Ask Me Help Desk - Car Wreck

I got into a car wreck a few months ago. I was going down a two lane road at about 40 miles an hour (the speed limit), if that. When a vehicle pulled out in front of me from the left hand side. She could not see me because there was a wall of traffic waiting to cross the light which I had just crossed. She was in between two cars trying to pull out and one of those cars waved her through telling her that it was clear for her to go. When she pulled out, I was right there. I could have either hit her or go to the right into the ditch.

I was on the way to take my daughter to daycare and she was sitting directly behind the driver's seat in her car seat. I never put her there in case of in accident but I was moving so I had moved her car seat to fit more things in my car. Anyway, I did not hit the woman because if I would have and the back of my car would have fishtailed to the left then the driver's side of the vehicle (which my daughter and I were on) could have smacked into the wall of cars that was waiting for the light to turn green.

So, I went off into the ditch. Instead of just going off into the ditch I hit a cement culvert that was covered by grass and it made me fly 5-10 feet into the trees. There were witnesses who helped me and my daughter out of the car since we were engulfed in the trees, and the woman who pulled out in front of me had stopped and was apologizing to me telling me that it was all of her fault.

Well I live in the state of Alabama, and when the cop had come all the other witnesses had left. He had told me that since I didn't make contact with the woman's vehicle that she was not liable for my vehicle. Which if I would have hit her there would have been more vehicles involved in the accident.

I talked to her insurance company and they told me that they could not tell if I had good judgement by running off the road and since I didn't make contact with her vehicle that they weren't going to cover me. (Like I would purposely run off the road into a ditch and total my car with my 3 year old in the car, unless I had to) I only had liability insurance on my car, so I was left with out a vehicle.

My question is, Is there anything that I can do about this? I already made a statement to her insurance company, which I shouldn't have. They have already denied me any coverage. If I can get in contact with the witnesses, would that make a difference? What should I do, because now I am stuck with out a vehicle and I am a single mother who is working and going to school. I need a vehicle. My brother is letting me drive his car right now, but that won't last too long. Any advice is appreciated!! Thanks for your time.

Insurance companies use to always tell me did you try to avoid the accident. But really that can work against you as in your case. It may be worth trying to get witnesses that can say that she caused you to wreck and that they heard her apologizing that it was her fault and it helps to go through your insurance company. When you try to deal with an insurance company on your own they are going to try and tell you that you do not have a case.
I don't know that you can collect anything from them but unless someone here says you can't I sure would try.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANB428

I got into a car wreck a few months ago. I was going down a two lane road at about 40 miles an hour (the speed limit), if that. When a vehicle pulled out in front of me from the left hand side. She could not see me because there was a wall of traffic waiting to cross the light which I had just crossed. She was in between two cars trying to pull out and one of those cars waved her through telling her that it was clear for her to go. When she pulled out, I was right there. I could have either hit her or go to the right into the ditch.

I was on the way to take my daughter to daycare and she was sitting directly behind the driver's seat in her car seat. I never put her there in case of in accident but I was moving so I had moved her car seat to fit more things in my car. Anyways, I did not hit the woman b/c if I would have and the back of my car would have fishtailed to the left then the driver's side of the vehicle (which my daughter and I were on) could have smacked into the wall of cars that was waiting for the light to turn green.

So, I went off into the ditch. Instead of just going off into the ditch I hit a cement culvert that was covered by grass and it made me fly 5-10 feet into the trees. There were witnesses who helped me and my daughter out of the car since we were engulfed in the trees, and the woman who pulled out in front of me had stopped and was apologizing to me telling me that it was all of her fault.

Well I live in the state of Alabama, and when the cop had come all the other witnesses had left. He had told me that since I didn't make contact with the womans vehicle that she was not liable for my vehicle. Which if I would have hit her there would have been more vehicles involved in the accident.

I talked to her insurance company and they told me that they could not tell if I had good judgement by running off the road and since I didn't make contact with her vehicle that they weren't going to cover me. (Like I would purposely run off the road into a ditch and total my car with my 3 year old in the car, unless I had to) I only had liability insurance on my car, so I was left with out a vehicle.

My question is, Is there anything that I can do about this? I already made a statement to her insurance company, which I shouldn't have. They have already denied me any coverage. If I can get in contact with the witnesses, would that make a difference? What should I do, because now I am stuck with out a vehicle and I am a single mother who is working and going to school. I need a vehicle. My brother is letting me drive his car right now, but that won't last too long. Any advice is appreciated!!! Thanks for your time.

