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Auto Insurance Claims/car damage; not at fault
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Question
Hi,
Recently, someone hit me while I was stopped (he didn't notice me because he was on the phone). He hit my SUV on the passenger door and made a long, deep scratch that extended fron one end to the other of the door. His damage was also minor with a broken headlight and some corner bumper damage. When he hit me, since my car was stopped, he pushed my car over enough to make it skid a few feet over and hit the car next to me. The car next to me drove off. I noticed my alignment had been thrown off because my wheel was facing 2 o' clock when I drove off. Somehow, my suspension also got thrown off. My insurance doesn't want to fix my alignment/suspension problem because they claim there was no damage to the wheel, leading them to think my problem could be due to the wear & tear of driving. However, I know my wheel was not like this prior to the accident and I only have 41k miles on my car and I bought it at 28k miles. So I've only been driving it for 13k miles. It doesn't make sense to me but perhaps I'm missing something. Can my alignment and suspension be thrown off without my wheel having been damaged?
I'm afraid that I have to agree with your insurance company.
I would be physically impossible to push even the lightest car "a few feet" into a curb causing suspension damage but yet only have a deep crease at the point of impact.
If your car in a fixed position were hit hard enough in the right door to move it and cause misalignment due to impact on the other side, your door would be completely caved in and you'd also likely have structural damage to the right side.
Just stating the obvious.
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Answers by Expert:
webfoot
Expertise
Auto damage, liability, insurance fraud. I am a full time auto insurance adjuster with experience in collision, theft, liability and fraud investigation. I am also an ASE Master Auto Tech and I-Car Collision Platinum certified. My experience includes 15 years in the auto repair industry, a B.S. in Criminal Justice, Law enforcement and auto insurance. ****** NO "PRIVATE" QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED. I HAVE FOUND THAT NEARLY ALL PRIVATE QUESTIONS COME FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSIDERING OR ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT FELONY INSURANCE FRAUD AND I'M NOT HERE TO HELP YOU! ****** I AM HERE TO ANSWER AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR, CLAIMS PROCESS AND SOME SIMPLE LIABILITY QUESTIONS. I CANNOT ADDRESS COMPLEX LIABILITY SCENARIOS WITHOUT HAVING ALL OF THE INFO FROM BOTH SIDES IN FRONT OF ME. QUESTIONS ABOUT PREMIUMS OR HOW INSURANCE IS RATED SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO YOUR PERSONAL INSURANCE AGENT WHO KNOWS A WHOLE LOT MORE ABOUT YOUR HISTORY THAN I DO. I'VE NEVER SOLD INSURANCE AND DO NOT KNOW IF YOUR INDIVIDUAL INSURANCE RATES WILL GO UP IF YOU MAKE A CLAIM. THOUGH I'VE HANDLED SOME VERY MINOR SOFT TISSUE INJURY SETTLEMENTS, I PREFER NOT TO ANSWER INJURY RELATED QUESTIONS. I'M NO INJURY EXPERT AND I'LL LIKELY SAY SOMETHING TO HURT SOMEONE'S FEELINGS AS I BELIEVE THAT MANY SOFT TISSUE PAIN AND SUFFERING CLAIMS ARE OVER DRAMATIZED. UNLIKE MANY OTHERS, I AM ON THIS FORUM AS A VOLUNTEER WITH NO PRODUCTS OR SERVICES TO SELL AND PROMISE AN UPFRONT ANSWER BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE IN BOTH SIDES OF THE INDUSTRY. IF YOU PROVIDE ME WITH A HONEST VERSION OF EVENTS, I PROMISE A CANDID AND HONEST ANSWER IN RETURN. I CANNOT ADDRESS ALL CLAIM SCENERIOS DUE TO DIFFERING STATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS, BUT WILL DO MY BEST. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT AN HONEST ANSWER MAY BE ONE THAT YOU DON'T LIKE SO IF THAT IS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM, PLEASE DON'T ASK THE QUESTION. LASTLY, I DO NOT ACCEPT RATINGS AS I DON'T DO THIS FOR RATINGS AND WISH TO SPEAK FREELY.
Experience
20 years in automotive industry, Currently in insurance claims, worked actively as technician and shop owner until about 10 years ago. Current ASE Master Auto Tech and I-Car Platinum Collision Certifications, B.S. Criminal Justice and 10 year auto insurance/extended warranty background
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