Insurance Experts Question..

[Denny S.]

Ok, Heres the quandry.. My son is driving my F-350 Crew Cab Dually. He wants to make a right turn. He is on a 2 lane blacktop Speed Lmit 45 heading west up a slight grade. The turn requires moving into the left lane to make the swing because the turn is an extreme angle.
If you don't move into the left lane it will require backing up at least once into the roadway. Sun is setting creating a strong glare. He swings left turns right and is nailed by a Toyota in the right rear tire and running boards. Toyota is pretty much toasted. Dually has $1500 damage.
Lady jumps out, I was blinded by the sun, I'm from out of town & lost, I didn't see your signals, It's all my fault. So my brain surgeon son doesn't call the cops.
Nobody is hurt. Both vehicles can be driven. Her Ins. Co. ( State Farm) decides to screw me around. They are claiming that the accident is 50%
our fault and they will pay only 50% and want to go after my insurance co. for 50% of their drivers damage.
They are standing firm on this and my answer is F+++ U. And I'm firm on this.
So a few tips or hints would be appreciated.

[Art Burtt]

Sounds like she hit him from the rear. In NJ it's her fault period!

[Dsprint2000]

Was he in the left lane, then turned right from the left lane? I 'm thinking that you are lucky they are calling it 50-50 as the damage appears to be on the passenger side of the vehicle, indicating a turn from the left lane, across the right lane of traffic.

Some of the claims guys can answer up their idea, but it sounds like 75%+ fault for your son for making an 'unsafe' turn.

David (insurance underwriter)

[klayfish]

Art,
Hate to disagree with you, but that is absolutely not correct. In a staight "rear-end" accident, it is almost always the car in the rears' fault (but there are even exceptions to this). But in a case like this, just because the impact is on the rear side, that does not make liability adverse to the lady.

I have to agree with Daves' thoughts. Without knowing all details and hearing both sides of the story, I wouldn't make a % liability call. I don't know if your son was in the left lane when making his turn. But if he was, then he made a right turn from the left lane, clearly an unsafe turn. The fact that it is a dually and may need extra room should be taken into consideration, and if he had his signal on, that should be considered too. But he definitely would share some liability. Again, I don't know all the facts, so I would not make a final call.

Your best bet is to file with your own company, let the woman file with hers, then let the insurance companies figure it out. That way it isn't a hassle to you.

Steve

[mrmustang]

Art,

Actually, in NJ it's nobodys fault, as NJ is a "No Fault" state. Now, if your insurance company wants to go after her insurance company, that is a whole other story. The fact that their was no police report is going to play a key role in what each insurance company is willing to accept as their percentage. if it was me, I would have called the cops anyway, unless of course the person in question handed me a suitcase full of $100 bills, in which case we would not be having this discussion.

Unsigned (on a borrowed account).
And I'm sticking to this story line if asked.

Originally posted by Art Burtt


Sounds like she hit him from the rear. In NJ it's her fault period!

[Excaliber]

We have No Fault in Hawaii also, perhaps the detaild vary from state to state.

In an accident BOTH parties file with their insurance company for car damage. If YOU don't have full coverage, your screwed, no matter WHO was at fault.

Personal injury is another issue, it COULD and probably WILL matter who was at fault if it goes to court!

Ernie

[Denny S.]

He did swing wide before making the turn. He did have his signal on.. There is no place to turn left at the scene. She slid 25 ft. before hitting him. She stated that she was blinded by the sun and really didn't even see him slowing down.
Her daughter had just totalled her other car a week before. ( same company). She was lost on an unfamiliar road at sunset going up a slight grade directly into the sun. If she saw him going into the left lane with his signals on to turn right.
Does she pass on the right?? She was going too fast to maintain control. We are not sure, but she may have been yakking
on her cell phone.. Shared liability my
A++ Even if somebody stops in front of me do I ram them and then claim it's not my fault ? My son saw her behind him and was careful to signal, so I'm having a hard time figuring out what he did wrong... This turn cannot be made with that truck from the right lane..

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Denny;

My take on this is right now is it is a swearing match (we have another name for it though) without a police report or police investigation.... She can say anything she wants and it's your son's word against hers....Not good for you.... Both left the scene of an accident without reporting it,so they are both wrong on that count....

I know this is not what you want to hear,but right now 50/50 is about as good as it's going to get under the circumstances...I do not work for State Farm,but have dealt with them for over 10 years now in the insurance claims industry,once as a claimant,I was rear-ended. They are usually tough to deal with and my opinion is that they may have a very good case for the 50/50 deal...

