by PADriver » Tue Dec 23, 2008 10:03 pm
I was involved in an accident in Pennsylvania in which a women pulled out in front of me from a stop sign. I had no stop sign.
The investigating officer told me that I was not at fault and the woman had been issued a citation for a stop sign violation.
Her insurance company, Allstate, is now telling me they only want to give me 80% of the total damages to my vehicle due to the law in PA which allows for "sharing the responsibility".
While I understand the law, I don't see how they can hold me 20% responsible when it was clearly obvious I wasn't at any fault. The Allstate agent is basing her decision on the interviews with both of us involved in the accident.
Do I have any chance of getting the full 100%, which I feel I deserve? Or should I have been better off just staying home that day? Thanks for any help!!
The investigating officer told me that I was not at fault and the woman had been issued a citation for a stop sign violation.
Her insurance company, Allstate, is now telling me they only want to give me 80% of the total damages to my vehicle due to the law in PA which allows for "sharing the responsibility".
While I understand the law, I don't see how they can hold me 20% responsible when it was clearly obvious I wasn't at any fault. The Allstate agent is basing her decision on the interviews with both of us involved in the accident.
Do I have any chance of getting the full 100%, which I feel I deserve? Or should I have been better off just staying home that day? Thanks for any help!!
Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 12:36 am Post Subject:
With this limited information I'm guessing that a better description of what they are mention is comparative negligence. This basically means that more then one person can be at fault and if this is true, your recovery is reduced by the same percentage you were at fault.
I'll also guess that the point of impact to your vehicle was the front end and the point of impact to the other vehicle was the side door(s) or back quarter panel. If this is correct, then the adjuster is thinking that you had the last clear chance to avoid the accident. That is, you could/should have seen this person pulling away from the stop sign and could/should have stopped in time to avoid the impact. The point of impact to the other vehicle being the rear side indicates that you would have had several seconds to see the person pull out so you could have stopped. First, I'm not saying this is the case, I'm only trying to show you what the adjuster may be thinking. Second, Allstate is also saying that their driver contributed mostly to this accident (80%).
Did you slam on your brakes to avoid the accident? If so, and if what I mentioned above is correct about the points of impact, your argument would be that if you had not slammed on your brakes in an attempt to avoid the accident, you would have struck the person's front fender area. If the point of impact was the person's front fender, they would be 100% at fault. So why should you be penalized for trying to avoid the accident by slamming on your brakes. If the person was pulling away from your passenger side, this argument has much more merit. If they were pulling away from your drivers side and crossing at least one lane of traffic, this holds less weight (as you would have had a longer time to see them pull in front of you).
If Allstate won't budge and you have collision insurance, you may want to file a claim under your own policy. If you did this, the final outcome at worst would be that you were paid back 80% of your deductible.
If you don't have collision insurance, you may want to (politely) press the issue and move up the chain of command at Allstate.
Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 01:36 am Post Subject:
Thanks for the reply. You are correct in everything you have stated. She pulled out from my passenger side, I slammed on my brakes and hit her in her left rear quarter panel. I told Allstate had I not done that, I would have easily hit her on her door if not her front fender. They were waiting for the police report to make a final decision. I myself obtained a copy and all blame was put on the other driver. Allstate does not know I have this yet. I am waiting to see if they change their decision and for what reasons they are basing their decision on before I let them know I have it. So basically I am trying to catch them in a lie. Allstate was most certain that my speed had a factor in the accident, which was not mentioned in the report at all.
Thanks for your advice. I think I will probably have to work my way up the chain of command.
Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 01:17 pm Post Subject:
It stinks and I know they are going to now say that vehicle got nearly thru the intersection before you hit them since your impact is in the 1/4 however as T said, reiterate that you'd have blasted her in the door had you not attempt to avoid the accident. (last clear chance)...let us know how it comes out...
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