QuestionYesterday, my girlfriend was driving to school on the highway. Seattle traffic is horrid so she was bumper to bumper with the cars in front of her. The woman driving directly in front of her stamps the brakes and stops immediately, and my girlfriend lightly bumps her car.
The two get out and check for damages, there is none at first glance. They pull over and check again, zero damage to either car. Not even scratched paint or indentation.
It was observed that my girlfriend was at fault but the impact was almost no greater than what the woman would have suffered from her erratic braking technique that caused the accident.
From what I understand, the woman said "Just to be safe, I'm going to report this to my insurance. Because I've had experience before where I was rear-ended and my bumper fell off."
Not to speak for the driving behavior of the woman, but I'm sensing a pattern perhaps...
They check for damages one more time and there's not even the slightest scratch. The woman even put her bumper to the test by trying her hardest to wiggle it and get it to move.
Both my girlfriend and the woman agreed that there was zero damage. And the two went on about their day. So, less than 5 minutes was observed from the time of accident to when they left.
This morning, my girlfriend gets a call from her insurance agent, who states that the woman is filing a personal injury claim against her.
At this point, I know this song and dance routine as I've seen it happen with my mom and another driver, in the same situation. No visible, textural or physical damage to the car at a sub-5MPH impact. The insurance rep states that there will be no money paid for damages since there was none, so the woman fabricates a personal injury story.
Granted, any injury she would have obtained from the crash would've been caused by her over-reactive flailing of her body in frustration of the accident, in which my girlfriend witnessed. So, this was a post-impact self-inflicted injury, if any injury at all.
Again, if there was no damage to either vehicle whatsoever, at an impact agreeably below 5MPH... what case could this woman possibly have other than to fraud her insurance with zero proof or feasibility that the accident caused her direct harm?
In my opinion, being a martial artist and physical therapist, there is no way she could have sustained any injury that would allow her to feel pain later in the day after getting off work. It takes 20-30 hours for soft tissue damage to develop any sort of pain or sensation from inflammation...
So how ridiculous does this woman sound and how well do you think her case would hold up in court? I'm advising my girlfriend to fight it tooth and nail. It is complete bull that this woman is riding on from my point of view. Pardon the expression.
What can my girlfriend do to fight this and completely avoid paying anything. We're both poor college students so or cash flow is at the minimum. I believe the woman has no case and is trying to fraud her insurance. And if I'm mistaken, isn't that a felony?
If it is found she fabricated the injury, is there a possibility of a counter-claim? Or pursuit by the criminal courts to prosecute her for Insurance Fraud? Or is this taking it a little too far?
Thank you much and I look forward to your outstanding legal advice!
AnswerHi Joseph,
This sort of thing happens all the time. Your girlfriend should just let her insurance company handle everything. They will investigate the accident, inspect and photograph the vehicles and will either deny the claim or will make a small settlement offer in exchange for a full release.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
