Expert: Anne - 12/1/2008

Question
My daughter was in a accident and the police had determined the other driver was at fault. The other driver was over the center line, and my daughter [stated] that she never saw that the other driver was over the line. All she remembers is that she was thrown forward and her glasses flew off her face. Her car, being older has only liability coverage, so our insurance company is good at advising us but will not help beyond that. The other insurance company is denying the claim, indicating that my daughter is partially at fault because she never saw that their client was over the line. That also indicated that the Police report only reflects the best judgment of the officer and since there were no witnesses recorded at the scene, that all facts were heresy based on the officer’s word and experience. Their ‘delaying’ tactics also cheated us out of several days worth of car rental even if they had honored the claim.

I believe my choice now would be small claims court, but my wife is afraid that the other driver will be encouraged by their insurance company to counter-claim, and she does not want to risk a settlement on their behave against us. That would mean that we swallow up the cost of the car, the 7 days of storage fees, towing, etc.

The other driver was cited.

Answer
Hello Glen,

You have two options. 1. You push your insurance company to go to arbitration (both insurance companies go up and battle up and have a final decision). Or 2. You sue in small claims court.

Yes they could retaliate, but in a way that is what you are doing. You are asking for a negligence decision. If the other driver is 90% at fault, that means that you are 10% at fault. The court will determine the actual percentages.

The court will listen to all parties and you will have a change to explain what happened. In arbitration, it will be the insurance company doing it and it will only be from the record, your views and explanations rarely make it to the arbitration panel. In any event, you should stand up for your self and have them pay you what is owed.

Remember that if you go to court, a judge can determine the amount of damages. If the judge believes that the 7 days of storage and the towing are owed, the insurance company will not have any other choice but to pay.

For more information about arbitration on how that process works, visit:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/arbitration.html

For more information about Small Claims Court, visit:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/small-claims-court.html

Good Luck