QuestionSo two days ago, I was making a right hand turn onto a parallel street.
About half a block from that point I hear someone behind me honking
furiously and look behind me to see a car right on my bumper. I had
already been travlling slowly since I had just turned and it is a very
narrow double-lined road with no shoulder so seeing her so close caused
me to slow down more. The result is that the other driver swerved
around me on the double line, pulled in front of me and breaked. When I
accused her or doing it on purpose, she said I had pulled out in front of
her and she pulled around me to avoid a collision and once she pulled in
front of me she had tapped the breaks to slow down and due to her
alignment being very bad from driving her car down some train tracks,
the breakes locked causing me to hit her. In my opinion the accident was
clearly her fault. However my license and insurance had both expired
about a month ago and she had three prior accidents, even though she
was only 19, so we decided not to call the police. However I did give her
my information (name, phone number, etc.) and signed a piece of paper
she wrote up stating I would repair the damage. My reasoning at the
time was that her damage so so minimal that the cost of repairing would
be less than the citations I would receive from involving the police. Her
mother called me yesterday to say the amount of the damage is $1200.
The accident severly damaged my hood and grill but only left white marks
on her otherwise black car. I asked the lady if her daughter had informed
her how the accident happened and she said no so I gave her the details.
She then said she didn't care how it happened because her daughter
didn't file a police report to keep me out of trouble and she expected
payment for the damages because insurance would find me at fault no
matter what due to her being rearended. Today, I reinstated my license
and renewed my insurance. Should I get a police report now to prove
fault (she retold her side of things to witnesses at the scene the same
way I described above)? Should I file a claim now with my insurance and
just be done with this crazy woman? Would I still be cited now for driving
on a suspended license at the time even though its now valid? Would I
have a leg to stand on if I went to court? Would I be determined at fault
despite that the accident was a result of her breaking both the speed
limit and passing on a double line? I am just sick about this because I feel
that the estimate she is giving me is for damage caused by other
accidents.
AnswerHi Stephanie,
Under the circumstances you will have no choice but to pay for the damage. If you file a police report you would receive citation for no insurance and driving on a suspended license which is a major offense. The fact that you reinstated tham after the fact does not matter, you did not have them on the date of the collision. The other problem is that this was a rear end collision. You are almost always at fault when you rear end someone. How it happened will be your word against hers. The other problem is that you signed a paper stating you would pay for the damage. This is an admission of liability and a contract to pay. If this went to court you would surely lose.
As for the cost of repairs, you should ask for a copy of a detailed written estimate of the damage. You can also ask her to meet you at another body shop to assess the damage and have another estimate written. That way you can actually get an explanation of what is damaged and the cost to repair it. Unfortunately, $1200.00 is not alot for body repairs. That sounds like just replacement of the rear bumper cover, painting it and labor.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
