Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 5/4/2009

Question
Dear Sir,

I got rear-ended a couple weeks ago, on my way to the oral surgeon. It was a very small bump, but it was annoying. The lady that bumped me has state farm, and she kept denying that she did anything.

There was a policeman in the scene (that was pulling over another driver), and I am not sure if he saw what happened or not, but he did tell the lady that it is very possible that she did bump me.

State Farm came over and took pictures of my car, and decided that my claim is denied because the dent (although license plate shaped) wasn't shaped like a screw dent, and there's no damage to the other lady's car. Now, they're waiting for the police man to come back to them so they can "reconsider" the claim.

I am wondering what should I do now? Is there any way that I can sue the lady for the damage and anguish? Is there any way that I can make sure state farm pays?

Answer
Hi Angelina,

Unfortunately the insurance company gets to decide if their client is at fault or not based on their findings. If you do not agree, you can certainly take your claim to court. However you must be able to prove that she hit you and then you must prove your damages. You can not claim anything for anguish, inconvenience or anything like that. You can only claim actual money damages.  Based on your description of the damage it will likely not cost more that $200 to $300 to repair. But you should go to a body shop to get an estimate.

Hopefully they will decide to pay you after speaking to the police officer. If they don't though, I would say it's not worth going to court over.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh