Damaged my vehicle avoiding an accident

[MorrisonJohn]

While heading south on a four lane road, to avoid hitting the car of a lady turning north (left) in front of me, I swerved and hit a cement divider in the median. The lady had two children in the back seat and if I had not swerved I would have hit her in the driver's door going 35 to 40 miles an hour. My car suffered $2,000 in damage to the engine. The lady drove away, but I turned around and caught up with her and she finally stopped. She was apologetic and acknowledged that she saw what I had to do to avoid her. Oil and transmission fluid was pouring from my engine and the engine was making terrible grinding noises. I called the police. The policeman filed a report but he said it wasn't an accident report because there was no collision. He said her insurance would probably not cover it. He even insinuated that my insurance wouldn't cover it because it wasn't a collision. I said, you mean I should have hit her in order for the insurance to pay for the damage? He said, yes. My car was towed. I use my car to earn my living. How is it possible that my car is almost totaled and that is not an accident? My quesition is, if the other driver's insurance and my insurance do not pay for the damage, can I recover my losses from the driver in a civil suit? Her children witnessed the accident and she admitted to me and the officer that she saw what happened.

Thank you

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

While heading south on a four lane road, to avoid hitting the car of a lady turning north (left) in front of me, I swerved and hit a cement divider in the median. The lady had two children in the back seat and if I had not swerved I would have hit her in the driver's door going 35 to 40 miles an hour. My car suffered $2,000 in damage to the engine. The lady drove away, but I turned around and caught up with her and she finally stopped. She was apologetic and acknowledged that she saw what I had to do to avoid her. Oil and transmission fluid was pouring from my engine and the engine was making terrible grinding noises. I called the police. The policeman filed a report but he said it wasn't an accident report because there was no collision. He said her insurance would probably not cover it. He even insinuated that my insurance wouldn't cover it because it wasn't a collision. I said, you mean I should have hit her in order for the insurance to pay for the damage? He said, yes. My car was towed. I use my car to earn my living. How is it possible that my car is almost totaled and that is not an accident? My quesition is, if the other driver's insurance and my insurance do not pay for the damage, can I recover my losses from the driver in a civil suit? Her children witnessed the accident and she admitted to me and the officer that she saw what happened.

Thank you

My response:

Why did you purposefully delete the State Name question?

IAAL

 

[Raisinette]

File the claim

Police officers aren't insurance adjusters or adjudicators of legal liability, John. File the claim with the same information you have provided here. See who says what and how it plays out.

Failing a third party liability claim, file it with you company, which may then want to pursue subrogation rights through the other carrier.

Don't give up before you start. These things can & do happen, and such claims are made -- and paid.

 

[lwpat]

I would file a complaint against the investigating officer. He should have and you should have insisted on the other party receiving a citation. If he still resisted you can request that he call his shift supervisor. This avenue can still be pursued with his supervisor and they can still issue a ticket based on your testimony and what the other party told the officer.

If you have full coverage your insurance will pay for the damage and then you can file in small claims for your deductible.