I Was Hit By Another Car. Whose Liability Is It
Posted in Bumpers | Asked on Aug 26, 2010
Below is the question about I Was Hit By Another Car. Whose Liability Is It, This is what happened. There was a red light. The cars in front of me stopped and I stopped as well (I was driving my minivan). As soon as I stopped this Ford Explorer coming behind me hit me (the guy was distracted and didn’t see other cars stop). As a result I collided into the minivan in front of me (car # 2), which collided with another car in front of it (car # 1). My minivan was car # 3 and the Ford explorer car # 4. The rear of my minivan was damaged and the lights and bumper are hanging. Luckily I wasn’t hurt then, though I feel soreness in my neck and headache today. The driver in car # 2 was hurt – probably whiplash, I’m not exactly sure though. The cops and ambulance arrived. The guy in car # 4 did accept his fault and apologized.
When we talked to our insurance company and reported the incident, they kept saying that we can get our car repaired and they’ll pay for the expenses after the $500 deductible. When we asked that the person in car # 4 is liable, they said that they will pursue the case with his insurance company and that it might take some time. But they said many times that we will be covered by them after $500 deductible. Now, my understanding is that insurance companies never want to pay and always try to make the insurance of other person pay. Then why are they insisting on this?
Also, since the driver of car # 2 was hurt due to collision with my car (although due to no mistake of mine), do I owe any liability to her or does the driver of car # 4 owe the liability. Also, the driver of car # 1 told the cop that he was hit twice. Now I’m not sure how that happened. But can this go against me – can they assert that I was the one who hit car # 2 first and then car # 4 hit me later? Although what actually happened was that the first three cars were stopped and then car # 4 hit me.
I have never been in this kind of situation, but I’ll appreciate any advice in this matter – what the next steps should be, what I should take care of etc. I don’t want to be paying anything from my side since this was no fault of mine.
There are 7 Answers for "I Was Hit By Another Car. Whose Liability Is It"
Regardless of fault, you’ll probably have to pay the deductible. As for the rest, the insurance companies will battle it out among themselves.
What you should have done is made the claim on #4′s insurance company, then there’d be no deductible.
If #4 did accept blame and you have his insurance info, you can file directly with them, then you’ll have no deductible. The reason people will often use their own insurance is to speed up the process, but #4 insurance company should reimburse you for the deductible somewhere down the road.
I’d call them – if he admitted blame to his own company, you can probably not use yours at all.
You reported the accident to your insurance company, now let them handle it. They know how to protect your (their own) interests, and they have all those “high-dollar” attorneys on payroll to do just that.
Your company probably assumed that since you were reporting the claim to them, you were asking for coverage. Actually, you usually get a claim settled easier through your own carrier. They know that when they subrogate, whatever they paid will have to be reimbursed by the other insurance company so they don’t worry as much about what they pay. They can usually collect your $500 deductible and return that to you also.
Car #4 is definitely the vehicle at fault and anyone involved in the accident will have to go after him. The nice part is, if anyone does try to come after you, your insurance company will pay to defend you.
If it were up to me, I would attempt to settle through my own carrier. Get 2 estimates of repair from 2 places that you would feel comfortable having do the work on your vehicle. Either turn them into your agent or the insurance adjustor. An adjustor should call you since you have turned the claim in. They will go over the estimate, make sure all repairs have been included and conclude the settlement with your repair shop. All you should have to pay is the $500.00. If you have rental coverage, you should have a rental car while your vehicle is being repaired.
I will caution you that some injuries are not felt until 2-3-4 days after the accident. You still have the right to obtain medical care if it becomes necessary. You should have medical payments coverage under your policy, usually $5,000. After that limit, the bills would have to be paid by the other party’s insurance.
Good luck.
Most insurance companies use a shared form of coverage in this case. It’s nothing bad on your part at all but will be filed as “not at fault collision”. Shared meaning, Car #4 caused the collision and will be filed for them as a “at fault collision” which will raise the premium. But due to limits of liability, he or she will likely not have enough coverage to fix everyones vehicle including medical expenses. The #4 car or the cause of the collision will pay a deductible to fix their car and the liability coverage of their policy will fix #3′s car. #3′s liability cover will only fix #2′s car as a “not at fault” claim and will not raise the premium like an at fault will. #2′s will fix the #1 car etc….. Hope this helps.
You are fortunate on this one.There is no blame or premium increases or points on your record.You don’t have to use your own attorney to sort this mess out. There are some cheap wealthy people out there who are “self insured” or post a bond instead of insurance like us lay people.These penny wise and pound foolish morons turn in their claims to expensive hourly billing lawyers that make theirs and everyone else’s lives needlessly complicated.My insurance company would have waived the deductible on this for me, knowing fully well they would get their money and don’t feel the need to burden me with it.
Insurance Companies pay if they have contractual coverage with you and/or their insured is legally liable for a loss. I am not sure where you are getting your info. claiming they do not pay.
Anyway, you do not have to go directly against your own Collision coverage, why would you not want your own insurance to pay for the damages to your vehicle? Doesn’t make too much sense to me.
You could file a third party claim against the at fault carrier, but there may be a delay in getting your vehicle repaired. They could also find you partially at fault and reduce your settlement by your percentage of negligence.
Your insurance company has a contract with you. They will pay for the damage to your vehicle less your deductible. They will then subrogate against the at fault driver’s insurer to recover what they pay you and your deductible. All carriers will complete a liability investigation. All parties involved in the accident will likely be asked to provided statements to their own carrier. Since you were stopped, it is unlikely you will have any liability.
However, since one of the parties is claiming two impacts there is a slight chance that you and the two other parties may have some liability. I am not sure what state this loss occurred in, but the joint and several liability laws vary from state to state.
The party in front of you can file a claim against your liability coverage, but that does not mean your insurance company will accept liability.
I suggest you direct your inquires to your claims adjuster. They can advise you on what to expect and be more state specific.