Auto Insurance Claims: Arbitration & Small Claims Court, arbitration decision, small claims court

Question
QUESTION: I was in an auto accident in sept 09 & the case went to arbitration.  I don't carry collision coverage on my car, so I paid for all my damages ($1900).  Her insurance carrier asked for a 100% judgement finding and were turned down in the final decision.  The accident happened on a two-way street with no markings, I was ahead of her and was on the far right side of the road. I slowed down to make a left turn into a parking lot.  I'm not sure if she didn't realize that I was turning and swerved or what, but she hit my left front fender & tire. I called the police but they wouldn't come out because of no injuries.  No witnesses & no police report.  The arbitration decision didn't side with her but since my company didn't pay anything, they was no decision on our side.  I would like to file in small claims court for my costs, what are my chances?

ANSWER: I would imagine that your chances of proving your case in small claims court would be slim. That is, having failed to do that in the arbitration, and if you have no other witnesses or evidence to support your side of the events there is no reason to expect a better outcome.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I suppose I'm confused on how arbitration worked, because since I paid for my damages, my company didn't initiate arbitration.  The other company submitted to ask for 100% my fault ruling and the arbitrator denied the claim, but never ruled on who was at fault past that one question (ex: 20% me 80% her, etc).  Why wouldn't a company ask for fault overall, not just if a person was 100% at fault?  So my company isn't paying out to hers, but hers won't pay to me.

Answer
Most of the arbitrations I've been involved in are non-binding. I can't imagine why the attorney for your side (appointed by your insurance company) didn't demand a ruling from the panel directing the other company to pay for your damages. Perhaps you should send a demand letter to the other party's insurer with a cc to the other party, based on the outcome of the arbitration. Be sure to let them know you will be pursuing this in small claims court.