Not sure about all the traffic laws in your state (I'm from Louisiana),but they do differ from state to state some...


I know this is not what you wanted to hear,but you asked for opinions form the insurance guys around here and under the cirumstances that's the way I see it... Unfortuneately the cops were not called and that's the first big mistake here..... Sorry for the bad news....

I'm going to play the devils advocate here (whatever that is),let's assume you fight State Farm on this and this case goes to court......

Here is something you may expect to hear from their legal team regarding the accident and the 50/50 liability;

Your son swung wide left before making a right turn,crossed the center line (illegal),made an unsafe turn in an unsafe condition,then after contact was made,failed to report this to the police (illegal again)... The other party being unfamilar with the road and area did not know there was no road to the left and assumed he was making a left turn,she did not see his blinker because she was blinded by the setting sun and did not know he could not make a left turn because she was blinded by the setting sun and assumed he would turn left and proceded forward.... When she realized he was turning right it was too late to stop,she tried but still struck your truck....

She should be held 50% liable for following too close and your son should be held 50% liable for making an unsafe turn in an unsafe condition.... Sounds good to a judge.....

Granted she hit him basically from the rear and should be deemed at fault,but now you have no police report or investigation and no other witnesses other than the two drivers.... Likely the judge will rule 50/50 case closed.....May not be right,but more likely the way it will happen if push comes to shove.....

Then again,she may have a totally different story by that time,because she has no one to dispute it but your son..... She may say he stopped in the road or was trying to turn around or for that matter she could make up any scenario and it is still her word against your son's,right or wrong....

David

[TonyMadrid]

I am not sure if the accident state is a comparative negligence state or not. If it is then the two insurance companies will negotiate their own insured's portion of liability. In comparative negligence states, unless it is a direct rear end hit or one of the drivers blows a red light or stop sign and T-bones the other car, there will always be some degree of comparative liability. It seems that if your son was turning from the right lane but had to make a wide turn based on the physical dimensions of the vehicle then he should not be held to much of a % of liability. However, if he did turn from the left lane his portion of the liability will be increased.

Some of the other posters mention to let the ins. co's hash it out. All well and good but if your son is deemed to be at fault, no matter what the percentage, it would be deemed a chargeable loss and would affect your premiums. I would be ready for the worst case scenario and argue to the max for the best case scenario. If you are not satisfied with the decision your ins. co. makes you can always file a complaint with the state's Dept. of Ins.

On another note, many posters have made mention of No-Fault insurance. No-Fault Insurance only has to do with injury claims. No-Fault states are states that no matter who is at fault, as far as medical bills are concerned, no one is at fault. If there are no injuries, then the No-Fault or what is called the "Personal Injury Protection" portion of either policy would not even come into play. With no injuries, the only portion of both policies that would come into play are the Physical Damage coverage or Collision portion and the Liability portion for the property damage caused.

Good Luck,

Tony

[TerribleTed13]

Denny S. Had a similar experiance,take her to court!Sue her for the damage!Represent yourself/your son and just say she hit me!Next person who talks looses.My experiance was no insurance people came to court,the whole process cost $25.00 for court documents and $20.00 or $30.00 to have the sheriff service her. After that I called her insurance gave them the court document numbers and they sent me a check!Even if you dont win you ruin her day.Everybody loves to go to court.RE. missed time at work,family and even get lucky during a scheduled vacation time! You just sound upset-take the extra step.Good luck.

[Excaliber]

I did that, took the other party to court after the insurance ruled 50-50. I wanted the OTHER HALF of the money due me outta her if thats the only way I could get it! NO insurance people showed up from EITHER side.

She told her story and LIED her butt off! Suddenly it dawned on me. IF it happened like she said there was NO WAY her car came to rest where it did. So I asked her only ONE question and I REALLY did ask it this way:

"When the smoke had cleared and the hub caps had quit rolling, WHERE was you car?" I then pointed out how that would be IMPOSSIBLE based on HER testimony. The Judge understood it easily. Nobody had ANY questions for me, it was obvious SHE was lieing.

Lesson learned? DON'T ever lie in court, get your FACTS straight. If he was in the left lane makeing a right turn, THATS where he was. Don't lie about it! Use the MITIGATING circumstances to build your case. Judges are VERY sharp people (generally speaking) they can understand the various issues. Sun in her eyes, possible speeding, etc. etc. MAYBE you'll get lucky and SHE will be "caught in a lie". Then it doesn't even matter what happened, she's done!

Ernie