I was in an accident and the insurance company has ruled it my fault. I disagree with this ruling and am going to fight it. I've been told claims rulings are rarely overturned. Does anyone have any advice on what I should say in my defense?
Here is what happened. I was driving on the freeway at or about the speed limit. I heard an "explosion" and veered toward the center divide, barely scraping it, which in turn spun me out across 3 lanes of traffic and I came to rest along the shoulder. Miraculously no other cars were involved! It turns out the axel broke or snapped off. I lost the entire wheel on the freeway. Although CHP was called, no one arrived and I was towed home.
The claims department said on the phone that I failed to maintain the vehicle and therefore it was my fault (I've always had the car serviced at a mechanic and the tires were installed and rotated at Costco). Then when I received the letter, it just stated that the accident at more the 50% my fault (not that it was a maintenance issue). The claims department says that there is a vehicle code that says it's my fault therefore they are going to report me to DMV and I am going to get a point on my license. The car is 10.5 years old, but that shouldn't affect the decision (or does it).
I am looking for anyone who works in a claims department or has dealt with this issue and what are the best strategies to "fight" the claim against me. I feel that if the axel broke, I had no fault in that. The car is driven under normal conditions 5 days a week - it's our commute car, so we don't travel anywhere but work with it (no hilsl, just freeway driving). And considering I didn't hit anyone else, it could have been a lot worse for the insurance company and me.
I would certainly hire an attorney
and fight it. I'd also get statements from other drivers that have had similar vehicle accidents and statements from vehicle maintenance workers.
Have you checked to make sure there wasn't a recall on your car's axel that wasn't performed? Similar thing happened to me with our Toyota truck. Ended up there was a recall that we had not been notified of. They ended up paying for fixing everything. Call your local dealer and give them the vin number. They can check for recalls and will definitely tell you if there are any as they will get paid by the manufacturer to fix your car. Good luck!
Maintenance or not, it was a single car collision. No one hit you to clearly cause the accident. Like it was said before, you heard an explosion. Was it it in your car or from outside the vehicle? Without knowing what caused the noise you have no case to go up against the insurance. If the explosion came from your car, you can take it to a professional mechanic. Believe it or not ask the insurance company for a referral, not your claims person but your agent. By using someone they recommend they cannot dispute the findings. Do not go to your own mechanic because you are trying to get them in trouble and they may be less than honest with you. Anyway, have a mechanic go over your car completely! Bring the broken axel too!!! Have them examine it! If they can find a fault caused by one of your maintenance visits that caused the noise, and possibly caused you to lose control of your vehicle, then the blame "could" fall to the the company who did the maintenance. But with only what you provided above, it would be an entirely uphill battle to fight the company. I wouldn't recommend it.
(PS I am not longer, but was a claims adjuster for 10+ years)
Hi Momma-
You need to get your records together proving that you maintained the car as well as humanly possible. Cars do break down, that is inevitable. I would have a mechanic tell you what caused the axle to break. If you can prove that you have done EVERYTHING to keep this car in perfect working order, they shouldn't put you at fault. But insurance is tricky, and saying that it is more than 50% your fault can be 50.###-###-####% you for not buying a new car. It's pretty ridiculous that you pay so much into insurance and that they treat you like a criminal most days. Anyway, that is my suggestion. A well maintained car should not just break down without other cause, but you will have to prove that to get your money's worth. I hope that helps (and the failure of any state patrol to show up at the scene of an accident is UNCALLED FOR!!!!!! What if you were bleeding to death?)
Good luck!
-E.
I also want to say that after reading through all the responses, I do agree with Shane below. I have had to hassle with my insurance for a number of things, including how new my car was verses the damage, but I have also had them pay (minus the deductible) everything to fix my car and cover a decent rental. It's a double edged sword, insurance, and the DMV may be a good place to start as far as points on your license. But the insurance company should help pay for replacement or to fix your car.
Good luck mama!
I know this is upsetting for you but I think you are taking the fact that the accident was deemed to be your fault too personally. You were the only one involved and thank goodness no other vehicles also had claims from the accident. Getting it all sorted out through different insurance companies can be a real mess.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not necessarily about assigning "blame" to you, but the fact remains that you were involved in a single vehicle accident. A tree from someone else's propery didn't fall on your car, you didn't crash as the result of something that fell out of the back of another vehicle, you didn't wreck as a result of freeway construction that wasn't properly marked...the axle on your car broke. Plain and simple. And though it wasn't your intentional "fault", there is nowhere else to assign liability unless you can prove you had just left having the undercarriage of your car fully inspected and was told it was safe hours prior to the accident.
