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AdvanceKnight13

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Iowa

I was recently involved in an accident, hit on the back passenger side quarterpanel. I was passing through a 4 way controlled by lights, my light was green, the driver of the car that struck me says her light was green. my car insurance had been lapsed at the time. there was one witness (who is my cousin) at a restaurant on the corner of the intersection who saw the accident and stated he saw her light was red and mine was turning yellow at the time of the accident. I also saw her light turn green after the accident.

The officer that arrived at the scene didn't take pictures until a few days after the accident and we had both driven our cars home, he also did not take a statement from the witness.

I gave my story to her insurance company when they called,later they told me they had decided I was at fault because our stories don't match. 2 months have passed and i get a voicemail saying i owe $7000 and they want to set up payment plans.

my question is: can i countersuit? is my witness credible? i don't really want any money for the car as i was planning to sell it to a junk yard and buy another car, I just don't want to pay for an accident that i wasn't at fault for, and i don't want that on my record.

thanks,
-Matt
 


ClaimsRepII

Junior Member
I dont know about Iowa Law...

I am in CA and when i see these types of claims - its version vs version and usually very difficult to prove. If you were insured your insurance company would have denied their claim and it is likely the 2 companies would have gone to Arbitration or just closed their file.

Your witness is not independent so likely would not hold, although since he was not in the car they might consider his version.

remember if they do sue you - they have to prove that one of you ran a red light... but how are they going to do that?

in CA an SR1 letter is sent to the DMV and you would be dinged for not showing financial responsibility (insuranace) - sorry can't help much more - but hope this helps
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
"ClaimsRep" do not answer people with information that is completely irrelevent to their state, it doesn't help anyone.

Tell the insurance company that you are not responsible, the accident is "driver vs driver" and they can't prove you were at fault, and they should cease and desist contacting you. If you are served with lawsuit papers, get a lawyer, but that is unlikely IMO. Your witness is a relative of yours and so of little value; you won't be able to get them to pay your claim because you can't prove they are at fault in court any more then they can prove you were at fault.
 

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