Question about a car accident I was in.

I was in a car accident on Monday.

I get out of my car (which had the most damage) and the other guy (who will be referred to as Person B) immediately tries to get me to admit fault.

The rule is you're never supposed to admit fault in an accident, which I did not.

Now the local police come to take a report. The other guy does all the talking and the cop never bothers to take a statement from me.

I report this specific thing to my insurance company yesterday. I tell them what happened with the cops, the claims adjuster said that's never supposed to happen, that police protocol states that the police interview all parties involved.

Now this has me thinking that Person B did something illegal, knew about it, and tried to get me to admit fault so he wouldn't get ticketed.

Does this make sense? Do we have any lawyers on DU who could tell me - do I have a legitimate case if the insurance company rules it my fault?

They can usually look at the vehicles and determine who's at fault even if the other person lies about the accident (it happened to me). Get a copy of the police report as soon as possible. If no police are called, it's your word against his after vehicles are moved. An adjuster can only tell so much about the impact after the fact. You can call the police dept. and make a statement, but they might call that an 'amended' report. I would think once you get to court and testify that the officer didn't take a statement from you, that would help your case. Only speaking from experience (waaay too many accidents).

That's my main concern with this whole thing. I took my car to the shop since the bumper was about to fall off but I've got plenty of pictures to prove my case.

Keep us posted.

Hope you live close to work because it might not be affordable for you to drive much longer.

A factual narrative of the events. Told in somber objective statements as if you were making a statement. One to be addressed to the Chief of Police explaining the nice officer forget to take your statement and you were the other party in the accident. And a copy you should filed with your insurance company.

OTOH, if the accident was your fault, I'd skip the written statements

Or is it disputable? I have never had the police only talk to one party and not the other. In fact, they usually will separate the two drivers and get each story privately. This is what has always happened to me. The only thing I can figure is that the officer had already made a determination of what happened and who was at fault from the scene. But there is no excuse for not taking a statement from you.

I have even had the officer change his determination from the at-scene interview. I rear-ended a car, which is always presumed to be the fault of the rear-ender. I am told always. Not so. The officer talked to the other driver out of my hearing. Then he talked to me. The accident happened because the other car came onto the highway from a ramp where she was behind a very very slow car, so she swung right in front of me into the left lane---then hit the brakes. I was spiking the brakes just to keep from hitting her, and if she accelerated, all would have been ok after my heart rate lowered. When the officer heard this, he went back to her and asked her where she was coming from. When she admitted that she came from the ramp, he ticketed her. But without that interview with me, he would never have thought to ask her where she had come from. It was vital.

I don't know why your officer would not have taken your statement. It seems fishy. You definitely want a copy of that report, and if there are errors, you have to insist that they add your statement.

See the thing is the accident happened near a school so that's where we pulled off to investigate, and my serious suspicion is that person B was speeding - I'm suspecting he was going well over 50 in a 35 zone. And that's why he tried to get me to admit fault.

In fact, it is wise to do so.

Consult an attorney, as I am not one, but both of my brothers are, and this is the advice they gave me when I got hit.

Get your side down in writing, just the facts, no embellishments.

CYA.

was it accurate?

if they really shut you out then my first thought is that person B is a cop (also).

were you ticketed for any driving offense in this? did you smell anything on the other driver's breath ?

I'm not sure about alcohol but I do know for a fact that the cop did not take a formal statement from me. I'm waiting to hear back from the police report to see if there's any inconsistencies.

I recently was involved in an accident in a parking lot. I called the police. They arrived and talked to the guy who caused the accident. I just stood around. Finally they came to me and gave me his name and insurance information and told me I could go. They added that they had ticketed him.

IOWs - they didn't take a report from me. Although they did ask my name. They did not ask to see my driver's license. Don't even think they took my tag number.

Do what they suggest you do.

say it is. There are instances where police will almost always rule it your fault-such as if you were making a left turn, or hit somebody from behind.

It wasn't an obvious instance - it was a T intersection and I was headed east, about to turn north. The other guy was headed straight south. I was dead stopped, which is why I'm assuming person B was speeding in order to do that kind of damage to my car (I drive a Nissan Altima).

That makes it your fault. You were at a stop sign I assume? You were turning left in front of this guy? If he did not have a stop sign too, I'm sorry but the fault is apparent. You should not have made the turn. Even if he was speeding, to avoid an accident, you should have been able to gauge his speed and how fast he was gaining on the intersection. But if I have the details wrong, never mind.

