I was rearended!!

[camryn]

I was recently involved in an accident in which I was hit from behind. I went to the hospital the next day and was diagnosed with a sprained neck. I was off work for two days becuase of the pain/medication. Before the adjustor could even come to my house to give us a quote on what it would cost to fix the car, I was instructed by my insurance company to call his insurance company to tell them of my injury. I learned that he told them an entirely different story. He claims it was my fault; that I switched lanes. I was first at the stop sign after waiting for about 9 cars to go ahead before me. He is also telling his insurance agency that I told him I did not want the police called. This is a downright lie. Having never been in an accident before, I did not know what to do. When I gave him his insurance card back, I asked him, "Is this all we do?" He told me, "Yeah, I think so. This is what we did the last time." Needless to say, I am very upset. What are the chances of me being blamed for this accident? A police report was not filed. I was not thinking clearly at the time after the accident, so I called my husband. He called the insurance company on his other line and they told me I would not need a police report; that they probably would not even come out for something so minor. Now, that is being used against me! Bottom line is, he hit me and I am worried to death after his insurance agency was so disrespectful towards me. Does he have any right to think he does not have to pay for my car or injuries? Please help!

 

[cdcard]

Dear camryn:
If the other driver hit you from behind, he is at least in part at fault (ie, liable) and, if you weren't doing anything wrong, he is 100% liable. This means, if he has liability coverage, his insurance company has to do an investigation to gather legal evidence of his liability and then pay you a sum of money within the policy limits that you and his insurer agree to. Since you have no police report to show as evidence, you need witnesses; someone to back your side of the story. Otherwise, this is just a "he said-she said" situation. If all you have is your word against his and his insurance company denies your claim, you may want to consider getting a lawyer involved. In fact, since you have bodily injuries, you may want to consider talking to a lawyer before you talk to the other driver's insurance company. Oftentimes lawyers can get results that lay people can't. Also, since there is bodily injury involved, you can probably find an attorney to take this on a contingency fee basis (ie, attorney fees come out of the settlement check, not your pocketbook). Don't wait too long to try to resolve this; I don't know what state you're in, but many states have a statute of limitations of only one year on bodily injury claims. Best of luck to you.