STEPHAN
Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Florida
I was involved in a car accident. I have been in the US for 23 years, and it was my first accident, so I could use some help.
I slowly backed out of a parking spot on a supermarket, and (I believe) I stopped to change gears. At that point a very old lady hit me from behind. She was driving very fast. All damage I could see is the back bumper, but I am not an expert. She hit the area where the hitch mount was behind plasic, so she has a lot more damage to the front. (He car had a lot of damage all over.)
She got out of the car, apologized, and said she did not see us. My wife, who was next to me, heard that, too. The lady only had her registration but nothing else. She was very nervous and searched for about 15 minutes. She offered me to come with her, and I followed her home. She went into the house and never came out again. Her son came out and told me she could not find her papers, but they would file a claim with Progressive. And they did.
My wife stayed at the supermarket and waited for a mother and her 13-year-old son, who witnessed the accident. She got their phone numbers. They have a Tesla, but unfortunately, you only see the before and after of the accident.
I filed a complaint with my insurance company (Allstate), but they said that my deductible is $500, and my premium would go up. They suggested that I try their insurance first.
The supermarket has cameras, but they said that often, you can not see much. They said I needed the police to review the footage.
To our big surprise, Progressive told us today that their insured claims that we backed into her.
I called the police, but they do not want to get involved because it is private property and a civil matter.
I called the supermarket, and the manager promised he would look at the video to see if anything was visible. However, he also told me I would not be able to get it. I assume a lawyer could subpoena it?
My wife spoke to the witness again, told them what the insurance said and their response was "That did not happen. If you go to court, let us know, we will come!"
I gave Progressive the number of the witnesses and sent the pictures.
And advice? How badly did I mess it up?
What happens if it is her word against our word? Is my wife an acceptable witness?
I was involved in a car accident. I have been in the US for 23 years, and it was my first accident, so I could use some help.
I slowly backed out of a parking spot on a supermarket, and (I believe) I stopped to change gears. At that point a very old lady hit me from behind. She was driving very fast. All damage I could see is the back bumper, but I am not an expert. She hit the area where the hitch mount was behind plasic, so she has a lot more damage to the front. (He car had a lot of damage all over.)
She got out of the car, apologized, and said she did not see us. My wife, who was next to me, heard that, too. The lady only had her registration but nothing else. She was very nervous and searched for about 15 minutes. She offered me to come with her, and I followed her home. She went into the house and never came out again. Her son came out and told me she could not find her papers, but they would file a claim with Progressive. And they did.
My wife stayed at the supermarket and waited for a mother and her 13-year-old son, who witnessed the accident. She got their phone numbers. They have a Tesla, but unfortunately, you only see the before and after of the accident.
I filed a complaint with my insurance company (Allstate), but they said that my deductible is $500, and my premium would go up. They suggested that I try their insurance first.
The supermarket has cameras, but they said that often, you can not see much. They said I needed the police to review the footage.
To our big surprise, Progressive told us today that their insured claims that we backed into her.
I called the police, but they do not want to get involved because it is private property and a civil matter.
I called the supermarket, and the manager promised he would look at the video to see if anything was visible. However, he also told me I would not be able to get it. I assume a lawyer could subpoena it?
My wife spoke to the witness again, told them what the insurance said and their response was "That did not happen. If you go to court, let us know, we will come!"
I gave Progressive the number of the witnesses and sent the pictures.
And advice? How badly did I mess it up?
What happens if it is her word against our word? Is my wife an acceptable witness?
, the right of way and that this driver was more than 50% at fault.