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Husband stopped at flashing red hit by Woman going through flashing yellow

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A

Anonymous57

Guest
What is the name of your state? FL

From the title you can basicly see what happened. Husband stopped at flashing red light, saw no one coming and was clearing the last two lanes of a intersection going east when hit from a person traveling north. Neither the other person or him saw each other. The other person had a flashing yellow light and claimed she was travelling 20-25 miles a hour. The pictures of the wreak don't look like she was doing that speed. This is what the mechanics have told us.

It happened this past Monday in all the Tropical Storm Francis mess, all intersection lights were out, due to loss of power and they went to flashing. My husband had no way of knowing whether she had a flashing yellow or flashing red also like him.

Since he had the red, everyone says it was his fault and he will have to pay all costs.

My question is should we get a lawyer for this incident? Is FL a no-fault state or at-fault? She went left the scene in a ambulance for a few things, not sure what because she seemed ok at the scene. Her older model van was totalled from the front end damage. My husband only had a cut on his hand but back and neck have been hurting. He has bruises on his hip from the seat belt. He would like to go to the doctor but we just can't afford even the 1,000 deductible. And then they only pay 80% after that.

We feel it is her fault because if she was going 20-25 she should have been able to slow down to see my husband.

We are very tight on money as I am a student and just found out I can't get any student loan money to finish my senior year of college. We have to come up with 6,000 before the end of the year just to pay for daycare & living expenses. We are very worried we may now have to come up with more money to pay for the accident. More than the 1,000 deductible we are going to pay to have the car repaired.

Can anyone please give me some advice on what may happen with this or what we can do next? These last few days worrying about all this is killing me.

Amanda in FL
 


rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
What did the police report say?
What did your insurance company say?
Were there any witnesses?
Has your husband sought medical attention? Have you taken pictures of the vehicles and of his injuries?
Do you know for a fact that her light was blinking yellow?
What was the weather like, was it raining and vision obscured?
 

ellencee

Senior Member
I am so confused. Will you explain "clearing the last two lanes of an intersection going east" and being hit by a driver going north? Which insurance has a $1000 deductible and then only pays 80%? Does your car insurance have a medpay benefit, usually $2000, and is not a part of the each person/each incident benefit amounts? If so, your husband can use the medpay benefits to see an MD.

I believe the fact that the traffic lights were out due to the storm will have some impact on the at-fault aspect. If the lights were out, and Frances was still impacting the area (which it was), extra caution was needed by both drivers. Was it raining? Was anyone supposed to be even out there driving? I have family and friends in Florida and no one but emergency vehicles (ambulances, volunteer rescuers, firefighters, and police) or hospital workers and other needed medical personnel going to and from work were supposed to be driving anywhere for any reason.

Because of all of the circumstances, your husband should speak with an attorney so that he gains a clear understanding of what, if any, liability exits.

EC
 

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
If he did have a flashing red, and the other driver did have a yellow, hubby is on the line - flashing red means "come to a full stop and don't go until it is clear to do so". Yellow merely means 'caution, there might be an idiot who doesn't know what a flashing red means at this intersection".

I'd start looking for some after-school work to pay for that deductible.
 
A

Anonymous57

Guest
My husband was almost all the way through the intersection. Crossing the last of two out of four lanes. He was hit in the front passenger's side door. He has a witness that says he came to a complete stop. The police report also says he came to a complete stop.

It was light rain, low wind. I am in Pinellas Co. on the West Coast of FL. It wasn't bad here. Just alot of tree limbs, etc. It was adviced that no one drive but many people were out driving. It was not only emergency personnel allowed too. My husband was returning home from getting supplies at a relatives home 15 min away because after returning to our apartment after being gone two days we discovered that we had no power. We had all of our storm supplies over there and didn't know how long it would be.

My problem is after school work won't help because I have two children to care for. Husband is already working two jobs to pay for the $250 dollars a week daycare so I can finish school and graduate in May.

I have no family that can babysit or help financially.

I understand 'some idiot might not know what flashing red means', but my husband is no idiot... He did stop!!!! This is the first accident he has ever had. We were getting all kinds of discounts on insurance due to being safe drivers but I am certain that will be no more. He has only gotten one speeding ticket his whole life and that was 10 yrs ago!!

We feel she didn't take caution. And yes it was definitely a flashing yellow.. But at the time of the accident my husband had no way of knowing what she had.

I have pictures on my computer of the damage if anyone would like to see.
 
