What the hell to do - car wreck

[TNKen]

You are all wrong.

It's his fault for failing to maintain a proper lookout and failing to maintain control of his vehicle. There was a vehicle in his lane stopped to make a turn, and he failed to maintain control of the vehicle so as to bring it to a controled stop. In the world of comparative fault, i.e. assigning responsiblity, in my mind he shares more of the fault than she does.

You are probably legally required to file an accident report for damages over a certain amount. You have already admitted several thousand dollars of damage between the two vehicles. Cops can probably charge both of you for leaving the scene of an accident with damages in excess of the minimum. She can be charged with failing to mainintain insurance, improper signals, stopping in a roadway so as to hinder traffic. Read above for your issues.

You can file on the uninsured provision of your insurance if she is at fault. If you don't have collision insurance, your company will likely try to take a dodge on coverage claiming you are at fault for the accident (see above).

If she sees an attorney, you will probably get a claim filed agsint your or sued for property damage and some sort of personal injury.

You may want to consult an attorney.

Ken

This advice is worth what you paid for it, and you are not entitled to rely on my legal analysis of these facts... I am not licensed to practice law in your jurisdiction. You should consult an attorney for the application of the law to these facts in your jurisdiction.

[sanjuanworm]

if you were to get the police involved...
you would be the one charged w/ the accident.
you stated that she said she had on the wrong turn signal, that does not matter. YOU were supposed to slow down,
come to a stop if need be and wait to see what she does.

you would be charged w/ Failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
also you stated that you drove into a turnout to avoid hitting her,
that constitutes Reckless Driving--for passing on the right.
you would probably also be charged w/exceeding a safe speed.
and you and her would be charged w/ leaving the scene of an accident.

also if your insurance company hears of any of this ---- you are screwed....

not trying to ruin your day, just the facts

..........................

[Egon]

Should have called the police.

[char]

Should have called the police.

It's actually not possible to call the police (or anyone) where this accident occurred. Best case would be to either walk to a house or get a passerby to call from Gallatin Gateway.

[KoKopeLLi]

Ok so it turns out that the accident also occured in a driveway of an ex-officer. He had her car scooped up, headed to town with her plate number, and got the ball rolling on a police report.

I was going to wait and hear something before getting my insurance involved but it's been a bit so I went ahead and filed a claim, the adjuster will be out this week. It's really gay not being able to drive

I realize this is a pretty "gray-area" story and this chick is probably already changing her story as we speak. I talked to her this morning and she went down to fill out a police report. I too filled out a report, and kept it quite simple. I just said that I was pulling off in the turnoff area and the girl in front of me swerved right and plowed into my truck. She had her left signal on. Then I just left out the whole part about a sudden stop so it didn't look like I wasn't giving her enough room. Honestly I don't tailgate people but this would have needed about 20 car lengths or more. Thank go there were no logging trucks behind us.

Thanks for all your help and responses, it helped bulletproof my story. Man, I'm gonna be bummed if I have to pay for this.

I'll know more tomorrow

[tchpdx]

WRONG.

play like that and you will end up paying for her damages also.
which actually you are legally bound to do.
you rear-ended her.
you are at fault. that is all that matters to the police and the insurance company.

This is a pretty negative take and I don't agree with you at all. He holds a huge hand in the fact that she is uninsured. Her financial liability will be greatly effected if she is issued a citation for no insurance by the responsible police agency - her rates will skyrocket for numerous years due to an uninsured traffic crash.

Regarding the police - they have NO interest (or time) to work a crash that was non-injury and initially unreported. The OP will be lucky if he even gets a case # for reference. The chances of getting past a dispatcher to an officer are slim in this case.

The best route is through communication with the uninsured motorist. Is the OP at fault - no doubt he has SOME liability, but an illegal lane change by the young lady does change the balance of liability. Most insurance companies try to find some fault on each driver to minimize their payouts.

Regarding passing on the right - this is in-fact a legal maneuver (in Oregon and most likely in Montana) if completed when on a two lane highway and there is a vehicle stopped to turn left. It must be done without leaving the paved portion of the roadway and without entering a bike lane.

Has the OP called the young lady yet? This is the best route hands down.

