Auto Insurance Claims: bike carriers, Liability Question
Question
bike carrier
A woman had this long bike carrier that was not visible, and therefore, we could not account for the extra room needed. The woman claimed she was "yielding" for an highway patrol man and "slammed" on her brakes - rather than pulling off to the right. It was on a six lane highway, that is supposed to keep traffic moving. The officer was going the opposite way. We were impaled by the iron rod. Nothing else made contact. The iron rod did tons of damage to our car, radiator, bumper, etc. The woman is claiming that her "car rack" was bent. She broke three ordinances and caused this accident. I believe she has done this before - you can see red paint on the "bike rack" that has no room for a bike. We are being "car 1" for running in to the extended iron rod that was not visible. Any recourse?
AnswerJody,
I don't think you'll like my opinion on liability. In my opinion, you guys were following too closely. If someone slams on their brakes and you're behind them, you should be far enough behind them to safely stop without colliding. Judging by the bike rack photo (thanks), if you hit the rack and not the SUV, then you guys were cutting it too close.
There is such a defense as "sudden and unavoidable", but it takes a lot to prove there was nothing you could do. If there were witnesses that could attest to the circumstances and they all agreed there was nothing you could do to avoid the accident due to the unusual circumstances, then you might have a chance.
JP
