My husband was in an accident last month. He was turning left, after the light turned red on a busy street at about 5 pm. A young woman ran the light, speeding, and hit him. Her insurance company told my husband that they would not even look at the van until she had been to court to fight the ticket, because if she got out of the ticket, they would claim they were not responsible and not pay to repair the damage. She went to court, and so did my husband and a pedestrian who was almost hit by her when she ran the light. When my husband spoke with the prosecutor, she tired to get him to say that this was also his fault! She said that he should not have been in the intersection if he couldn't turn before the light turned green...what a bunch of garbage. My husband passed two lanes of traffic before she hit him. Her insurance company, State Farm, is refusing to pay for damage to our van because they say he should have made sure no one was going to hit him when he made his turn. So now I have an injured van, and an injured husband, and no money to repair either Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Just when we were getting ready to finally buy a house, this happens.
Have you tried contacting your insurance company and claiming with them. Then they would go after State Farm to get the money back. Also, have you tried suing the girl or hiring an injury lawyer? They would take care of all the details. You can find one in the yellow pages or on t.v.
Our insurance company cannot cover the damage because we have liability only on that van. We have an attorney, but she said we would have to pay $$ upfront for her to take the case, and we don't have the money. We are going to attempt to sue the girl. She has not told her insurance co. that the light was yellow! (Sure, all the rest of the rush hour traffic stopped on yellow, and the "walk" light lit up on yellow for the pedestrian to begin crossing the street) Thanks for the suggestions!
A close relative of mine had a similar type accident several months ago. A car ran a stop sign and broadsided her car. She called her auto insurance co and they took care of everything. The Ins. Co. went after the Ins. Co. of the other driver. To make a long story short after it was all said and done her car was repaired, she got $ for value depreciation of the car because of the accident, and through her lawyer got 15K for her injuries. I would suggest starting with your insurance company. Whatever happens good luck. EdG
That is right. If you had physical damage coverage you could file and your company would pay, and then subrogate (get it from State Farm). Sue her yourself. State Farm's way of handling claims is "deny, deny, deny.." Sorry about your troubles
Can you secure a positive witness statement from the pedestrian? If so, you have an unbiased witness to verify your version. Also, what was the point of impact on your car? If she struck your vehicle in the side rear portion of your car it proves you had the intersection pretty much cleared and complete control of the intersection also. She should have avoided you or stopped.Did the police come to the scene? What did they document on the police report?If the person was tickted the police must have a reason to issue a ticket to the other party? Check your state laws on rules for clearing the intersection when your light is red. More than likely if you were sitting in the middle of the intersection and the light then turned red you have the right to turn left. If you have an unbiased witness, rear point of impact, and the other party received a citation, any Atty will take on the case. If you have med pay coverage on your policy you can collect for your med bills then your insurance co. can investigate and subrogate for you. If they prove fault then you collect for property damage too!
What??? Your husband is injured and your lawyer wants money to take his case??? Get a different lawyer...one that works on contingency. Even if your husband was partly at fault, the girl was negligent as well. What state do you live in? Also, would not speak with girl's insurance company...would definately lawyer up. L
I agree, find a lawyer that will work on contingency. They usually want 30-50% of your settlement, but you can also probably sue for attorney's fees. Since you only have liability coverage, your own insurance company has absolutely no incentive to go to bat for you, except to keep from paying for any damage to the other girl's car. Try to avoid taking partial fault for the accident, if you are both at fault, your insurance rates will go up as well as hers. -ingenue
The car that is already in the intersection has the right away over any car not in the intersection. does not matter what direction the out side car is aproaching from nor does it matter what color the light is for the aproaching car.
Thanks for all the replies! I just received the file from the attorney. They said it would cost $3000 to represent him for this because they would have to hire someone to reconstruct the accident. State Farm gave the law that they say my husband violated ! ( I am so very, very angry) and that they used to deny the claim. Here it is, parapharased: The operator of a vehicle, intending to turn left within an intersection shall yield the right of way to a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction whenever the approaching vehicle is within the intersection or so close to the intersection as to constitute an immediate hazard. She was speeding and ran a red light, so she entered the intersection very quickly, and without being seen by my husband. This is so ridiculous. I am afraid that now State Farm has decided it is my husbands fault that they will try to get my ins. co. to pay for her car, which was totalled, because she was going so fast. We think it is a miracle that she got out of the car at all. I know there must be other witnesses, but I don't know how to find them. The one who gave a statement says that the light must have been red because she had a walk signal, and that one lane of traffic was stopped and another coming to a stop. Then she saw that this car was going too fast to stop for the light and going to run it. She swerved to try to hit my husband's van. Sorry this is so long. The attorney recommends filing against the driver ourselves and hoping that the ins co settles, but they may counter sue and try to get our ins to pay for her damages. Just when we are getting ready to buy a house. We cannot afford a mess like this!! Thanks for listening, if anyone is still out there If anyone has any other comments or advice, both would be appreciated.
Her ticket was changed from running a red light to speeding. She got 0 points on her license and a $30 fine.
Not that I am aware of! My husband got a ticket for parking in front of our own home and it was $75! How did she get a speeding ticket for $30? This whole thing is just not right. The prosecutor seemed to be on her side from the moment my husband spoke with her. She tried to convince my husband that this was his fault, and the ins. co. denied the claim because they said it was his fault. Something is fishy, I don't know what to do... I guess I'll try another attorney and see if they give me the same answer. I am so very angry...