That actually happened to my daughter. She bought new tires and got two blocks when one of her wheels came completely off because they didn't tighten the lug nuts. She walked back to the tire place and they went to get her car and paid for all the damages that were obviously due to their negligence. She didn't even have to bother with her insurance because they took care of everything, immediately.
I had a terrible accident on a frozen bridge on my way to work one morning. Was it my fault the bridge was frozen? No. But my car sustained major damages that I fully expected my insurance to cover.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that in your case, there is nothing to explain your accident beyond mechanical failure and things like that happen. Tires blow, your power steering pump might go out.
You can try to fight with your insurance company about who is at "fault", but unless you can prove some outside liability, it is what it is.
If I were you, I would call the DMV and get their version of what it means when an accident is reported to them, what getting a point towards you means, and how long it stays on your record. Your insurance should cover the damages, depending on your policy type and your rates may go up for a bit, but the points usually go away after such a period of time with no other infractions or accidents. I have worked at insurance agencies and you would faint if you knew how many "high risk" drivers are on the road. That one point, I know, will make you crazy if you let it, but there are people with a lot more than that.
So, take a deep breath. Call the DMV. Look up the vehicle code your insurance company gave you and try to understand that in insurance language, liability and fault aren't always the same thing and it's not personal. It's bad enough this happened to you and now you feel like someone is telling you it's your "fault". It was an accident. Accidents happen. That's why we have insurance. But, from an insurance standpoint, at least from what you have explained, there is nowhere else to go for recovery of damages. Therefore the liability will automatically fall back on the person driving the vehicle at the time of the accident.
I wish you the best and hope it works out for you. But, fighting with your own insurance company might not be the best thing for you to do. You can shop around for other carriers, but doing so after an accident and having a point added to you, your rates will likely be high with companies that have no experience with you other than this.
Let us know how it works out.
Hi there,
I don't have an answer for you, but if you would like I can refer you to a great lawyer. A friend of mine was in an accident and the insurance company said that her car was "fixable." She felt it was not and wanted a new car. This lawyer fought for her against the insurance company and they came to a good settlement. So, if you could like me to connect you with the lawyer, just email me at ____@____.com or respond to this post on mamapedia. Best of luck to you! So sorry you're having to deal with this.
Best,
K. Spears
I also worked in claims for 11+ years and I completely agree with Shane's advice.
Your 'loss' was the result of a collision- the car collided with the road when the axle broke then with the median wall. You were incredibly lucky no one else was involved. The insurance company I worked for used to "forgive" your first point but could raise your rates if you got a 2nd point within 4 years. As long as you aren't making an injury claim, you have a 1 point loss.
The intent of filing a SR-1 with the DMV was to notify them of the accident and prove you had sufficient insurance. DMV would then match your info with the other party's and make a note on both driving records. All your driving record says is you were involved in an accident, the date and city/county where it occured. It doesn't list circumstances or who is at fault. Legally you must file one if there is over $750 in damages or if there are injuries. I would ask the DMV about solo losses. I've been out of claims for a while but my understanding was DMV didn't care about solo losses.
As for fighting your liability determination, any self-respecting attorney will not take your case. In order for the insurance company to say you are not at fault, you have to be able to tell them who IS at fault. Cars are subject to wear and tear and stuff happens, plain and simple. Unless you had your car at the mechanic within a few days prior to the accident, he isn't responsible. Costco sells and installs tires. Pointing out suspension problems isn't their job so they aren't responsible either. Unfortunately, that leaves you. No one likes to have the finger pointed at them especially if its going to cost them money.
My best advise is this- Pay your deductible and thank your lucky stars you are okay and no one else was involved. I handled several fatality claims resulting from accidents that happened exactly like yours.
As far as the accident being your fault unless you can prove where the explosion was at and the exact time it happened sorry to say but it is your fault. Trying to get this proven is going to be very, very hard to do. And as far as car maintenance Most everyone does not properly maintain their car! It's a fact of life...properly maintaining your car is expensive and no one does it 100% or even close to that. That is one of the perks the insurance companies like to take advantage of. You know that every time you hit the curb you are suppose to take your vehicle in for a new re-alignment. Expensive! You can still try and fight it but I can just say it will more then likely be a waste of time, energy and frustration!
From what I have seen----
Unless you can show the car had a manufacture defect or something similiar it is unlikely that you can get it overturned. Look up the vehicle code they provided you and see what it says.
