Auto Insurance Claims: accident with cop., cop claim, police crash

Question
05/20/08 i got my 2008 Honda accord. first day with it and by the end of the night i was making a left hand turn when a Newport beach officer smashed right into the front right passenger side of my brand new car. every one but my brother was all right thanks to the side airbags going off. my brother was still in a lot of pain due to the fact that he had just gotten a Lumbar puncture (a spinal tap). my question is whats going to happen since this accident was with an officer and not a regular civilian? i literally had the car for 10 hours or so. I've never been in any accidents and i don't feel i was at fault, he hit me both had green lights i was turning left. thank you.-Zul

Answer
Man,

Well, you are in a difficult spot. Believe or not, cops get a lot of preferential treatment when it comes to claim. No one wants to put the fault on an officer that is out there serving duty. The question is going to depend on whether or not the police officer was in an official business (following someone, responding to a call, etc).

If she did, maybe she had to had her lights on, sirens, etc. But if they were not in official business, then the rules of a normal car accident apply. Usually, vehicles making a left have a duty to yield even when the have a green solid light (unless it is an arrow left). The adjuster has to go to the scene and determine if you had to yield or not.

It is possible that both drivers had some fault, but again, a scene investigation must be done.

Good Luck,
Anne
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com