Motorcycle / Car accident in CA

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

I was on a thoroughfare of a private parking lot in a mall. I was proceeding east bound aboard a motorcycle. A gentleman proceeding west bound made a left hand turn over solid double yellow lines in front of me. I was unable to avoid impacting the gentleman's vehicle. There were no injuries. I called the police and asked them to take a report. They refused because the accident occurred on private property and involved no injures. I immediately got two people whom saw the accident to stay as witnesses. I collected their information and passed it along to the insurance companies. After the insurance process his insurance company decided that they would not cover my claim because it determined I was at fault due to running a stop sign.

Me having run a stop sign is not only wrong, but impossible. There is no stop sign any where near the accident location. Now I'm listed as having an at fault accident. Had they investigated the scene even cursorily (even Google Street View), they could have determined what they claimed in their denial letter was impossible.

What would be a good next step for me? Further, if the gentleman knowingly provided false information to his insurance company (lied to make himself look better), does that make him a criminal or just a dick? Thanks for your time and any input.

You mentioned insurance companies (plural). Is your insurance company also involved in this?

Zigner said:

You mentioned insurance companies (plural). Is your insurance company also involved in this?

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That's actually a good question and potentially relevant point. I was riding my brothers bike at the time and he dealt with his insurance company and I'm not sure of the arrangement they came to, if any. I'd get in contact with my brother before replying, but he is the sort of person that is intentionally difficult to get a hold of. My standing might be that I'm the one that is ending up with an at fault accident on my insurance record and some damaged gear (helmet, jacket, gloves).

*Edit:*

My personal insurance company has had no involvement what so ever, other then wanting to confirm an at fault accident when I went to renew. So I reckon the value of the motorcycle is a red herring in my original post. Talking about it, I guess the increase in insurance and value of the gear probably isn't enough to get particularly worked up over. But it does piss me as I absolutely was not at fault and it's easy to show their reason for denying me was faulty

velophile said:

That's actually a good question and potentially relevant point. I was riding my brothers bike at the time and he dealt with his insurance company and I'm not sure of the arrangement they came to, if any. I'd get in contact with my brother before replying, but he is the sort of person that is intentionally difficult to get a hold of. My standing might be that I'm the one that is ending up with an at fault accident on my insurance record and some damaged gear (helmet, jacket, gloves). My personal insurance company has had no involvement what so ever, other then wanting to confirm an at fault accident when I went to renew

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Sue the bad guy for your actual damages. IF you win, that would pretty much alleviate your "at fault" concerns...

Zigner said:

Sue the bad guy for your actual damages. IF you win, that would pretty much alleviate your "at fault" concerns...

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Which is quite questionable of its worth to me, getting involved in that. I'll just go with the make a youtube video about why I hate [other guys insurance company] method. Good deal, thanks much.

velophile said:

Which is quite questionable of its worth to me, getting involved in that. I'll just go with the make a youtube video about why I hate [other guys insurance company] method. Good deal, thanks much.

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The worth is not the damages...rather it's the removal of an "at-fault" accident from your record. That's what you WANTED, wasn't it?

If it's not your bike, you don't have standing to sue for damages to it. Were you injured?

ecmst12 said:

If it's not your bike, you don't have standing to sue for damages to it. Were you injured?

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But he DOES have standing to sue for his items that were damaged (ie: helmet, jacket, gloves)...

Zigner said:

The worth is not the damages...rather it's the removal of an "at-fault" accident from your record. That's what you WANTED, wasn't it?

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Well, since you went with caps... While it would be personally satisfying to have someone say you are right, the other party is at fault, that's not ultimately what I want. It was just the means to my end. The worth to me is the value of the differences between what I pay in insurance for having a not-at-fault accident versus an at-fault accident and the cost of my personal gear that was damaged. However I don't believe the investment of my time and money would see positive return even if I were to win, unless I hit the pain and suffering lottery. Your feedback helped me articulate to myself where I was actually going, thanks much.