Small accident

[Adknbouse]

Norfolk,Va
I got in a small fender bender. The other driver and i were on a 3 lane road and coming up on a work zone forcing traffic to move left leaving it two lanes. He was in the lane being forced to merge and i was in the center lane. There were entrances to a hotel on his side so i didnt think he was going to try and merge, i thought he was going to enter the hotel so i didnt move over. Well my front bumper was up to his driver side passenger door and i was in his blind spot and he started to merge. It wasnt a slow safe merge it was a quick merge. So he hits me we pull over call the police and get a crash report. I pay the deductible on my car and let the insurance handle it so i can get reimbursed. I mean he admitted to the cop it was his fault. So i get ahold of the insurance company 3 weeks later and they say they arent going to accept the claim right now because he says my lights werent on. He just decided to bring this up, when its not true, 3 weeks after the incident and im out $1000. My vehicle has 24/7 running lights that are on whenever the car is moving, plus my lights come on automatically at night and whenever the winshield wipers are on, which they were due to the rain, along with fender lights. Also his vehicle had blind spot indicators, proving he didnt even check his mirrors. So i guess my question is, am i at fault even if my lights werent on, should i take this to small claims court, will he have to appear, and do i have enough viable evidence to get my money back?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

No, it doesn't sound like you were at fault. You said you turned this into your insurance company. They should represent you against the other driver as well.

 

[adjusterjack]

No, it doesn't sound like you were at fault. You said you turned this into your insurance company. They should represent you against the other driver as well.

Nope. Not how it works.

Once his insurance company pays for his collision damage less his deductible, his insurance company has the option (not the obligation) of subrogating against the other driver for the full amount of the claim including the deductible.

If his insurance collects, it will refund him the deductible.

If his insurance company fails to collect, or chooses not to subrogate, then he is on his own with regard to the $1000.

 

[Zigner]

Norfolk,Va
I got in a small fender bender. The other driver and i were on a 3 lane road and coming up on a work zone forcing traffic to move left leaving it two lanes. He was in the lane being forced to merge and i was in the center lane. There were entrances to a hotel on his side so i didnt think he was going to try and merge, i thought he was going to enter the hotel so i didnt move over. Well my front bumper was up to his driver side passenger door and i was in his blind spot and he started to merge. It wasnt a slow safe merge it was a quick merge. So he hits me we pull over call the police and get a crash report. I pay the deductible on my car and let the insurance handle it so i can get reimbursed. I mean he admitted to the cop it was his fault. So i get ahold of the insurance company 3 weeks later and they say they arent going to accept the claim right now because he says my lights werent on. He just decided to bring this up, when its not true, 3 weeks after the incident and im out $1000. My vehicle has 24/7 running lights that are on whenever the car is moving, plus my lights come on automatically at night and whenever the winshield wipers are on, which they were due to the rain, along with fender lights. Also his vehicle had blind spot indicators, proving he didnt even check his mirrors. So i guess my question is, am i at fault even if my lights werent on, should i take this to small claims court, will he have to appear, and do i have enough viable evidence to get my money back?

This is not a comment in any way on the fault aspect:

The blind spot monitor lights are very easy to miss when I look in my mirror. This was especially true when I first got a car with the option...my mind would tune out the extra light as extraneous information until I took the time to consciously check for the light. After nearly 30 years of driving without such an indicator, the mind doesn't even register it as useful information in that split second of checking the mirror.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Nope. Not how it works.

Once his insurance company pays for his collision damage less his deductible, his insurance company has the option (not the obligation) of subrogating against the other driver for the full amount of the claim including the deductible.

If his insurance collects, it will refund him the deductible.

If his insurance company fails to collect, or chooses not to subrogate, then he is on his own with regard to the $1000.

Do they not have a duty to subrogate? I've had two accidents that weren't a lot different than the OP describes and in both cases with two different carriers they did so quickly without my pushing for it.

 

[Zigner]

Do they not have a duty to subrogate? I've had two accidents that weren't a lot different than the OP describes and in both cases with two different carriers they did so quickly without my pushing for it.

If you are found to have any degree of fault, even 1%, Virginia law does not allow you to collect from the other party.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Reading the OP's post I don't see how he would have any fault.

 

[Zigner]

Reading the OP's post I don't see how he would have any fault.

He could have travelled slower and let the other car merge in front...he could have travelled faster so the other car could merge behind...if his headlights were not on, then the other driver may not have seen him. 1% is a VERY low bar.