So I'm basically going to be ranting here but bear with me.. My husband was in a car accident while driving home from work on Wednesday evening around 4pm. He was in his lane, going the speed limit and was cut off by an older woman. He had slowed down to let her pass, and when she didn't, he continued to proceed, when she came into his lane, basically driving him off the road and head on into a telephone poll. His jeep was wrecked, front end totally smashed, while the woman had not a scratch on her car. She stopped to see if he was okay and even waited for the police. When my husband told the police officer what had happened and the officer proceeded to question the woman, she denied any wrongdoing and said she simply stopped to see if he was okay. Without her honest statement, this is now a he said, she said deal and our car insurance cannot go after hers for damages as it stands. They will try but they admitted that they believe her insurance will dismiss our claim. My husband got a concussion and bruised ribs and his vehicle is gone. Not only am I livid that this woman could have killed my husband with her reckless driving, but we are now without a second vehicle, which does not work with our overlapping work schedules, our two preschoolers' schedules and my many prenatal visits, which every other week are out of the city. We now have to pay out of our pockets for another reliable vehicle, due to no fault of ours, while this woman gets away scott free. I have been thinking, since there were two banks directly across the street from the accident scene, would we be able to inquire and/or obtain a copy of any footage they may have on their security cameras that may have caught the accident as it happened?? Without that or a witness stepping forward, we are officially screwed over in this situation. Don't get me wrong, my number one priority is making sure my husband is okay, but he is also very upset about this. It's true, it may only be a vehicle, but this was my husband's dream car, which he put a lot of time and money into to make it "his". I know I'm just freaking out here but any thoughts anyone has would be appreciated.
That is a very good idea for you to get the police to look at those videos which are timed. Go to the scene of the accident to look around ask neighbors on the street if they saw what happened. Don't wait as tapes can be erased and people forget.
Zaba has a search of a person's background. It costs $40. If you have the woman's name you can find out if she has DUI's or other matters of record that pertain to this case.
If the police did not issue any infractions that video won't matter. My brother was in an accident similar; the guy apologized and admitted fault but when the police showed up he lied. I was in an accident in Philly where the driver and passenger switched places, the ppl in the back seat got out with a gun; they were fleeing a shooting and when I told the cop he said; it's raining I'm not getting out of the car! I was hit by a drunk driver but bc there were no tickets written there was nOthing I could do.
I am sooo sorry this happened to your family!!! I would definitely contact the banks and ask them. Also, post something on craigslist and ask if anyone saw anything to contact you. It is NOT right that this woman gets away with this. Just remember though-even if you don't see her have to pay for it, she will be caught one day.....
M
The cops should be able to determine what happened by the skid marks.
I'd def check the bank cams too.
My first thought when I began reading this is that there may be security cameras nearby. It can't hurt to ask the banks or have your insurance company do so on your behalf.
This is a real bummer. I was involved in an accident because of an old crazy driver and he took off. He fled. He got the hell out of there. Left me shaking but thankfully not seriously injured and with a smashed up Jeep. It was awful. A few months later, I guy I knew as an acquaintence said, "Man...are you all right? I was behind you when that little old man was driving like a maniac and I thought to myself that he was going to cause a wreck. " I said, "Why didn't you stop or say anything or at least call the police department and report what you saw?" He said he was on his way to a job that morning and couldn't stop and he figured someone else would say something. Well....they didn't.
I'm a single mom and to say it was a huge hassle is an understatement.
It seems odd that a woman would stop and stay for the police to arrive out of the goodness of her heart when your husband says she was the cause of the accident. Maybe your insurance company can try to get a more detailed "witness" statement from her that will somehow show something about her just isn't adding up.
I don't know how fast your husband was going, but I know my Jeep was really smashed up in front and I took it to an amazing body shop that did all the repairs, even the mechanical stuff. You couldn't tell I'd ever been in a wreck at all. I had full coverage insurance at the time. I'm sure you've looked into all that, but it's pretty amazing what they can do with wrecked cars. I was certain mine was a gonner.