I wasn't even over the line in the intersection. The other car hit like a sonic boom. I got out and my bumper was pretty well torn off.

i.e. he simply veered off the road?

There's no way the dent made in his car was the result of a head-on, he had to have swerved at some point.

and the other guy hit you, how is that not obvious situation of who is at fault?

There's two lanes. The right-hand turn lane is a *DEDICATED* right hand turn lane. There's another lane for straight through traffic. If I was at the cross walk when it happened, he was going through the *DEDICATED* right hand turn lane. That's what happened. That's why he was so adamant about getting me to admit fault.

I have some knowledge of this stuff from my work.

and in fact in the last fender-bender I had, I did just that. No way was the other guy going to get in all the spin to the cop writing the report.

and hit you while you were stopped at the limit line?

He would've had to weave 10 feet (at least) out of his lane to hit you.

There's a gap in the story somewhere.

No doubts whatsoever?

with his REAR fender?

Give me some more info if you please:

1) You say there was a dedicated turn lane, was there a crosswalk at your stop sign?

2) You say there was a dedicated right in his direction of flow, was there also a stop sign in his direction of flow?

:shrug:

when you were hit?

I'm not understanding how drive B hit you--where is the damage on your car?

Still, the cop should have talked to you, undoubtedly. I'd lawyer up just to protect yourself. I know it will cost big time but something does seem wrong here.

I think my wheels were pointed left. The damage is pretty obvious - the front bumper was almost completely destroyed.

But I was able to prove I wasn't at fault because I looked up the street on Google Earth. It shows a dedicated right hand turn lane. The police report doesn't indicate this. It also doesn't indicate how far out I was, nor does it indicate that he was in said turn lane. I hadn't even left the crosswalk yet, so for him to have done this kind of damage, he had to have been in the dedicated turn lane.

the cop certainly should have taken a statement from you and I find it interesting that citations weren't issued.

Press your insurance company and/or get a lawyer; I'd be violating my ethics to say more.

Hope it goes well.

I know I didn't officially prove it but it does explain a lot.

If they record and hold them for so many days, you should be entitled to a copy. Perhaps what was said didn't match the police report?

Meanwhile, demand to follow up to see the police report and see why this police person didn't follow protocol.

The first thing insurance companies look for when determining liability is who was ticketed. I kind of skimmed this post, so I may have missed it, but it sounds like you were NOT ticketed. The question now is whether the other driver WAS. If you don't know, check the records at the Clerk's Office of the Municipal Court for whichever county/city you were in at the time (most courts have their records online). I would find it highly suspect that neither party was cited for a crash like this one, but sometimes the cops just can't figure it out and they cite no one. This may have been one of those times, but I doubt it.

Now, if you WERE cited, DO NOT just pay the ticket. Paying the ticket is an admission of guilt, and an admission of guilt can be used against you in any civil proceeding which might follow. So go to Court on the date the ticket indicates and fight it.

Get as much documentation as you can get. Get a copy of the police report/crash report (there will definitely be one, and you can usually get them within days of the accident--some police departments even make their reports available online). See if you can track down any witnesses that may have seen the crash and can testify for you. Sometimes the police will list witnesses in their report, but even if they don't, you can try to find people who may not have come forward. If there are businesses or homes nearby, go there and ask if anyone saw what happened. Exhaust every avenue you can think of to gather evidence.

Ultimately, this is going to boil down to the two insurance companies fighting each other over who should pay, and if it becomes a civil lawsuit, your insurance company should provide you with a lawyer. They usually will NOT provide you with a lawyer to defend the criminal end of it, though (that's what happens if you received a ticket), so you might start making a few calls to lawyers in your area (if you were ticketed, that is).

Overall, it doesn't sound like much is going to come of this, particularly if nobody is claiming any injuries. The issue of who received the ticket will be paramount, though. And if NOBODY was ticketed, it's likely that the insurance companies will strike some sort of deal without even telling you about it. I'm pretty confused about what actually happened (I just can't picture it in my head--since I'm a visual learner, I usually have to see a drawing of the scene, etc.), so I can't tell you for sure who is at fault under the law. I can tell you this, though: if you were at a stop and you were stopped legally (in accordance with all road markings and traffic controls), there is almost NO chance this was your fault. Maybe a more detailed explanation of what happened might help. Truth be told, whenever I have clients come to me in these situations, I actually make them write out in excruciating detail everything that happened (EVERYTHING they can remember, even if they don't think it's relevant). Not only for my edification, but because it also helps THEM crystalize what happened in their own minds. Maybe this would help you get a clearer recollection of what happened.