Auto Insurance Claims: Car total loss, no contact accident, other driver at fault., Car total loss, no contact accident

Question
QUESTION: A couple of months ago, I was forced out of my lane by a truck in the #1 lane who didn't see me next to him.  It was either move or be hit, so I moved and lost control of my car.  My car rolled down an embankment and was considered a total loss by the insurance company.  The insurance company is now giving us grief saying that since there was no contact, the other driver won't be considered 100% at fault.  The police report has the other driver (who has the same insurance company as we do) 100% at fault (by the other driver's admission).

Now, the insurance is only offering 50% for loss of use of a vehicle (we didn't carry it) and will pay for doctor bills plus a little bit over that.  We've contacted a lawyer who will be helping with the injury portion (the insurance company doesn't know we've got a lawyer yet).

My question is how can they consider me 50% at fault?  It only seems natural to take evasive action if you think you're going to be hit.

ANSWER: Hello Dianne,

I am sorry to hear about your accident. What a bummer. You have an attorney and they are the best people to help you with fault.

Generally speaking, you could be consider at fault if your reaction was  an "over reaction." In other words, you could have avoided the accident without losing control of the car. This is a hard standard, but it appears this is what the insurance company is claiming. This is probably even more so because this is a dual insurance claim (same insurance company for everyone).

Therefore, you do have to dispute this vigorously, as the insurance company probably wants to "split" the baby to keep both policy holders happy.

See more about fault here:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/Fault-for-the-Accident.html

Also, great articles about total loss here:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/totaling-a-vehicle.html

I hope this helps,
Good Luck
Anne
http://www.quirogalawoffice.com/
http://www.spokanebankruptcy.org/


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

QUESTION: Thank you for the most excellent link.  There are a couple of things I remember about the accident (split seconds to make life changing decisions, for sure). One was I couldn't figure out why the car was facing forward and I wasn't going forward, but sliding sideways (which you can tell from the pictures of the skid marks).

I've been seeing a chiropractor from the day after the accident, but this week I'm going to see about getting to another doctor (I'm still so sore, it was bad this morning, I'm 56 and don't bounce back like I used to) and maybe get some counseling for the terror I feel in traffic. I hate this hypervigilance that came from nowhere. When I'm a passenger, I'm braking and white knuckling the door.  It sucks.

Answer
Hello Dianne,

Yeah, you will have several repercussions because of someone who was not paying attention. Do tell your attorney all the side effects this accident is having in your life. You should be compensated for that (fear).

I truly hope you feel better.

Good Luck
Anne