Parking Lot Collision in New Jersey Nursing Home

[RayAntoky]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey


My mother (85) was driving in a nursing home parking lot. The car is in my name, she is a listed driver. She reached an uncontrolled intersection with the access road that has a posted speed limit of 5 mph. No stop or yield for her in her direction nor for the other driver. (There was a stop sign in the opposite direction from my Mom). A vehicle on her right collided with her passenger side doors as she was in the intersection. The police report assigned failure to yield ROW to Mom not mentioning in the report the posted speed nor the fact that the statute says that once a car is in an uncontrolled intersection another car entering the intersection must yield right of way. No citations were issued. My insurance company did not find her liable and refused payment of damages to complainant. The other company is denying my claim against them citing the police report. My company found their driver exceeding the speed limit based on severity of damages to both vehicles (his 5mph bumper and whole front of car were falling off and my center post was bent so bad you couldn't open or close the doors without severe gaps) and based on the point of impact indicating failure to yield ROW to our car which had entered the intersection and therefore had control. Now the other party is suing us for damages for 'permanent bodily injuries' and says they want a jury trial. I'm told my company will defend us. Should I countersue for property damages? My policy covers liability for $25k for injuries to one person while Mom has a non-owned vehicle policy with another carrier with a $100k limit after another policy's limit is exhausted.
Mom was quite shaken up but isn't claiming 'permanent injury' even though it didn't help her existing conditions. This guy walked away from the accident and even tried to stop me from taking photos of the damages. He is 70 and claiming permanent injuries. IMO he is playing the system with an injury attorney. Issues are right of way in parking lots and whether standard rules of the road are applicable on private property with public access. And can a police report be used as evidence even when it contains mistakes , misquotes or ommisions? Any insights? Should I encourage my company to attempt settlement or risk a jury trial?

 

[ecmst12]

A police report is not admissable as evidence - it is hearsay. The officer can be asked to testify, but he did not witness the accident, so unless he's trained in accident forensics, he may not have much to add. Which vehicle was in the main aisle and which was in the side aisle? Or were both lanes main aisles in different directions? If that's the case, and there is no stop sign for either driver, then your mom was clearly there first.

You can sue the other driver for the damage to your property, but you would probably need a lawyer for that since he already has one.

It's not up to you whether your insurance company settles or goes to trial. It does appear they have already denied liability.

 

[RayAntoky]

A police report is not admissable as evidence - it is hearsay. The officer can be asked to testify, but he did not witness the accident, so unless he's trained in accident forensics, he may not have much to add. Which vehicle was in the main aisle and which was in the side aisle? Or were both lanes main aisles in different directions? If that's the case, and there is no stop sign for either driver, then your mom was clearly there first.

You can sue the other driver for the damage to your property, but you would probably need a lawyer for that since he already has one.

It's not up to you whether your insurance company settles or goes to trial. It does appear they have already denied liability.

First off the officer checked the box indicating cause of accident was vehicle 2 failure to yield ROW. But the law states that once a car is in the intersection a vehicle approaching it must yield ROW. So he was wrong IMHO. The access road was called the main road in the report. The lane Mom was driving in traversed the road as she went from the rear of the lot to the front where the entrance and handicapped parking was. The driver who hit her seemed to be disregarding the 5mph speed limit as the 5mph bumper on his car was completely off with extensive front end damage. Yet he is claiming permanent injuries from a slow speed impact which he would have to attest to otherwise if he was speeding he would have relinquished any ROW he may have had which he didn't have anyway. Aside from not being happy that my insurance company has been forced to reopen the file to respond to this suit I am also frustrated that the other driver's company keeps citing the police report as their reason for denying my claim without ever getting a statement from my mother. When I bring up the extensive damage as a result of excessive speed on the part of their driver I get 'How do you know'? When I say that Mom's car was already in the intersection I get more of the same. When I try to talk to the supervisors I get ballistic with them as they are obtuse ,ignorant and arrogant.
I am filing a complaint with the NJ Insurance complaint dept. who are promising to open an inquiry.
http://tinyurl.com/35b5xt

 

[ecmst12]

Filing an insurance department complaint is not going to get them to change their liability decision. If you feel they are wrong for denying your claim, sue the driver in small claims court. Or hire a lawyer and sue them in regular court (since his insurance company will provide him with a lawyer, you might want to have one too).

 

[RayAntoky]

Based on what's been presented do you think my company will have to go to trial or is it possible they can convince the other party to drop the suit based on improper determination of liability? And if this guy walked away from the accident and accosted me afterwards regarding my photos how believable is his claim of permanent injury suffered in what he would have to assert was a 5mph collision?
Since he is suing me and my insurance company is representing me can they countersue for me as they respond to the suit? They are defending me as I have liability insurance but not collision. Since they insist we are not liable can they turn the table on the other party's lawyer and make it a part of the suit? I am not looking for the big bucks that they seem to want from their injury lawyer - a bogus assertion IMO - but merely the damage caused to our trusty 1992 Mitsubishi Galant which when totaled could not have been worth very much. It's the principle. I want justice not blood.

 

[ecmst12]

Your insurance company has no standing to countersue since they have not lost anything from the accident, you don't have collision coverage so they have not paid anything out on your behalf. If you want to countersue you will need your own lawyer. If the value of your totalled vehicle was less then the lawyer will cost, then your "justice" could be very expensive.

 

[RayAntoky]

If I cannot convince his company, State Farm, to change their determination that their driver was not liable I would probably sue pro se in small claims court although I do not know the maximum allowed in NJ. Do I sue State Farm or their driver? If I sue the driver does State Farm automatically represent him as they would be the ones to pay? I'm sure the amount would be less than $1000.

 

[Zigner]

Your mom was entering the intersection from private property - she is required to yield.

 

[RayAntoky]

Your mom was entering the intersection from private property - she is required to yield.

The whole intersection was on private property including the access road. It cuts through the parking lot and dead ends around the back of the building. It's the second road into the lot, the one that bisects the lot.
Try this link to get the aerial view
http://tinyurl.com/35b5xt
Our car was on the right lane south going north, hit by a car going west after mom was already in the intersection.
Here is the applicable NJ statute:

39:4-90. Failure to yield at intersection, Right of way at intersections .
The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection shall yield the right of way to a vehicle which has entered the intersection. When 2 vehicles enter an intersection at the same time the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right of way to the driver of the vehicle on the right.
They could not have entered at the same time as our car was hit in the middle of the passenger side which, if the other driver was on the right of his lane as he is supposed to be, would mean that mom was past the center of the road. If she was hit on the front bumper or the front quarter panel that would be a different indication. The driver who hit her, once she was in the intersection, failed to stop or yield ROW plus the body damage indicates a rate of speed greater than 5 mph as the frame was damaged as well as the A post and B post.

 

[ecmst12]

If you sue in small claims court, the other driver's insurance company is obligated to provide for his defense, and will probably move for a change of venue to regular court.