by Guest » Wed Jul 21, 2010 07:48 am
I was in an auto accident on a highway...the traffic was at a dead stop...I pulled onto the shoulder and managed to not hit anyone. The driver behind me hit me. The officer said the report will come out in 6-8 days. My dad reported the accident to my insurance..because i had a concussion and went to the hospital. SO i have not spoken with my insurance..however I did call them back this evening and left a message as no one answered. Do you think its ok to stall them for the next 6 to 8 days...so I can wait until I am able to read the report. I just think its wise to know exactly what this officer is stating about the accident before opening my mouth to anyone.
Do you agree...is it ok be straight with them and tell them that I want to wait until the report comes out before giving my statement, will they understand..is that a common thing. Or will they be ticked off by that?
Do you agree...is it ok be straight with them and tell them that I want to wait until the report comes out before giving my statement, will they understand..is that a common thing. Or will they be ticked off by that?
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:02 pm Post Subject:
No, it's not okay to wait. Your carrier will need to get your statement about the facts of the loss, you want this to be done ASAP. They will also want to get the statement of the "at-fault" driver. If you have this information, give it them. If not, you will need to wait before the police report is released. If there are inconsistencies within the report (common), your insurer will investigate the matter.
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 03:48 pm Post Subject:
There was an accident, it was already reported to the insurer, there is no reason to withhold information at this point. You have nothing to hide, right?
I take it your act of having "pulled onto the shoulder" was perhaps due to your inattention, and to avoid a collision you swerved out of the way. The party behind you did the same, only to collide with you.
If you are in a "comparative negligence" state, it's possible that you might be negligent to a small degree for being inattentive, but at least you avoided being the at-fault party in another collision. The party that ran into you, unless struck by another vehicle first, is probably the at-fault party with a greater percentage of negligence.
If you are in one of the few "contributory negligence" states, if even 1% at fault due to something like inattention, you cannot collect anything for your damages.
So, in your best interest, let your insurance company handle this, since it's already been reported to them.
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:29 pm Post Subject:
SO your saying if the other party is 99 percent at fault, and if I am just one percent at fault i will not be collecting anything. Well in that case before giving my statement it sure sounds logical to see what the cop has written first. I feel it should be my right to see it first...since any wrong statement can leave me out of collecting for my damages.
There is 2 years to settle a claim..i dont see why i have to be in such a rush.
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:33 pm Post Subject:
And I dont see why i cant wait to see the cops report since his word is probably going to be the one that will be most believed...i should be able to see it first...since it will have such a big impact on my case. And now hearing that one percent of any error on my part will not get me a collection..
even if she is 99 percent at fault,...that gives me even more reason to wait until I can hear what the cop is saying.
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:33 pm Post Subject:
And I dont see why i cant wait to see the cops report since his word is probably going to be the one that will be most believed...i should be able to see it first...since it will have such a big impact on my case. And now hearing that one percent of any error on my part will not get me a collection..
even if she is 99 percent at fault,...that gives me even more reason to wait until I can hear what the cop is saying.
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:41 pm Post Subject:
Disregard my statement about there is 2 years to settle a claim. I agree it would be rediculous to wait over 2 weeks and further on to give my statement. But I believe I should have a right to see that report before having to give a statement. WHat i think is rediculous is that the report takes so long to come out. It should not take that long.
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:46 pm Post Subject:
And I dont see why i cant wait to see the cops report since his word is probably going to be the one that will be most believed...i should be able to see it first...since it will have such a big impact on my case.
Although a police report is an official record, it is often not what's in the report that decides whose at fault in the claim. For example; I just finished an accident involving a semi truck (my insured) and another driver. Even though the insured (truck driver) was cited for failing to yeild in the police report, I denied the claimant's claim against the truck driver because the claimant had ample time to slow down and avoid the collision. So do I consider what the police state in their report is going to decide whose at fault in a claim? Never. If you were like this driver, your inattention while driving (not saying you were) may infact be a reason why you will not collect.
Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 05:26 am Post Subject:
SO your saying if the other party is 99 percent at fault, and if I am just one percent at fault i will not be collecting anything.
I did not make that judgment. You need to carefully re-read what I wrote. Not knowing what state you are in, there are two possible forms of negligence, but only one will be operative in your state's tort law. Either "comparative" or "contributory". I simply offered the two possible doctrines of negligence that operate for you to consider.
Most states have adopted the comparative negligence doctrine, which weighs each party's involvement in the events leading up to the tort -- in your case, a collision. If one party is 40% at fault, and the other party is 60% at fault, the party with the greater share of negligence is judged to be at fault. But to the extent that the other party contributed to the tort (40% in my example), their claim is diminished by that amount.
So if the damages were $10,000, the reduction would be $4,000, and the at-fault party would be responsible for $6,000 of the damages.
But, under the doctrine of contributory negligence, if a party is just 1% at-fault for their own damages, there is no award for that or their other 99% of the damages. It is a free pass to the 99% at-fault party.
If you tell us in what state this event occurred, we could tell you which doctrine of negligence applies to your incident.
By the tone of your response, my previous description of the event must be somewhat accurate. A case of inattention. In a contributory negligence state, that's going to be a dead-bang loser. Hopefully, you're in a comparative negligence state.
However, as Trench indicates above, the "last clear chance" rule could be invoked as a defense, and allow an insurer to avoid the claim. The theory: if you had maintained a "safe following distance" there would have been no collision and no need to swerve ("pull") onto the shoulder.
Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 05:56 am Post Subject:
I am in CALIFORNIA...is that a comparitive negligence state???
I talked with my dad and brother and they gave me their support I am not at fault..I will be calling the insurance tomorrow.
Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 07:03 am Post Subject:
Your story should be your story and should not be changed by what the police report states. You want to give your statement to your insurance company yesterday or now or in the morning since yesterday is not possible and since it is the middle of the night I doubt the adjuster is in. If you want to hold off on giving a statement to the other carrier you have every right to do so.
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