brooksley
Apr 20, 2012, 07:48 AM
I was waiting to go north at a busy intersection with protected left turn lanes. After my light turned green, I waited for a couple cars to finish turning, and then started going. An SUV sped up definitely after their turn arrow had turned red, and I hit them while riding my scooter. Luckily, I wasn't seriously injured, and I had a witness who was waiting for the walk sign to cross from the direction I was traveling in, so she saw everything. This was Christmas eve, and I just got a letter from the other party's insurance company saying that they found their client to not be liable, and were denying my claim. (the other party had even asked if they could pay for it out of their own pocket after the accident, so I didn't think there would be an issue)
I called the agent yesterday, who said that the reason they decided against me was that, and this is almost verbatim, I had him repeat it later-their client was ”adamant” their light was green. I asked about the witness, and he said it was their decision whether to use a witness' statement when making their judgment. I believe he had already lied once during the investigation process and told me he couldn't get a hold of my witness, but when I spoke with her later, she said she had been leaving them messages.
I only had collision coverage, but regardless, this doesn't seem fair to me, and maybe not even legal... my vespa is totaled, I've had to walk/ride the bus (which is way more expensive than putting gas in a scooter) around Los Angeles every day since the accident happened, but even if I could sue for physical damages, I know that wouldn't come to enough to make it worth paying for a lawyer.
Is there anything else I could sue for, besides injuries, that would make it so I could get one? If not, I was thinking of taking it to small claims and also filing a complaint with the Department of Insurance.
Does anyone have advice about any of this? I've never been in this situation before and am just really lost and honestly pretty upset!
I called the agent yesterday, who said that the reason they decided against me was that, and this is almost verbatim, I had him repeat it later-their client was ”adamant” their light was green. I asked about the witness, and he said it was their decision whether to use a witness' statement when making their judgment. I believe he had already lied once during the investigation process and told me he couldn't get a hold of my witness, but when I spoke with her later, she said she had been leaving them messages.
I only had collision coverage, but regardless, this doesn't seem fair to me, and maybe not even legal... my vespa is totaled, I've had to walk/ride the bus (which is way more expensive than putting gas in a scooter) around Los Angeles every day since the accident happened, but even if I could sue for physical damages, I know that wouldn't come to enough to make it worth paying for a lawyer.
Is there anything else I could sue for, besides injuries, that would make it so I could get one? If not, I was thinking of taking it to small claims and also filing a complaint with the Department of Insurance.
Does anyone have advice about any of this? I've never been in this situation before and am just really lost and honestly pretty upset!