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Car Accident Advice (Any attorneys out there?)

greekdeac2011

greekdeac2011

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Charleston, SC
Quad,

Last Friday on my way home in downtown Charleston during rush hour, a driver in front of me slammed on the breaks to let someone turn into a hotel and I did not stop in time and hit their bumper. It punched in the grill of my car and scraped the bumper of the car in front of me. I took pictures of the damage. My car is an 05 Mercedes and theirs was a 98 Dodge Intrepid or something like that. I took my car by the body shop and the damage was about $150 to replace my grille and buff and paint the bumper. Anyway, we exchanged insurance information and the police came out, told us it was a just a minor thing, and left. Today, my insurance company called and said they had filed a claim against me which was substantial, but they didn't have a number figure for me yet, just wanted to see my car as soon as possible.

If the claim comes back at something like $500+, are there any avenues I can take? It's highly unlikely the damage on her car was more expensive than the damage on my car. Sometimes with these things, people with preexisting damage use these accidents to get everything fixed they needed. It also doesn't help that my car is registered on Kiawah Island and the other party lives in North Charleston.
 
Any chance the other driver is trying to claim injuries?
 
Liquid Karma said:
Any chance the other driver is trying to claim injuries?
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I have no idea. I cannot reasonably fathom how she could have been injured as slow as I was moving. She might be though. She did not claim any injury and assured the police she was fine at the scene, and said all she would need to do is paint the bumper. Then she called her dad, so I expect he might be trying to take me to the cleaners. She was a college student at CofC.

The police did say I was at fault for hitting the bumper. I don't know how I could get out of that given that is the standard, and there is no way I can prove her stupid decision to slam on the breaks to let someone turn in the middle of a bumper to bumper street at 5pm on Friday. I did tell him my story though but it didn't seem to matter.
 
greekdeac2011 said:
I have no idea. I cannot reasonably fathom how she could have been injured as slow as I was moving. She might be though. She did not claim any injury and assured the police she was fine at the scene, and said all she would need to do is paint the bumper. Then she called her dad, so I expect he might be trying to take me to the cleaners. She was a college student at CofC.

The police did say I was at fault for hitting the bumper. I don't know how I could get out of that given that is the standard, and there is no way I can prove her stupid decision to slam on the breaks to let someone turn in the middle of a bumper to bumper street at 5pm on Friday. I did tell him my story though but it didn't seem to matter.
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Were you given a police report? Did you photograph the other cars damage?

I would strongly advise not bringing a claim of your own to the insurance. Pay whatever it is to fix your own car. Probably already going to get hit with a rate increase with the other driver's claim but a claim by you would assure it. I'd suggest seeing if there's a way to get her to drop the claim and pay it out of pocket. If you feel the insurance claim is not right, tell your insurance company. But the whole reason for insurance is not having to deal with this crap. If they think it's wrong, they'll challenge the claim.
 
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Doesn't matter why she stopped - you're hosed on the fault thing (unless she hit someone/something in front of her first). But, good thing you took pictures - you should be able to fight any claim for substantial damages - especially on an old Intrepid...

BTW - pretty funny asking if there are any attorneys on the Wake boards... Of course, the insurance company will be the one that has to fight it and they will probably just roll over.
 
greekdeac2011 said:
I have no idea. I cannot reasonably fathom how she could have been injured as slow as I was moving. She might be though. She did not claim any injury and assured the police she was fine at the scene, and said all she would need to do is paint the bumper. Then she called her dad, so I expect he might be trying to take me to the cleaners. She was a college student at CofC.

The police did say I was at fault for hitting the bumper. I don't know how I could get out of that given that is the standard, and there is no way I can prove her stupid decision to slam on the breaks to let someone turn in the middle of a bumper to bumper street at 5pm on Friday. I did tell him my story though but it didn't seem to matter.
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First of all, take a deep breath. "You" are not getting taken to the cleaners, except for possibly paying a higher insurance premium. Yes, it sucks, but at the end of the day it's not a big deal, and it's not like they're going to clear out your bank account or anything.

Call the police department and ask for a copy of the accident report. The cop should have given you an FR-10, but not the full report, which should have your estimated speed at the time of the collision and estimated property damage on it. The mere fact that you rear-ended someone does not mean that you were solely at-fault, and you can try nagging the officer(s) to change that on the report. (I assume from your answer that they indicated that you contributed to the accident and that the other driver did not.) Sometimes they'll change it, sometimes they won't, but there's probably a decent chance that you can get them to mark that she also contributed.

As for the claim itself, there's nothing you can do about it. That's entirely up to your insurance company to settle (or not) as they see fit.
 
I know I was responsible regardless. I concede I cannot get out of that. The only thing the police gave me was a sheet with my name and information and the girl and her information, along with the box checked saying I was at fault, but no description of the accident and nothing about my speed or the conditions of the car. He said it was for the insurance companies to verify we had insurance. I didn't get anything else, a ticket, report, anything. The officer said it was a simple thing and just left the scene.
 
greekdeac2011 said:
I know I was responsible regardless. I concede I cannot get out of that. The only thing the police gave me was a sheet with my name and information and the girl and her information, along with the box checked saying I was at fault, but no description of the accident and nothing about my speed or the conditions of the car. He said it was for the insurance companies to verify we had insurance. I didn't get anything else, a ticket, report, anything. The officer said it was a simple thing and just left the scene.
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That's most likely the FR-10. Call the department and ask for a copy of the accident report. They cost $1 here, and I doubt they're much (if any) more expensive in Charleston. That will give you a better idea of what you're looking at, and if there's anything that it's essential you get changed, it's better to try it now than later.

Also, this.

TheTwinAndreBen said:
FB stalk her. Post pics.
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OldGoldBeard said:
That's most likely the FR-10. Call the department and ask for a copy of the accident report. They cost $1 here, and I doubt they're much (if any) more expensive in Charleston. That will give you a better idea of what you're looking at, and if there's anything that it's essential you get changed, it's better to try it now than later.

Also, this.
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I'll give them a call tomorrow and check on it. Hopefully I will be given a number on how much the claim the other party is filing as well. I might have to just call the parent since she doesn't seem to be handling it at all given the car is listed in her parents name. Legally, they might only be talking to them. If the claim is only for painting the bumper, I will try to just pay it out of pocket to avoid my premiums going up, though it might be too late with them already filing against me.
 
Absolutely do not hand over a dime to them unless they sign a release.
 
I'm young but I had something similar happen, but it was a health thing they claimed rather than a repair.

All you have to do is present all evidence you can find supporting your statement to your insurance (and court, if you have to go), and they will determine that they're full of shit. It sounds like they are just sucking money out of the situation. For me, it was a phone call where they asked me questions. The guy said he was going to have $1,000 in medical bills. When he got out of the car, he was walking normally and looking around, although he did complain about his neck hurting a little.

It's much less of a deal than you think. Good idea taking pictures. Seeing as you did that, you should be in the clear.
 
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Any chance you will provide the victim's name? I'd like to send her some helpful information regarding obtaining just compensation for the life changing experience she suffered from your reckless and possibly intentional acts.
 
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