You already know this but giving that statement was probably a big mistake because it obviously is being interpreted against you. I don't know if the witness can change anyone's mind about whether you used good judgment - in fact, I'll be very surprised if she hasn't already been interviewed.

I'm an investigator - I am not picking on you but here are the problems in my mind:

There was a wall of traffic but you were going 40 mph, the speed limit. This may or may not have been prudent. You say she could not see you and somebody waved her out. Presumably you know this because you saw her, you saw the car wave her out - yet you made no attempt to stop. You went into a ditch rather than strike the woman because if you would have the back of you car would have fishtailed and then you could have smacked into the line of cars. You don't know that. You may think that but you don't know that. Was it more sensible to go into a ditch?

You hit a culvert and then flew 5 to 10 feet into trees.

Do you see why you may or may not have used good judgment?

You can always consult with an Attorney and see if he/she has any thoughts - but I doubt without a lawsuit that you can change the mind of the insurance company. Or you could sue the woman in Small Claims Court.

You can get into arguments about the cause of the accident (her pulling out) but I think the argument that you were not prudent may offset that. You had enough room between the two of you to swerve into a ditch and not strike her. That will also enter into the negotiations - could you have brakes and avoided her? I don't know how far away she was.

In NYS IF the other driver is found at fault (or partially at fault) the driver who waved her out is also at fault - if he waved her out and didn't simply stop and allow her to pull out.

No question the other driver did a stupid thing - but the question is going to be whether you were prudent both in driving 40 mph next to a stopped line of traffic (indicating something was going on ahead) and whether swerving was the only/best option, whether you could have braked hard, whether you panicked.

I don't understand why you mentioned that your daughter was behind the driver's side in her car seat. What is the law?

It is good news indeed that neither one of you was very seriously injured.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANB428

...My question is, Is there anything that I can do about this? I already made a statement to her insurance company, which I shouldn't have. They have already denied me any coverage. If I can get in contact with the witnesses, would that make a difference? What should I do, because now I am stuck with out a vehicle and I am a single mother who is working and going to school. I need a vehicle. My brother is letting me drive his car right now, but that won't last too long. Any advice is appreciated!!! Thanks for your time.

Get a copy of the accident report; perhaps it will have the name and address of one or more witnesses.
Did you say whether either driver was given a citation? (This info will be on the incident report).
Was your vehicle totalled or what?
How much is your auto worth, just before the accident, and how much is it worth after the accident?

Quote:

Originally Posted by N0help4u

Insurance companies use to always tell me did you try to avoid the accident. But really that can work against you as in your case. It may be worth trying to get witnesses that can say that she caused you to wreck and that they heard her apologizing that it was her fault and it helps to go through your insurance company. When you try to deal with an insurance company on your own they are going to try and tell you that you do not have a case.
I don't know that you can collect anything from them but unless someone here says you can't I sure would try.

My grandmother heard the woman talking to me and the cop and she heard the woman say that it was all her fault because someone waved her through and she didn't see me. She also said that she was going to do everything she could to have her insurance pay for it. There had to have been witnesses. It happened at 7:30am on a Friday and most of the people who go down that road go down it everyday around the same time to get to work. There were like 5 people who stopped to help me. So, I am pretty sure I can post an ad in the newspaper and at the scene of the accident. It has been two months, but my car went so far into the trees, it would be hard to forget an accident like that if you would have seen it. I just have to find one of the people who saw it. A man called 911 so maybe I can find out who made the 911 call. I don't know how to do that. Thanks for your advice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by George_1950

Get a copy of the accident report; perhaps it will have the name and address of one or more witnesses.
Did you say whether or not either driver was given a citation? (This info will be on the incident report).
Was your vehicle totalled or what?
How much is your auto worth, just before the accident, and how much is it worth after the accident?

I have a copy of the accident report and there was only one witness which was her. She was not mentioned on the police report as anything other than a witness, since I didn't make contact with her. Neither one of us were given a citation and the cop told me that this accident was not my fault so it wouldn't count as a wreck on my record, which would make my insurance go up.
My vehicle was totalled.
It was only worth $7,000. I got $800 for it after it was considered totalled.

Where did the $800. Come from? Your insurance company?
Your grandmother should count as a witness as much as the woman that caused the accident.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

You already know this but giving that statement was probably a big mistake because it obviously is being interpreted against you. I don't know if the witness can change anyone's mind about whether you used good judgment - in fact, I'll be very surprised if she hasn't already been interviewed.