I'm glad your husband wasn't more seriously hurt and I hope things work out.
Take care!
Did your Husband get her license plate number? See if that woman had reckless driving violations before.
Did she even have, insurance?
Did anyone take photos of the scene... as is and as the vehicles were when the police got there???
Skid marks?
Put a notice in the newspaper, saying you are seeking Witnesses to the accident.
Check with the Bank too, for camera footage.
You just do, whatever you can, to solve this.
But the woman is lying through her teeth.
Check your state laws - many have no fault laws, and each insurance pays their own.
Did her car make contact with his? If so that would be different. People lie all the time. Car accidents are terrible and traumatic big or small....Most importantly your husband is alive. There were no witnesses? If there was than it would make this process so much easier. Keep investigating and your claim's adjuster should be made aware of the conflicting stories...In the meantime that's why you have insurance to protect yourself whether you're fault or not...So sorry about this but understand where you're coming from.
I work at an insurance company and i would definitely get your adjuster and investigators involved and do not close the claim! They have technologies and methods they can use to investigate and get to the bottom of things. It may be more feasible to have them contact banks, etc for surveilince tapes. if you have the right coverage the ins company should cover your damages.
Also, investigators can use black box technology (if they are newer cars) to do analysis on the driving patterns of her car. if it showed she was speeding up and slowing down, that would at least back his story and warrant further investigation.
I know it;s a hassle, but at least he wasn't more seriously hurt.
Its worth a shot! Go ahead and explain your situation to the banks and see if they can help you out...good luck..
Try posting an ad in the local paper and on Craigs List for witnesses. Someone might come forward for you.
I agree that there is no harm in asking the bank if they have cameras on the outside pointed in that direction and if you would be able to get footage from this time/date of the accident. Also see if you can press charges against her, have the police obtain the footage from the bank if the bank needs to hand it over to an authority figure.
So frustrating! I have no advice, unfortunately. I might have some idea of your frustration - a few years ago, I saw 2 dogs running around the icy/snowy neighborhood, recognized them and returned them home. As I turned to leave the home, I slipped on ice and literally flew in the air, landing on my right arm at the bottom of 12steps. Crushed my wrist and arm. I screamed for help, another neighbor came to my side, helped me, then looked at the steps. He made a comment about all of the ice on the steps.
I had no plans of suing the owner, it was an accicent and one can't always remove all traces of ice on their property. But I received a phone call from the homeowner's insurance agent a few days later, accusing me of all sorts of things, the 'helpful neighbor' claims to have seen no ice at all, and I felt I needed an attorney at that point to protect me and handle any conversations.
I ended up getting $1,000 from the homeowner's insurance, which made a teensy dent in the surgery, titanium wrist/arm, year-long therapy 3x/week.
So, maybe calling an attorney to see if there's anything you're missing or not thinking about will help? Good luck!
Sorry to hear about the accident. Depending on your coverage, your insurance will pay for the car, minus your deductible. Plus, they'll provide you with a rental till they figure out how much your old car was worth. At least that's what my company did when I was hit by an uninsured driver. The only problem was that, that driver lied and said he was covered. So for awhile, I was stuck in a limbo between the two insurance companies. Finally mine came through when they verified that the other driver's account had been cancelled for non-payment. Of course, what the insurance company will pay you is far less than the car's real worth to you. Especially if you had it paid off. Check into the blue book value of the old car, then start shoppingvso you're ready to go when the insurance company cuts you a check. Good luck!
It is too bad that this woman isn't stepping up and being honest but I would think that your insurance would be there for you irregardless. It is worth a shot to see if the banks cameras happened to catch anything...I would think you would have more luck if your insurance company contacts them instead of you doing it personally. Was there no contact what so ever between the two cars? I can't imagine that there is no evidence of contact at all. Let your insurance company help you out, they have lawyers that are trained in dealing with all of this.
As you said...just concentrate on the fact that your husband survived this without any serious injuries.
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