QuestionI was in a collision and the other driver was 100% at fault for failing to yield and they received a ticket. I have an unbiased witness that i have not needed to use yet in this claim but i'm not sure if it will help.
I filed my claim for my car and have given them the estimate which came to 3000$ they called and spoke with my father because i was at school. They offered him to pay 70% of the estimate. I was perplexed that they would make an offer on such an accident where the person at fault was obvious. My dad said he asked for 90% and the agent is trying to settle at 80%. Since this is my car and my responsibility i will be forced to pay the remainder so every dollar counts as a minor. I am just really unsure of why they are trying to make me an offer on this. Is there any insight you can share to help me get the amount i need? I do not want to take this to a small claims court either for my family has no time while we are taking care of my disabled sister and maintaining our jobs. Any insight to help me get the best amount would be very appreciated.
AnswerYou apparently live in a state where the courts recognize what is known as "comparative negligence". Each party is only responsible for their share of the damages. If the other party's insurance company is only accepting 80 liability, then I'm sure that they've told you and your dad the reason for that decision. Why you've chosen to withhold that reason on the forum, I don't know. If this is a comparative negligence situation, it's also possible that the other insurance company will be pursuing your insurance company for 20 of the other driver's damages.
In an auto accident, there is usually some fault on the part of more than one driver. Of course there are exceptions such as being rear ended at a light etc. Most people that are rear ended though actually could have avoided it by not following the car in front of them so close that they'd have to jam on their brakes which causes a chain reaction. Many people do not give ample warning when turning and get rear ended.
I've known many people who have had accident after accident and states that none were their fault. However, there are also many folks who go 20 years between accidents. The difference isn't luck. It's degree of caution, speeds driven, ability to foresee potential hazardous situations and a genuine focus on accident avoidance. Knock on wood, I'm one of those in the latter group. I drive very close to the speed limit and lower when going through intersections or otherwise congested areas. When I see a car that is waiting to pull out into the flow of traffic, I either change lanes or slow down in anticipation of that driver not seeing me. I let my foot off the gas and have it hovering over the brake pedal when going through any traffic light. I drive every day for my job and have people pull out in front of me nearly every day as well, but I anticipate this and am able to avoid a collision.
There are two civil legal duties that may be at play in your situation. Once is maintaining a safe speed and the other is called "last clear chance". If they have evidence to believe that your driving lacked caution or that you chose not to take an appropriate amount of evasive action to avoid the collision, then you may have some liability. This evidence may lie in the damage to the vehicles given the speed limit, the location of the damage or the location of the accident on the actual roadway. If the other driver managed to make it from the right side of the road way nearly to the other side and were struck near the rear, that is an indication that another alert driver proceeding at a safe speed should have been able to avoid a collision.
I'm not saying this was the case with your accident but it is an example.
To fully address your situation, I'll need more detailed information about what happened.
