apply to a parking lot only when the
legislative body of any city, village or town has adopted a local law,
ordinance, rule or regulation ordering such signs, signals, devices, or
regulations.
 
#11 ·
So from my understanding of reading and talking with a few people.

It seems to me that the person has the greater responsibility to make sure that no one is behind him.

Sorry to ask this of you all.I will type up what the police report basically says. Your opinion is much appreciated.

"Tpo v1 states that as he was goign straight ahead , v2 was backing up and struck v1 driver side door. V2 states that as he was backing up he did not see v1 driving and struck v1 side door."
 
#12 ·
Allow me to lighten you up and yes, there is sometimes justice in the world. I was driving my 900 classic through a government lot around lunch time. This gal backs out and hits my bumper lightly but leaves paint on it and a slight scar. She then pulls back into the spot and acts as if nothing happened. Yeah right, it was light snow and her tracks were clear as a hell as were the skid sideways my car made on the slick ground. So she is sitting there denying it and won't open the door to even look when I saw a trooper I knew on duty, he comes over and yep, there are the tracks and there is her paint on my bumper. So he runs her license. It's suspended. Her supervisor is coming back and walks past us and notices her and the car. She just helped herself to the keys from another guys car. Not a good day for her since she not only gets hauled off in cuffs but also faced charges of theft or misuse of a government vehicle. She did the smart thing and resigned.

PS, the operator of v2 sounds screwed. But then it is NYC and it's pretty easy to get lost there isn't it?
 
#14 ·
I know, I read the description and he sounds screwed. Lost in New York City? There are so many bogus licenses and permits in NY that I just don't trust anything hardly. You can buy a tidy package in almost any park with creds that look good unless you know exactly what to look for.
 
#17 ·
Sadly I don't have an insurance adjuster in my corner. IT's going to be me in my corner vs them. D:

I don't have collision damage so I have to go through his insurance.

Should I send the video to his insurance adjuster with pictures police report etc? But refuse to be recorded?
 
#18 ·
You will have to talk to the insurance company then. Memorize these four words: "He backed into me." Repeat them like a broken record during your conversation. Now memorize these words: "I obtained his permission to video him. On my video he admitted fault." If a copy of the video is requested, send it to the claims specialist.

Now memorize this phrase: "My neck hurts."

Okay, just kidding on that last one.

Your speed at the time of the collision was 5 mph as you were A) lining up for a parking spot, or B) just starting to move forward.

The insurance company will obtain its own copy of the police report. It is SOP.

The claims dude does not have to be an accident reconstruction expert to figure this out. The back of his car struck the door of your car. Case closed.
 
#21 ·
The police report should be cut and dry. If not, immediately file a complaint with the "Department of Insurance" in your state if their claims adjuster is not handling your claim in a timely manner. That always gets their attention.

Also, in regards to an umbrella policy (I've been a licensed insurance agent for over 12 years) they are of little help, in most cases, in regards to situations like this. They offer additional coverage for situations that arise that you are "liable" for...it's extended liability coverage. Depending on your state, I suppose it could offer uninsured motorist property damage coverage in the event that someone hits you without insurance but most states don't even have uninsured motorist property damage coverage. Even in this case, in almost all states, it's designed to provide you with bodily injury/liability coverage to you, not to your car.

An umbrella policy is always a great idea, just not really in this case. While they usually cost between $150-$500 per year, you'll also have to increase your liability limits on your auto and homeowners insurance policies - usually to $500k on each which will result in additional costs as well.

I just don't want a bunch of people going out getting umbrella policies and thinking that's going to cover your car if someone hits you - it doesn't. If, however, you were severely injured, it could provide bodily injury coverage for you and your passengers (even then, many companies and states don't offer umbrella policies that extend over uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage).

/novel
 
#22 ·
I want some collision damage just because I don't have the same skill set as some one who sis trained to save a company money.

Most claims adjusters will want to find fault with the opposing party and will want to save their company money. I would imagine that is their first prerogative. We'll see how this pans out.

I'm sure that the other side admitted fault because the insurance claim adjuster didn't ask me to send him a copy of the police report/pictures or anything of that sort.
 
#23 ·
Well, in most cases to be honest, you can go to any collision repair facility you would like to - whether you are at fault or not. They try to push you to their "guaranteed" facilities as they have contracts with them and usually don't have to pay out as much. Most collision repair facilities offer lifetime guarantees anyways.
 
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