[KoKopeLLi]

Oh and I found out she and her friend went to the hospital, probably trying to get pills or something. It's probablt like $2,500 worth of damage and there's no way she would be able to pay this anyways.

Anyone know what the fine is/steps taken when you are involved in a wreck with no auto insurance?

[valleygirl]

You might be facing a court battle... get yer ducks in a row, my friend. Tough to get blood from a stone but ya gotta try.

Good luck!!

[P_McPoser]

No, she went to the hospital to claim neck injuries and sure your fucking pants off. Get ready to rumble, homey.

[BLOOD SWEAT STEEL]

Lawyers up,
tells everybody they're all fucked up,
proceeds to state a bunch of "facts,"
throws out the disclaimer basically saying everything he just said may or may not even be worth a damn.

Got it.

[Chemical Ali' The Wax Master]

Oh and I found out she and her friend went to the hospital, probably trying to get pills or something. It's probablt like $2,500 worth of damage and there's no way she would be able to pay this anyways.

Anyone know what the fine is/steps taken when you are involved in a wreck with no auto insurance?

OK, this is what you do. go to the girls mom's house, and introduce yourself. Tell her your story. get her to invite you in. If the girl is there, tie them both up. Insist on cash payment, and a little more for your trouble. Break the daughter's pinky if you have to. That should do it. Remind them that you know where they live, and you do not want a reason to visit again.

[BigAirSkier1580]

Okay, now let's be honest here...

Was she hot?

If so, I'm sure you could draft up some sort of "repayment" contract.

[RootSkier]

If so, I'm sure you could draft up some sort of "repayment" contract.

Thank god for the voice of reason. This thread was starting to suck.

[KoKopeLLi]

I'm going to her house tomorrow and see if this chicks got a neck brace on, I can't see why she would attempt a neck injury moments after getting into a crash and assuming all responsibility. Hell, she let me go without taking any info of mine. Am I being played as a fool?

Yea she was not good looking what-so-ever, maybe a head butt to the steering wheel could have done some good? Plus I think she eats garbage cans filled with veneer schnitzel.

[altagirl]

veneer schnitzel.

So she's a termite or something?


Anyway, I'm sure she got your license plate #, didn't she? I mean it's not like she would have had to ask for it. And I'd bet that while she may have said everything was her fault initially, she's got people telling her that "hey, he hit you - he should pay! How can he prove which turn signal was on? Doesn't your neck hurt? Sue!" Hopefully not, but it's certainly probable.

And I bet they're not going to buy that you couldn't call the cops when it was basically in someone's driveway. You could have gone to the house and asked them to call the police for you.

[TNKen]

Got it.

Looks like I pretty much hit the nail on the head. Cops, no coverage, sudden onset of neck pain, etc. And gave the mag some ammunition to help out a little. Hummm....

Sorry, I sat for two exams, but not that one. And yeah, it now looks like he needs a shyster..........

Ken

[dk_alaskan]

after quickly glancing through the thread, does MT have a law like AK does where an uninsured motorist is guilty regardless of the traffic issue? if so, a lot of the mags points are null and void about failure to stop, etc.

[KoKopeLLi]

after quickly glancing through the thread, does MT have a law like AK does where an uninsured motorist is guilty regardless of the traffic issue? if so, a lot of the mags points are null and void about failure to stop, etc.

Thats the way it should be, it think it went out of MT law in 78'


TNKen - I appreciate the advise but I won 't consult an attorney until the highway patrol makes a decision. I've gave you guys enough of my money...

BloodSweatSTeel- Fuckn'A

Connie - She was in fact a termite, burrowing through my truck and now my wallet. Maybe she did get my plates but after she wrote down her info, I snagged the pen and poked her eyes ninja style.

I'm not asking the cops to buy my innocence on not reporting the accident, I may very well get ticketed for leaving the scene.

I just want to be able to drive to the mountain again before they close!

[TNKen]

Good luck. Sounds like you gave good info to the cops. Remember if you get hammered by her to get the claim to your insurance carrier quickly so they can hire counsel for you.

This should go nowhere very fast, hopefully.

Glad the hound is OK!!!

Ken

[nealric]

Wrong. Chick had the wrong turn signal on.

