Conflicting stories of what happened

[Heather2]

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

I was in an accident July 11th. I was heading straight (east bound) through my green light and the other driver was heading towards me (west bound) in the turn lane and failed to yeild to me. I was hit on the drivers side, flipped on the passengers side, then fell back the right way. The police officers were unable to determine fault because we had different stories as to who had a green light. I have two witnesses that say she was at fault and she has one that says I'm at fault. However, all three witnesses have three different stories as to what actually happened. I've been fighting and pushing her insurance (actually a relative's because it wasn't her car) to get things moving because they've hardly done anything. Just today they finally contacted two of the witnesses. I've sent pics and videos of what the lights are synced to do since they aren't getting anywhere on the claim. She never even filed on my insurance which I find very odd. What happens if they can't determine fault either? An arbitrary? I went to all the businesses in the area and only one has video facing that street and it doesn't show the lights, just the flow of traffic. They won't release it without a court order though. I considered getting a lawyer because I don't know how long they even keep the video but I can't afford one if things go even more south. Does her insurance have a time limit to get this figured out? My totaled car is just sitting there collecting fees daily and the adjuster didn't even know it was a total loss and in the lot until today. Any advice as to what I should do to get this resolved or what to expect next?

 

[Proserpina]

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

I was in an accident July 11th. I was heading straight (east bound) through my green light and the other driver was heading towards me (west bound) in the turn lane and failed to yeild to me. I was hit on the drivers side, flipped on the passengers side, then fell back the right way. The police officers were unable to determine fault because we had different stories as to who had a green light. I have two witnesses that say she was at fault and she has one that says I'm at fault. However, all three witnesses have three different stories as to what actually happened. I've been fighting and pushing her insurance (actually a relative's because it wasn't her car) to get things moving because they've hardly done anything. Just today they finally contacted two of the witnesses. I've sent pics and videos of what the lights are synced to do since they aren't getting anywhere on the claim. She never even filed on my insurance which I find very odd. What happens if they can't determine fault either? An arbitrary? I went to all the businesses in the area and only one has video facing that street and it doesn't show the lights, just the flow of traffic. They won't release it without a court order though. I considered getting a lawyer because I don't know how long they even keep the video but I can't afford one if things go even more south. Does her insurance have a time limit to get this figured out? My totaled car is just sitting there collecting fees daily and the adjuster didn't even know it was a total loss and in the lot until today. Any advice as to what I should do to get this resolved or what to expect next?

Reviewing Heather's post hx may be useful.

 

[Heather2]

What does that have to do with anything?

 

[adjusterjack]

Reviewing Heather's post hx may be useful.

Same question: What does that have to do with anything?

And why are you people quoting the entire post in some of your responses?

 

[Zigner]

And why are you people quoting the entire post in some of your responses?

Because folks have a tendency of changing or deleting their post(s) when they don't get the answer they want to hear.

 

[Heather2]

Yet I've deleted nothing. Even stuff from maybe 10 years ago. I've hid nothing on here and don't feel I need to.

 

[Zigner]

Yet I've deleted nothing. Even stuff from maybe 10 years ago. I've hid nothing on here and don't feel I need to.

I wasn't saying that YOU have deleted or changed anything - I was just letting our new adviser know why many of us prefer to quote a post in its entirety. I'm also pretty sure that some of it comes down to convenience too

 

[adjusterjack]

I was in an accident July 11th. I was heading straight (east bound) through my green light and the other driver was heading towards me (west bound) in the turn lane and failed to yeild to me. I was hit on the drivers side, flipped on the passengers side, then fell back the right way. The police officers were unable to determine fault because we had different stories as to who had a green light. I have two witnesses that say she was at fault

Were those witnesses passengers in your car?

and she has one that says I'm at fault

A passenger in her car?

However, all three witnesses have three different stories as to what actually happened.

And if they were all passengers then their statements are likely to be biased in favor of the driver of the vehicle they were in and would not be given much weight.

Witnesses in other vehicles or witnesses standing on the corner would have been much better.

I've been fighting and pushing her insurance (actually a relative's because it wasn't her car) to get things moving because they've hardly done anything. Just today they finally contacted two of the witnesses. I've sent pics and videos of what the lights are synced to do since they aren't getting anywhere on the claim. She never even filed on my insurance which I find very odd. What happens if they can't determine fault either? An arbitrary? Does her insurance have a time limit to get this figured out?

The bad news is that the other driver's insurance company is not your insurance company and owes you nothing until a court of law finds her responsible and says how much. Meantime, her insurance company's obligation is to defend her if the claim rep believes she is not at fault and it might take only her sayso for him to believe that.

However, negligence law is different from statutory law so it doesn't matter what the police determine.