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You Are Guilty

Senior Member
I understand your plight but here are the problems, at least as I see them:

1- Unless the officer who wrote the police report was behind your husband at the time he stopped, whatever is in his report is hearsay and useless as evidence (that means, someone else told the officer what happened and the officer just wrote it down, i.e. second-hand knowledge).

2- The bigger problem is not whether he came to a full stop or not, it's that you cannot proceed through a flashing red until it is safe to do so. We know it was not safe form him to cross because he only got 66-75% across the intersection when he was struck. If it were safe to go, he wouldn't have been hit.

The fact that he was hit in the passenger door only confirms that it was not safe to cross that intersection at that time - it wasn't as if he got clipped in the back bumper, which could (theoretically) be argued that he was 99.99% through the intersection and thus it was "safe" for him to have crossed.

3- Given the above, the other driver's failure to take "caution" as you put it is irrelevant. Reasonable caution does not mean stop at every intersection, even those that don't require you to, just to make sure other people don't blow the light. If she was in fact speeding, your husband is still at fault for not noticing her speed and adjusting his timing on when to cross accordingly.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news (OK, no I don't, I just like saying that), but I will bet that the insurance adjuster(s) are going to tell you the exact same things I did here and find your husband liable.


Of course, I'm not psychic and you might end up skating.

But I doubt it.
 

blushes

Junior Member
My husband was almost all the way through the intersection. Crossing the last of two out of four lanes.
**2 out of 4 lanes, so he was half way through

He was hit in the front passenger's side door.
**So he was thru the first half, then got hit

He has a witness that says he came to a complete stop. The police report also says he came to a complete stop.
**Stopping is required of course, but on a red you're supposed to wait until there are no other vehicles.

It was light rain, low wind. I am in Pinellas Co. on the West Coast of FL. It wasn't bad here. Just alot of tree limbs, etc. It was adviced that no one drive but many people were out driving. It was not only emergency personnel allowed too. My husband was returning home from getting supplies at a relatives home 15 min away because after returning to our apartment after being gone two days we discovered that we had no power. We had all of our storm supplies over there and didn't know how long it would be.
**Hope everyone's okay otherwise

My problem is after school work won't help because I have two children to care for. Husband is already working two jobs to pay for the $250 dollars a week daycare so I can finish school and graduate in May.

I have no family that can babysit or help financially.
**This has no bearing on liability, and wouldn't even if you had been driving.

I understand 'some idiot might not know what flashing red means', but my husband is no idiot... He did stop!!!!
**But then he pulled into oncoming traffic that didn't have to stop.

This is the first accident he has ever had. We were getting all kinds of discounts on insurance due to being safe drivers but I am certain that will be no more. He has only gotten one speeding ticket his whole life and that was 10 yrs ago!!
**Probably right

We feel she didn't take caution. And yes it was definitely a flashing yellow.. But at the time of the accident my husband had no way of knowing what she had.
**The greater responsibility is on the driver with the red.

I have pictures on my computer of the damage if anyone would like to see.
**If you can find a lawyer to take it, show the pictures to them

Good luck...
 

ellencee

Senior Member
Anonymous57
The first thing I want to tell you is to calm down! Even if your husband is found at fault and even if he is found to owe more damages (money) than his insurance pays, no one is going to come and ruin your household finances or keep you from completing school. Your insurance will pay if he was at fault and if it is a no-fault state, your insurance will still pay for his vehicle.

Worst case scenario, the insurance company will set up monthly payments at an amount that your family can pay.

Call your insurance agent and get real answers for your real concerns.

Depending on your college major, you may be able to get a state grant to pay for your senior year. Are you majoring in a science? Are you majoring in science education, K-12? Are you willing to 'pay back' the grant by teaching in the state of Florida for two years? Are you a nursing student in an RN program? If so, there are great tuition-paid and stipend programs available; you work one year for every year the hospital pays tuition and stipend. Some hospitals pay tuition and give the student a $10,000 a year 'loan' at the first of the year; the loan is paid back through working at the hospital an additonal year or so. Are you majoring an environmental science? The coastal preservation organization will pay your tuition and a monthly stipend if you will work for them for two years. There are many programs available to help you finish college; check into them!

EC
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
I think that OP was trying to speculate that the car with the flashing yellow light was going much fster than the 20 mph they claimed, therefore when her husband stopped, looked, saw it was safe to proceed, was almost through the intersection when the speeding car who also claimed not to see him, hit him and the mechanic estimated that she was going faster than 20 mph. There is no way we can figure that out here, possibly the insurance companies will.
 

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