As an auto insurance claims adjuster I thought I would weigh in...

Turn signals are impossible to prove. They almost never factor into a liability outcome unless there are GOOD witnesses (there rarely are). Even, then they often don't have much of a bearing.

Also, accepting liability on the scene means NOTHING. What matters is what they say when your adjuster takes the statements.

Are you in a comparative liability state? If you don't know, you should find out. It sounds that this may not be a clear cut fault case. In a comparative state, they could theoretically say you were 39.874% at fault if that was the negotiation they reached.

If you have collision coverage, you may actually be in a better situation than if she was insured because she has less bargaining force. An insurance company could take your company to arbitration very easily if your insurance company disagrees with their liability decision. An individual would have to sue you or your insurance company if they disagree (much more costly and difficult than arbitration)

One last piece of advice: When your adjuster takes your statement BE VERY CAREFUL what you tell them as that can greatly affect the outcome. Be polite and nice to them and they are more likely to go to bat for you. If they find you at fault ALWAYS send in a formal letter of dispute in. You have nothing to lose by doing it, and in my experience it works at least 1/4 of the time.

Feel free to post any specific questions you might have.

[sftc]

As an auto insurance claims adjuster I thought I would weigh in...
....Feel free to post any specific questions you might have.

Question for you nealric,
I've heard that under Colorado law (and other states) the driver who hits the other driver is alway at least partially at fault. The example given was if you are driving into an intersection with a green light and another driver blows the red light and you T-bone them in the side, with the front of your car, you are at least partially at fault. The green light gives you permission to go through the intersection, but it not a full 100% right of way. I can understand that you don't have the right to ram into someone just because they are in the intersection, but this always makes me nervous when I'm driving into an intersection in adverse conditions (snow, ice, rain) with other cars approaching the intersection from my right. Are you supposed to slow way down, and risk getting rear-ended, in anticipation that the approaching drivers may not be able to stop in time?
Just curious and thank you in advance for your opinion.

[nealric]

Actually, I specialize in California.
Weird huh?

I guess they dont want us running into the people we just pissed off in person.

What I have heard about Colorado is that they actually changed to a standard comparative state a couple years ago- too much litigation.

I will say with your red light question, based off doing california claims is that there are SOME cases where the person who came with the green could have some fault. Basically, if you floor it with tires spinning on a fresh green, and the dude who ran the yellow can show that he was at least nose over the intersection threshold, you could be at fault for failing to wait for the intersection to clear.

But in your scenario, if you just cruise through on a green in a snowstorm and some out of control texan t-bones you, you will not be put at fault.

Also 99 times out of 100, if you are rear ended, you are 0 percent at fault. The only exception is if you aggressively cut someone off beforehand (hard to prove) or just pulled out of a side street in front of someone.

[sftc]

....I will say with your red light question, based off doing california claims is that there are SOME cases where the person who came with the green could have some fault. Basically, if you floor it with tires spinning on a fresh green, and the dude who ran the yellow can show that he was at least nose over the intersection threshold, you could be at fault for failing to wait for the intersection to clear.

But in your scenario, if you just cruise through on a green in a snowstorm and some out of control texan t-bones you, you will not be put at fault.

Also 99 times out of 100, if you are rear ended, you are 0 percent at fault. The only exception is if you aggressively cut someone off beforehand (hard to prove) or just pulled out of a side street in front of someone.

nealric,
Thanks for the response, but with my scenerio I'd be the one T-boning the Texan who slid past the red light on snow or ice. If the Texan blows the red light and slides into the intersection and I wack his Escalade full broadside am I at fault? Assuming I'm not speeding, and relatively in control of my vehicle and he, or more likely she, is obviously not in control?

[nealric]

If the texan blows the red light and it can be reasonably proven, then no, you would not be at fault.

[Chemical Ali' The Wax Master]

OK, this is what you do. go to the girls mom's house, and introduce yourself. Tell her your story. get her to invite you in. If the girl is there, tie them both up. Insist on cash payment, and a little more for your trouble. Break the daughter's pinky if you have to. That should do it. Remind them that you know where they live, and you do not want a reason to visit again.

you might have to stab the bitch in the neck. I am not kidding