"Someone you know" can not be a witness in an accident?

[nrmember]

State: Florida

I was in an accident. Clearly the other lady's fault. She stopped suddenly when in a parking lot, then went in reverse. I was not moving. No police report. She had kids in her car, presumably very young. I had a friend in my car, middle aged guy. After apologizing for the accident, "sorry, that was my fault," she decided to change her story to the insurance company to say she was stopped and I came out of no where and hit her. I thought I would be okay without a police report because I had a witness (my friend in the passenger seat), but the insurance has said multiple times that I can not use "someone I know" as a witness. Is this true?

Now the insurance says that because it is just her story vs. my story, they have a duty to believe their insured (the other lady). They want to pay part of the damage to my car (about 75%). The insurance didn't say (I forgot to ask) who they deemed responsible for the accident. If they have a duty to believe their insured wouldn't it be 100% my fault? What is going on?

What can I do?

Thanks.

 

[You Are Guilty]

What is going on?

Simple. They are trying to lowball and steamroll you at the same time. There is no law that says your friend cannot be used as a witness. (Yes, a friend may be biased, but that goes to the weight of his testimony, not its admissibility).

You can try retaining an attorney to fight the insurance company for you, or else just brush up on Google how to handle a claim yourself. It'll take some time and research, but other than being onerous, it is not difficult.

Good luck.

 

[ecmst12]

A witness should be independent to be really useful - not known to either party. What does your insurance company say?

 

[nrmember]

My insurance hasn't said anything yet.

I don't have collision, only liability insurance. Will my insurance try to work with their insurance and try get them to pay the full amount? Or since I only have liability will they do nothing?

 

[ecmst12]

Well, they will defend you if the other party tries to make a claim against you.

If they're willing to pay 75% even though it's strictly your word vs hers, that seems kind of strange but also not a bad deal. How much damage are we talking about?