I'm an investigator - I am not picking on you but here are the problems in my mind:

There was a wall of traffic but you were going 40 mph, the speed limit. This may or may not have been prudent. You say she could not see you and somebody waved her out. Presumably you know this because you saw her, you saw the car wave her out - yet you made no attempt to stop. You went into a ditch rather than strike the woman because if you would have the back of you car would have fishtailed and then you could have smacked into the line of cars. You don't know that. You may think that but you don't know that. Was it more sensible to go into a ditch?

You hit a culvert and then flew 5 to 10 feet into trees.

Do you see why you may or may not have used good judgment?

You can always consult with an Attorney and see if he/she has any thoughts - but I doubt without a lawsuit that you can change the mind of the insurance company. Or you could sue the woman in Small Claims Court.

You can get into arguments about the cause of the accident (her pulling out) but I think the argument that you were not prudent may offset that. You had enough room between the two of you to swerve into a ditch and not strike her. That will also enter into the negotiations - could you have brakes and avoided her? I don't know how far away she was.

In NYS IF the other driver is found at fault (or partially at fault) the driver who waved her out is also at fault - if he waved her out and didn't simply stop and allow her to pull out.

No question the other driver did a stupid thing - but the question is going to be whether you were prudent both in driving 40 mph next to a stopped line of traffic (indicating something was going on ahead) and whether swerving was the only/best option, whether you could have braked hard, whether you panicked.

I don't understand why you mentioned that your daughter was behind the driver's side in her car seat. What is the law?

It is good news indeed that neither one of you was very seriously injured.

She admitted that it was her fault in front of the cop and my grandmother. She said that the car waved saying it was okay to go and she went. There was maybe 5 to 10 feet between us when she pulled out. I took pictures of where I went into the trees and it is about 5 to 7 feet from where she pulled out. Which the cement culvert that I hit, is directly across the street from where she pulled out.

The reason why I stated the fact that my daughter was directly behind me because that is the whole reason why I did not hit the other vehicle. I did not want my kid to get injured if my car had fishtailed.

I did hit my brakes and had two seconds to decide whether to hit her or not and I decided that I didn't want to hit her because my daughter was behind me and not in the middle of the back seat. It is not a law out here.

I was not found at fault. Neither was she. Since I didn't make contact with her she was only a witness on my accident report.

And I know that I screwed up giving that statement, that is why I want to know if I can even do anything. My daughter and I are very lucky that we didn't get injured, God was with us on that morning. Thanks for all of your help. I appreciate it!

You need to get your insurance company to go after yours but depending where the $800. Came from you may not have a case.

Quote:

Originally Posted by N0help4u

Where did the $800. come from? Your insurance company?
Your grandmother should count as a witness as much as the woman that caused the accident.

The $800 came from the tow truck company who towed my car. I didn't have the money to pay for the storage fees so I sold them the wrecked car for $800. I only had liability, so I didn't have insurance. I am a single mother who works two jobs and goes to school full-time. I didn't have the money to spend on storage for a totalled vehicle.

Usually when the other insurance company pays you for a totaled vehicle THEY want the vehicle in return. Even with only liability your insurance company should be trying to help you recover money from her insurance company.

So your damages are $6200 and the daily loss of use of your vehicle (rental value). You need to try to locate a witness, and the bigger question is whether you get a lawyer or sue the lady, yourself. If you sue her, she will definitely have a lawyer if her carrier's claims department can't agree with you. But let's back-up just a moment: before a lawyer sues, he writes a demand letter to the other party's insurance carrier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANB428

My grandmother heard the woman talking to me and the cop and she heard the woman say that it was all her fault because someone waved her through and she didn't see me. She also said that she was going to do everything she could to have her insurance pay for it. There had to have been witnesses. It happened at 7:30am on a Friday and most of the people who go down that road go down it everyday around the same time to get to work. There were like 5 people who stopped to help me. So, I am pretty sure I can post an ad in the newspaper and at the scene of the accident. It has been two months, but my car went so far into the trees, it would be hard to forget an accident like that if you would have seen it. I just have to find one of the people who saw it. A man called 911 so maybe I can find out who made the 911 call. I dont know how to do that. Thanks for your advice.

Before you do this yourself keep in mind that in order to collect you have to somehow "neutralize" whatever you have said to the insurance company/companies.

I would most definitely NOT do my own investigation.

