Accident deemed my fault, but witness and myself feels otherwise. I have no insurance

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I was recently in an auto accident where a young woman was turning into a parking lot BEHIND another vehicle, so I pulled out of the parking lot, seeing all was clear. There was a witness behind me who also saw that it was clear on my behalf. She evidently changed her mind and decided to accelerate two lanes over directly into my drivers side. I am assuming my vehicle is totaled. I believe hers was as well. Here's the downside for me. I just recently lost my job in May and it took EDD two months before paying me, so I was behind on quite a bit and let my insurance lapse. I also couldn't pay a speeding ticket, so my license went into suspension status in July. It looks REALLY bad on my end getting into an accident. I waited for the police report before moving forward thinking I was going to submit a claim with her insurance carrier and the cop actually deemed it my fault (easy target I presume) and even left out key information. My questions now are: Do I even have a chance fighting the report? Her insurance contacted me last Friday. Should I talk with them or not? Should I pay the ticket and have my license re-instated or would that be pointless if the court puts me at fault and re-suspends it? Should I get insurance prior to my court date? What should my next steps be? I am scared, confused and need any advice anyone can give. A good person victim to unfortunate circumstances. Please advise. Thanks!!!

Were you ticketed for driving with a suspended license and or no insurance?

Were you moving at the time of the collision?

were you in a proper lane for you to be in?

I was ticketed for the suspension and no insurance. I was moving at the time of the accident and was turning into a proper lane. I was coming out of a driveway and she was turning into the same driveway behind another vehicle. She changed her mind and did not see me and drove directly into my car. I yielded and all was clear on my end and I have a witness backing my side of the story.

Ok well you are in this on your own.

1. you should get insurance right now. it will not cover you in the accident, but you might get off easier in court for the no insurance ticket.

2. you also need to fix your license before your court date showing the court that you reinstated everything to completely legal will be to your benefit.

You have to talk to the insurance company. was the witness on the police report?

Personally I would not allow the insurance company bully me, and I would not accept anything less then 60% her fault.

I appreciate the advice. I am currently unemployed (wrongful termination) so needless to say, I am broke and that is why I am in this position. I am told that typically the court suspends a license for at fault accidents. Should I really spend $600 on getting it re-instated only to be suspended again? Obviously I will get insurance, but I don't have a vehicle, so PLPD should suffice, correct? The witness IS on the police report and will be at court as well, so I will definitely state my side and hope for the best, but will count on the worst. Would you please clarify what you mean by 60%? What should I tell her insurance company? I'm so lost!!

OP, was the car that hit you in a turn only lane that ended at the drive you were pulling out of, or was it a lane that they could turn or go straight from?

"I am assuming my vehicle is totaled." What does this mean?

The police officer left key information out of his report? Do you think he liked the other drive more than he did you?

Do you know what "wrongful termination" means? Probably not. And it probably wasn't.

If you live in California, you shouldn't have expected an immediate response.

I didn't see her at all, but the witness says she was in the turn only lane behind the vehicle I did see, turning right. I only saw the vehicle in front of her and he turned, so I pulled out and she drove two lanes over directly into my driver's side. It's a tricky area where evidently a lot of accidents occur and I can see why, now. The witness said it was in no way my fault, but I think that since I shouldn't have technically been on the road in the first place, that the cop pinned it on me. Easy report, right? I am willing to deal with the repercussions for being financially irresponsible, but don't feel I should take the brunt of the whole deal and am not sure what my next step should be.

"I am assuming my vehicle is totaled." What does this mean?

The police officer left key information out of his report? Do you think he liked the other drive more than he did you?

Do you know what "wrongful termination" means? Probably not. And it probably wasn't.

If you live in California, you shouldn't have expected an immediate response.
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I am assuming, because I don't have insurance, so it has not been looked at and it is also in a tow yard. There is an automatic 30 day hold due to driving on a suspended. The witness on scene said that my frame was bent, but I don't know for certain and am not sure what to do about this either.
The witness and myself made it very clear that she was behind another vehicle turning, yet the officer left this key point out. He said that I saw her and failed to yield, which is inaccurate.
The wrongful termination has nothing to do with my question, however, yes I am aware what it means and yes, it is exactly what happened. I just chose not to pursue it as such. They let me go for calling in sick, with sick time, so EDD went back and forth from myself to the previous employer and I won, but it took two months to get any money.

I don't think you have a chance at anything. She had the right of way, you did not, and you have no insurance company to defend you. Your only chance (and it's a small one) is to pay a lawyer a lot of money to defend you, possibly more then you would end up paying for the damage to her vehicle. Not having insurance is a LOT more expensive then having it.

It is usually not the police who assign blame in an accident, it's up to the insurance companies involved.

Banned_Princess said:

1. you should get insurance right now. it will not cover you in the accident, but you might get off easier in court for the no insurance ticket.

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That's crazy. She had a motor vehicle accident while she was uninsured AND had a suspended license. Getting insurance after the fact is meaningless as far as the incident is concerned.

Banned_Princess said:

Personally I would not allow the insurance company bully me, and I would not accept anything less then 60% her fault.

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Bully her? She is to blame - 100% totally accountable. She did not have the right of way AND shouldn't have even been driving for two different reasons. That car and its driver should not have been on the road.

Understandable that you have this point of view. From a third party perspective, my even being on the road may look bad. In today's economy, I am certain I am not the only good citizen who can't afford certain financial responsibilites. I feel having a roof over my head is a tad more important. Although I "shouldn't" have been on the road and she had "the right of way", she still caused the accident by bad judgement. I have a witness to attest to this fact and I suppose that is all that I have to support my case at this point. I felt the same way pertaining to getting insurance, however it is an infraction that I am cited for, so I presume I should fix it. The irony of this unfortunate circumstance is that I have been trying to keep a roof over my head, when the outcome from this incident may very well be that I lose it anyway. Hard lesson learned.

just so you know, having no insurance or having a suspended license has no bearing on who is at fault in any accident.

I still dont think the Other person had the right of way. perhaps a diagram would help. I suppose the failure to yeald is a clue. and there is where you are at fault. just because you didnt see a person doesnt mean you are not at fault.

Highway man, I didnt say getting insurance now would help her in her accident. I said it will help her with her ticket... to show she had no insurance but now she does. but if she doesnt need it she can just as easy return her registration or plates so she is no longer required to carry insurance.

you even quoted exactly what I said and misread it. tisk tisk.

Someone turning OFF of the main road into a driveway has the right of way over someone turning OUT OF a driveway ON to the main road. Neither you nor the witness get to decide who's at fault since clearly neither of you have a good understanding of traffic laws. She may have contributed to the accident but you still had the greater duty to yield. There's no getting around that.

And since you have no insurance, you have pretty much no chance of prevailing against her insurance company's lawyers. Especially since you were wrong.

You should get insurance now, if you want the judge to take ANY pity on you when you go to the hearing for your multiple tickets. You will probably need to file an SR22 in the future ($$$) and your suspension will be extended...don't plan on driving for a while.

Banned_Princess said:

you even quoted exactly what I said and misread it. tisk tisk.

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I didn't misread anything.

If you think a judge will give her a break because she has insurance now after causing an accident while uninsured then you have a great imagination. She would not have gotten caught if it wasn't for the accident. The accident was a factor in her being cited.