Insurance Won't Pay

[goodgirl]

I live in Florida. My mom was stopped at a four way stop sign. When she preceeded to go thru the stop sign, another person from the left RAN thru the stop sign and hit her. The police came and filled out the police report. Unbeknown to my mom, she had a witness who told the police that the other guy ran the stop sign and hit my mom. The police took all information and even made a complete draw-out of the accident and how it happened. It was clear as day that the other guy was at fault and even the cops said he was. A day after the wreck, a collision company called up my mom and said that the other mans insurance company which was (Geico Insurance) was going to fix her car and give her a rental and everything would be paid by Geico Insurance. She agreed, only to find out later that she had to pay for the rental and the cost of having her car fixed out of her own pocket. After she paid, Geico Insurance refused to reimburse her because the other guy told the insurance company it was not his fault. Now Geico refuses to pay and I need to know what recourse actions can I take to get this taken care of for my mom. I can't believe that the insurance company sees clear as day the complete draw-out of the police report clearly showing the other guy at fault and they refuse to pay. How can this be?? Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I live in Florida. My mom was stopped at a four way stop sign. When she preceeded to go thru the stop sign, another person from the left RAN thru the stop sign and hit her. The police came and filled out the police report. Unbeknown to my mom, she had a witness who told the police that the other guy ran the stop sign and hit my mom. The police took all information and even made a complete draw-out of the accident and how it happened. It was clear as day that the other guy was at fault and even the cops said he was. A day after the wreck, a collision company called up my mom and said that the other mans insurance company which was (Geico Insurance) was going to fix her car and give her a rental and everything would be paid by Geico Insurance. She agreed, only to find out later that she had to pay for the rental and the cost of having her car fixed out of her own pocket. After she paid, Geico Insurance refused to reimburse her because the other guy told the insurance company it was not his fault. Now Geico refuses to pay and I need to know what recourse actions can I take to get this taken care of for my mom. I can't believe that the insurance company sees clear as day the complete draw-out of the police report clearly showing the other guy at fault and they refuse to pay. How can this be?? Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

My response:

You need to understand a few things. I realize that you feel this matter is "clear as day" and the Traffic Collision Report (TCR) backs up your thoughts.

However, you need to realize that a TCR is "hearsay" evidence; that is, it was written by someone (the cop) who didn't actually witness the accident. Even with a witness, that statement is inadmissible until that witness actually testifies in court.

Every person is entitled to their "day in court" - - to have a judge or jury tell them that they are at fault, and are liable for damages. No one has to "roll over" until that day happens.

So, what we have here is an insurance company who, at first, agreed with Mom, and started to, perhaps, gear up to make payments to Mom. Then, their insured gave his statement of the accident to Geico, and based upon that statement, Geico MUST, by contract, "believe" their insured, and to offer him a defense attorney to defend him against Mom. As such, they stopped making arrangements to pay Mom. In essence, Geico is saying to Mom, "If you want money from us, you're going to have to sue our insured and prove each element of Negligence and your Damages. Otherwise, we're not paying until a judge tells us to pay."

So, despite the TCR, your Mom is going to need a Personal Injury Attorney as soon as possible in order to exercise her rights against the other driver.

Good luck to you and her.

IAAL