Again, this is what I do for a living; people actually pay me (hard to believe) for investigative work following auto accidents. I interview (minimally) between 15 and 20 people a week year 'round plus take photos, talk to Police, dig up witnesses.

Contact an Attorney and let him/her either handle this for you OR point you in the right direction. A witness statement is pretty much useless and can be harmful to you unless the correct questions are asked and NEVER ask a question if you aren't fairly certain of the answer.

Statements made at the scene are pretty much useless because emotions run high at the accident scene. I've seen the most amazing circumstances when a party says, "It was all my fault" - and it wasn't. And the insurance company is going to discount that, anyway. You are also going to be faced with the questions I have already raised - prudent speed, heading into the ditch, being positive you were going to fishtail.

And I'm not criticizing you or finding fault or attempting to determine fault - I'm just telling you what you could very well run into.

And, as I said, you might be better off taking the woman who pulled out to Small Claims Court.

I'm not trying to give you a rough time but you have to overcome some problems (the least of which is probably your statement(s)) and you have to go about this in a professional manner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by N0help4u

You need to get your insurance company to go after yours but depending where the $800. came from you may not have a case.

My insurance company won't do anything because I only had liability instead of full coverage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by George_1950

So your damages are $6200 and the daily loss of use of your vehicle (rental value). You need to try to locate a witness, and the bigger question is whether you get a lawyer or sue the lady, yourself. If you sue her, she will definitely have a lawyer if her carrier's claims department can't agree with you. But let's back-up just a moment: before a lawyer sues, he writes a demand letter to the other party's insurance carrier.

Okay, well that means I need to get a lawyer, right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

Before you do this yourself keep in mind that in order to collect you have to somehow "neutralize" whatever you have said to the insurance company/companies.

I would most definitely NOT do my own investigation.

Again, this is what I do for a living; people actually pay me (hard to believe) for investigative work following auto accidents. I interview (minimally) between 15 and 20 people a week year 'round plus take photos, talk to Police, dig up witnesses.

Contact an Attorney and let him/her either handle this for you OR point you in the right direction. A witness statement is pretty much useless and can be harmful to you unless the correct questions are asked and NEVER ask a question if you aren't fairly certain of the answer.

Statements made at the scene are pretty much useless because emotions run high at the accident scene. I've seen the most amazing circumstances when a party says, "It was all my fault" - and it wasn't. And the insurance company is going to discount that, anyway. You are also going to be faced with the questions I have already raised - prudent speed, heading into the ditch, being positive you were going to fishtail.

And I'm not criticizing you or finding fault or attempting to determine fault - I'm just telling you what you could very well run into.

And, as I said, you might be better off taking the woman who pulled out to Small Claims Court.

I'm not trying to give you a rough time but you have to overcome some problems (the least of which is probably your statement(s)) and you have to go about this in a professional manner.

Okay, well thanks for all of your help. I really appreciate your questions that you are stating because you are showing me where the woman's insurance company is coming from. I am going to go try to find a lawyer to take my case. Thanks for all of your help!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANB428

Okay, well that means I need to get a lawyer, right?

Well, if you can find one who will only claim for property damage - which is basically what you have here.

You can also take the other driver to Small Claims Court and bring your evidence (witnesses) but be prepared for her defense to be exactly what I have already stated.

I would also get a copy of your statement to the insurance company because you will be cross examined on it.

I don't know if your State reduces your claim by the percentage which you are responsible. Be sure to look into that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

Well, if you can find one who will only claim for property damage - which is basically what you have here.

You can also take the other driver to Small Claims Court and bring your evidence (witnesses) but be prepared for her defense to be exactly what I have already stated.

I would also get a copy of your statement to the insurance company because you will be cross examined on it.

I don't know if your State reduces your claim by the percentage which you are responsible. Be sure to look into that.

Okay, thanks for all of your questions, I really needed them. I need to be as prepared as possible. Even if I get a lawyer will we eventually end up in Small Claims Court?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ANB428

Okay, thanks for all of your questions, I really needed them. I need to be as prepared as possible. Even if I get a lawyer will we eventually end up in Small Claims Court?

You cannot be represented by an Attorney in Small Claims Court -

Quote:

Originally Posted by N0help4u

Usually when the other insurance company pays you for a totaled vehicle THEY want the vehicle in return. Even with only liability your insurance company should be trying to help you recover money from her insurance company.

When I talked to my insurance company, they told me that since I only had liability they wouldn't talked to the other insurance company.