Rear ender

[ctide]

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts

I was in an accident roughly 2 weeks ago. Coming up on an intersection, the car in front of me stopped short, and I tapped his rear end. No damage to either car as I hit him at about 5 mph, but the car behind me slammed into me, heavily damaging my rear bumper. I put in a claim, and assumed all would be fine, as there was no damage to the car that I hit, and all the damage came from the car that hit me. After having the car inspected, and giving the insurance company all the information I was told that I would be forced to pay my deductible ($1000) for the damage done by the car behind me because I had hit the car in front of me first. This doesn't make much sense to me, since all the damage was caused by the car that hit me, why am I forced to pay for damages done by his negligence?

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: This doesn't make much sense to me, since all the damage was caused by the car that hit me, why am I forced to pay for damages done by his negligence?

A: They can't tell who caused what damage; since you caused the first accident, you are liable for the rest. Unless you can convince them to apportion it, you are out of luck.

 

[ctide]

Q: This doesn't make much sense to me, since all the damage was caused by the car that hit me, why am I forced to pay for damages done by his negligence?

A: They can't tell who caused what damage; since you caused the first accident, you are liable for the rest. Unless you can convince them to apportion it, you are out of luck.

I guess the thing that doesn't click with me is why my deductible is affecting money coming from his insurance company. Why is it that if I pay a higher premium to my insurance company, his insurance company pays me more money?

 

[JETX]

Why is it that if I pay a higher premium to my insurance company, his insurance company pays me more money?

Presumably, because you were either found at fault in the accident, or your claim is being handled under an uninsured motorist policy.
What did YOUR insurance company say when you asked them??
And why is it that people ask us to answer questions that should be directed to THEIR insurance company??

 

[ctide]

Presumably, because you were either found at fault in the accident, or your claim is being handled under an uninsured motorist policy.
What did YOUR insurance company say when you asked them??
And why is it that people ask us to answer questions that should be directed to THEIR insurance company??

When they said my deductible was being removed from the estimate, I asked them if they were planning on keeping the extra $1000 from the other company, and they told me they would only get damages - deductible from them.

I ask here because this makes no sense to me, and I feel that my insurance company is screwing me.

 

[shell007]

This doesn't make much sense to me, since all the damage was caused by the car that hit me, why am I forced to pay for damages done by his negligence?

Bottom line...it does not matter that the damage was caused by the car that hit you.

You are being forced to pay for the damages because it was YOUR neglegence in the first place.....NOT HIS!!!

Don't be suprised if there is another claim comes your way from the person YOU rear-ended in the first place that caused this chain reaction of unfortunate events.

Again....just an opinion.

 

[seniorjudge]

Bottom line...it does not matter that the damage was caused by the car that hit you.

You are being forced to pay for the damages because it was YOUR neglegence in the first place.....NOT HIS!!!

Don't be suprised if there is another claim comes your way from the person YOU rear-ended in the first place that caused this chain reaction of unfortunate events.

Again....just an opinion.

I don't think he caused the second accident (if his facts are correct).

 

[ctide]

Bottom line...it does not matter that the damage was caused by the car that hit you.

You are being forced to pay for the damages because it was YOUR neglegence in the first place.....NOT HIS!!!

Don't be suprised if there is another claim comes your way from the person YOU rear-ended in the first place that caused this chain reaction of unfortunate events.

Again....just an opinion.

He has nothing to claim, there was absolutely no damage to his vehicle. I've seen cars hit harder during failed parallel parking attempts.

If the car in front of me is 1 foot further ahead, I stop without hitting him and still get creamed by the car behind me. I guess I'm just frustrated because I feel that me tapping the car in front of me has absolutely nothing to do w/ the car that hit me. He hit me hard enough to bend the aluminum behind the bumper, and somehow managed to get underneath the car (an Audi A4) enough to damage the tire well, while I didn't even scrape the paint of the car that I hit.

That still doesn't answer the question of why my deductible has anything to do w/ the payout from his company (and they are paying, at least that's what I was told by my insurance company.)

 

[shell007]

OK...who hit who first? Let's get that cleared up before we go any further.

If the car behind you, hit you first, which caused you to slam ( or bump ever sooo slightly) into the car infront of you....then that is a horse of a different color.

 

[ctide]

OK...who hit who first? Let's get that cleared up before we go any further.

If the car behind you, hit you first, which caused you to slam ( or bump ever sooo slightly) into the car infront of you....then that is a horse of a different color.

I tapped the car in front of me, and was hit from behind about a second later.

 

[shell007]

Look...You were at fault. If the only thing you end up being out is your $1000.00 deductable count your blessings.

Honest mistake or not... doesn't matter!!.....you caused the accident.

 

[MandyD]

Shellandty, would you stop giving the wrong advice. If you really don't know the answer, refrain from replying.

This driver is at fault for rear ending the car in front of him, but he's NOT at fault for the car who was following too close to him and rear-ended him.

 

[shell007]

As senior Judge also wrote:

Q: This doesn't make much sense to me, since all the damage was caused by the car that hit me, why am I forced to pay for damages done by his negligence?

A: They can't tell who caused what damage; since you caused the first accident, you are liable for the rest. Unless you can convince them to apportion it, you are out of luck.

MandyD: Quit hiding under BB's coat tails. Adopt your own personality.

 

[ctide]

Look...You were at fault. If the only thing you end up being out is your $1000.00 deductable count your blessings.

Honest mistake or not... doesn't matter!!.....you caused the accident.

So if I'm reading this correctly, the next time I want a new bumper, hood, or any work done on the front end of my car, I just have to wait for someone to bump someone else, then just speed up and hit them as hard as I can since it will be their fault?

Correct?

 

[BelizeBreeze]

So if I'm reading this correctly, the next time I want a new bumper, hood, or any work done on the front end of my car, I just have to wait for someone to bump someone else, then just speed up and hit them as hard as I can since it will be their fault?

Correct?

Ask Shell from what law school he/she graduated and in which state he/she is licensed to practice law and that will give you the answer.

Only one practicing attorney has responded.