QuestionHi Richard. I live in Texas, and I've been having a problem with
"the other party's insurance". The other day my girlfriend was
driving my car through our apartment parking lot and was hit.
She's not insured, although I have full coverage on my vehicle. It
was obviously the other guy's fault, but his insurance is trying to
hold us partially liable. Here are the details...
My girlfriend was leaving the apartment and driving through the
parking lot, when all of a sudden a guy pulled out from behind a
dumpster and backed into her. Hardly anything happened to his
truck, but my car is the one that suffered most of the damage.
Anyway, I filed a claim against his insurance company and
apparently when the adjuster called my girlfriend for her report,
the adjuster somehow twisted the story to make it sound like my
girlfriend hit him. She also said that since both drivers
supposedly had an obstructed view (the dumpster), she should
have been honking to let him know that she was driving through
the lot.
Anyway, the whole thing is screwed up. This case has already
gone through so many different hands. It was originally being
looked at by someone who got sick and passed the claim onto
someone else. The current adjuster hasn't come to a final
decision because she's been on vacation. Nobody has bothered
calling me back about anything. The only person that has called
me was someone from the other guy's insurance who told me to
get an estimate of my car. But throughout this whole ordeal, for
some reason or another, they didn't take pictures of either of
our cars. It's a long story, but his adjuster is trying to make us
take partial responsibilty for the accident, when it was clearly his
fault. Everyone I've talked to so far has said that it is always the
person backing up who is responsible for looking both ways in
the event of an accident.
Any ideas as to what to do? Am I right in saying that it is his
fault? Everyone else seems to think so. Thanks for your time
and help.
~Drew
AnswerI answered this question YESTERDAY but then my ISP crapped out and I couldn't send my reply so here goes again....
Parking lot accidents are tough for anyone to figure out who was at fault because the key issue of who had RIGHT OF WAY is often blurred and hard to determine.
Was your girlfriend in a marked lane/aisle or was she cutting through the lot?
Did your girlfriend talk with the other company or give them a recorded statement? If the former, then you can simply argue that they heard what they wanted to hear and in fact mis-construed what was said.
The insurance company has an argument/point when it brings up the issue of lines of sight/vision. With both cars having blocked views they should have slowed accordingly and used proper caution... might have avoided this accident.
Without knowing more about the loss mechanics I would preliminarily say that the accident was BOTH driver's fault. The BIG question is who was MORE at fault (e.g 50/50,60/40, 70/30, etc). That determination will determine what, if any, part (%) of your damages you will be able to recoup from the other company.
Your point about "backing" is well taken but it is not a 100% thing. Other cars need to be looking for/anticipating backing cars (especially in lots) and avoiding them.
You can always run this claim for damages back through you company under your COLLISION coverage (subject to your deductible) and let them duke it out with the other company. If they (your company) eventually prevail you will get your deductible back but this process may take weeks if not months.
Lastly, if you think the other insurance company is jerking you around you can file a complaint with yout state's State Insurance Depratment.
Hope and trust that the above answers your question(s).
Feel free to get back to me with any additional questions/issues relative to this matter.
Please take the time to rate this response in the various catagories.
Thanks
