Expert: Bennie719 - 8/4/2009

Question
So I was traveling in the right hand lane of interstate 80 and some guy came off the on ramp and signaled to pull into my lane.  I looked in my rear view mirror to see if I could get over to the left hand lane which I could.  But when I looked back in front of me, the guy had already begun to merge in front of me and was about halfway in my lane.  So I hit my brakes which seeing as it just rained, caused me to slide out of control and into the beginning of a guardrail which has totaled my car.  Here is a link to the a map which shows the accident scene location.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=interstate+80&sll=41...

You can see the on ramp in the lower portion of the screen and the guardrail I hit is the one on the left side of the eastbound lane just after the on ramp.  Is it my fault?  I believe the guy must have merged onto the highway at a very low rate of speed after coming off that corner on the on ramp and may have even entered the highway over the solid line instead of waiting for the dashed lines although I cannot prove this.  What can I do?  The accident happened yesterday morning and I live in New York and this happened in the middle of Pennsylvania as you can see by the map.  Your advice would be appreciated...I do not want to have to pay for something that I believe is not my fault.

Thanks for the help,
Tory

Answer
Hi Tory,
Had there been witnesses who observed the accident and secured the license plate number
of the other car, there would be a good chance of your insurance collecting from him.

In order for your insurance company to be able to consider you as not at fault
there must be another identified party from which your insurance has a legal
right to recover damages.

Otherwise, anytime there is a solo loss of control type accident, you will always be
considered at fault.

I hope you find this information to be helpful.  Your feedback by rating my response
will be appreciated.

Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area