What matters is that a person making a left turn has a duty to yield to oncoming traffic. If that person makes the turn and hits an oncoming vehicle then that person failed to yield and is at fault.

When the witness' statements contradict each other the statements are ignored and the burden is on the left turner to prove, with evidence, that the oncoming driver behaved negligently. Without that evidence, she remains at fault. Her claim rep should know that and act accordingly.

I went to all the businesses in the area and only one has video facing that street and it doesn't show the lights, just the flow of traffic. They won't release it without a court order though.

If the physical aspects of the accident (point of impact and positions of the vehicles) show that she made a left turn and hit you then the video will help you but the lack of the video won't hurt you or help her.

I considered getting a lawyer because I don't know how long they even keep the video but I can't afford one if things go even more south.

If you were injured, personal injury attorneys take those kinds of cases on a contingency. If you have no injury claim and are just seeking compensation for damage to your vehicle you will have to pay a lawyer, wait for her insurance company, or use your collision coverage (if you have it).

My totaled car is just sitting there collecting fees daily and the adjuster didn't even know it was a total loss and in the lot until today. Any advice as to what I should do to get this resolved or what to expect next?

If you have collision coverage, make the claim on your own policy.

If you don't have collision coverage you really have no choice but to keep calling her claim rep until a decision is made. There is no way to speed up the other insurance company and, unfortunately, getting an attorney in the middle is only going to slow things down.

Do you have collision coverage?

 

[adjusterjack]

Because folks have a tendency of changing or deleting their post(s) when they don't get the answer they want to hear.

OK, I guess. Different strokes for different folks. I would just walk away from a thread if I saw that happening.

 

[Heather2]

Were those witnesses passengers in your car?



A passenger in her car?



And if they were all passengers then their statements are likely to be biased in favor of the driver of the vehicle they were in and would not be given much weight.

Witnesses in other vehicles or witnesses standing on the corner would have been much better.



The bad news is that the other driver's insurance company is not your insurance company and owes you nothing until a court of law finds her responsible and says how much. Meantime, her insurance company's obligation is to defend her if the claim rep believes she is not at fault and it might take only her sayso for him to believe that.

However, negligence law is different from statutory law so it doesn't matter what the police determine.

What matters is that a person making a left turn has a duty to yield to oncoming traffic. If that person makes the turn and hits an oncoming vehicle then that person failed to yield and is at fault.

When the witness' statements contradict each other the statements are ignored and the burden is on the left turner to prove, with evidence, that the oncoming driver behaved negligently. Without that evidence, she remains at fault. Her claim rep should know that and act accordingly.



If the physical aspects of the accident (point of impact and positions of the vehicles) show that she made a left turn and hit you then the video will help you but the lack of the video won't hurt you or help her.



If you were injured, personal injury attorneys take those kinds of cases on a contingency. If you have no injury claim and are just seeking compensation for damage to your vehicle you will have to pay a lawyer, wait for her insurance company, or use your collision coverage (if you have it).



If you have collision coverage, make the claim on your own policy.

If you don't have collision coverage you really have no choice but to keep calling her claim rep until a decision is made. There is no way to speed up the other insurance company and, unfortunately, getting an attorney in the middle is only going to slow things down.

Do you have collision coverage?

I'm sorry but I'm on my phone and can't do individual quotes, I tried. All the witnesses were independent drivers. I'm not sure what her witness said but one of mine was heading in the same direction as me behind me and the other was the one who pulled my daughter and myself from the car. Her statement is that she had a green arrow and that I ran a red light. I'm not sure if she said that I confused the light to turn green and went but the damage to my car speaks for itself because I was going about 40mph. I had minor injuries that I only want co payments reimbursed, thankfully my daughter only had bruises. If I do have to seek a lawyer then I will ask for other damages though. I only had liability for my old car so my insurance can't help. I got a loan and have a new car but I'm trying to rush it because my totaled car is accumulating fees daily and if her insurance doesn't cover them, I don't know what I'll do. What happens if they deny liability and she never tries to file on mine? Do I bring it to court then? Thank you so much for your help!

 

[adjusterjack]

All the witnesses were independent drivers.

Good.

one of mine was heading in the same direction as me behind me

That's a critically important witness.

What does that witness say and did she give a written statement that is included in the police report?

the other was the one who pulled my daughter and myself from the car.

What did that one say and did she give a written statement that is included in the police report?

Her statement is that she had a green arrow and that I ran a red light. I'm not sure if she said that I confused the light to turn green and went

That is confusing. Who is the "her" in there?

but the damage to my car speaks for itself because I was going about 40mph.

OK.

I had minor injuries that I only want co payments reimbursed, thankfully my daughter only had bruises. If I do have to seek a lawyer then I will ask for other damages though.

Be careful about that. Check your medical insurance plan. If the company has a right of reimbursement you'll need to ask for the total medical bills including your co-pay since you'll have to pay back the medical insurance company. Even if the plan doesn't say so, the company might have that right by law and you don't want to be sandbagged with a big bill after you have settled the injury claim for just the co-pays.

I only had liability for my old car so my insurance can't help. I got a loan and have a new car but I'm trying to rush it because my totaled car is accumulating fees daily and if her insurance doesn't cover them, I don't know what I'll do. What happens if they deny liability and she never tries to file on mine?

Whether she files against you has no bearing on your claim against her. In other words, you'll be treated the same by her insurance company whether she files on your policy or not. Her insurance company will either pay or not pay.

If her insurance company denies the claim you will have to sue her in small claims court for the Actual Cash Value of the car as it was before she hit.

Until then you have to deal with the impound lot. I suggest you talk to them tomorrow and get in front of the potential fees by asking if you can sign over the car to them in exchange for them waiving the fees and how much longer until the fees equal the salvage value of the car. If you end up paying for the storage you can include those charges in your lawsuit.

 

[Heather2]

Good.



That's a critically important witness.

What does that witness say and did she give a written statement that is included in the police report?



What did that one say and did she give a written statement that is included in the police report?



That is confusing. Who is the "her" in there?



OK.



Be careful about that. Check your medical insurance plan. If the company has a right of reimbursement you'll need to ask for the total medical bills including your co-pay since you'll have to pay back the medical insurance company. Even if the plan doesn't say so, the company might have that right by law and you don't want to be sandbagged with a big bill after you have settled the injury claim for just the co-pays.



Whether she files against you has no bearing on your claim against her. In other words, you'll be treated the same by her insurance company whether she files on your policy or not. Her insurance company will either pay or not pay.

If her insurance company denies the claim you will have to sue her in small claims court for the Actual Cash Value of the car as it was before she hit.

Until then you have to deal with the impound lot. I suggest you talk to them tomorrow and get in front of the potential fees by asking if you can sign over the car to them in exchange for them waiving the fees and how much longer until the fees equal the salvage value of the car. If you end up paying for the storage you can include those charges in your lawsuit.

It doesn't say anything on the police report except the direction we were heading and that we have conflicting stories. Then it has the names of the two witnesses who support my side, the witness that supports the other drivers side and has their phone numbers. We all had to give the insurance company a recorded phone statement about what happened but I don't get to hear what they said. I didn't want to sway anyone's opinion about what happened (didn't think I needed to) so I kept the texts short and just let them know how much I appreciated their help and that they'd be contacted by the insurance company.

I didn't think about how my health insurance would deal with it. I'm glad you mentioned it.

I'm sorry I was confusing. By her I meant the other driver that hit me. She claims she had a green arrow to turn and that my light was red. Thank you I will definitely call tomorrow about my totaled car.

My city just got rid of red light cameras I think last year. I never thought I'd miss them.

 

[adjusterjack]

I'm sorry I was confusing. By her I meant the other driver that hit me. She claims she had a green arrow to turn and that my light was red.

She can claim what she wants but, unless she has a witness who saw the arrow when she made her turn, the legal presumption is that she failed to yield. That presumption cannot be overcome without evidence to the contrary.

That evidence can only come from someone behind her who saw her turn on the green arrow or somebody behind you who saw you run the red light.

Since there doesn't appear to be anybody saying either, the decision should be in your favor.

Keep me posted. I'm a 35 year veteran of the insurance industry and happy to help.

 

[Heather2]

She can claim what she wants but, unless she has a witness who saw the arrow when she made her turn, the legal presumption is that she failed to yield. That presumption cannot be overcome without evidence to the contrary.

That evidence can only come from someone behind her who saw her turn on the green arrow or somebody behind you who saw you run the red light.

Since there doesn't appear to be anybody saying either, the decision should be in your favor.

Keep me posted. I'm a 35 year veteran of the insurance industry and happy to help.

Will do. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Heather2]

She can claim what she wants but, unless she has a witness who saw the arrow when she made her turn, the legal presumption is that she failed to yield. That presumption cannot be overcome without evidence to the contrary.

That evidence can only come from someone behind her who saw her turn on the green arrow or somebody behind you who saw you run the red light.

Since there doesn't appear to be anybody saying either, the decision should be in your favor.

Keep me posted. I'm a 35 year veteran of the insurance industry and happy to help.

I’m not sure if you’re still around but I wanted to update anyway. Her insurance wouldn’t accept responsibility so I had to hire a lawyer. My case got delayed because the driver at fault died from unrelated injuries so the family had to hire a lawyer. I have a deposition coming up in a few weeks and a trial set for May. I’m very nervous and don’t know what to expect. I’m not sure if her death will help or hurt my case.