by davidgales » Sat May 16, 2009 12:26 am
I recently got a DWI - I remember, hazily, leaving the bar and seeing some damage in my car, a dent on the drivers side. Afterwords everything becomes blank, I do not remember driving or anything else until I was with the officer and he was doing the sobriety tests. I got arrested for DWI and that was that. No mention of anything else. Next day I get my car out of the impound and I see the damage, since there was no report of any accident and I had no recollection I made my claim for this happening in the parking lot. A week passes by and I get a call saying that there is now a claim against me, claiming that I hit another car; as I have no recollection of what happened and no information from the police or my dwi lawyer until he gets a report. How do I go about this? They sent me a check for the claim I made, but I have not used it, due to the fact that I was surprised by this claim against me... I also gave my statement for the claim against me stating that I do not recall the events. If there is a possibility that something did happen I don't want to look bad with the insurance. What can you recommend? All advise is most appreciated. Thank You.
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 01:33 am Post Subject:
You're insurance company will find out about the dwi anyway...so you need to be very upfront about this...cause brother, it's gonna be ugly in court if you cannot prove that you (thru your carrier) has paid for the damage you cause while driving drunk...(judge's tend to get extra pissy about that :wink: )
First off, how did this person get information that you are the one that hit their vehicle? Will you be getting another ticket for leaving the scene of an accident? Was the car parked and unoccupied (i hope)..?
If you are upfront with the adjuster, and just tell them 'look i honestly don't remember, it's certainly possible, since i had a black out, but will you be sure and compare the damages to 'make sure' I caused them?"....they should either measure the damages, or apparently there are witnesses...
Lying, will make the adjuster think it was an 'intentional' hit and run...that you don't want...if you did it, you did it, you've made a bad mistake and hopefully learned from it...just be honest.
course, i don't have to tell you, your rates are going to go up right? Likely be ordered to file an sr22 by the judge anyway...so this additional loss won't cause too much more I wouldn't think.
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 03:07 am Post Subject:
First, STOP DRINKING AND DRIVING! :x
I know, people make mistakes. I thought I would post it before someone else did.
Just tell them you don't remember. Your hazy recollection of your car damaged in the parking lot could be anything. Heck people see pink elephants, it doesn't mean they are there (or are they?). I don't see a problem cashing the check to repair your car. It sounds as if you were up front telling them you don't remember. I assume that they know you were drunk with your statement.
As for the other claim, it would appear that you hit this other person and your insurance company will investigate and I wouldn't worry about it.
I would't worry about your rates going up, I would bet you will need to be looking for another insurance company. Progressive is always good for insuring people with a DUI.
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 11:21 am Post Subject:
First off, how did this person get information that you are the one that hit their vehicle? Will you be getting another ticket for leaving the scene of an accident? Was the car parked and unoccupied (i hope)..?
May be the got him tracked down by the information they had on him, like- the make and model of his car or the plate number. One can use this information to find out about the offender, can't they?
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 12:13 pm Post Subject:
One can use this information to find out about the offender, can't they?
sure you can but what i meant was, who saw him hit it or was someone in the vehicle he hit?Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 09:11 pm Post Subject: dwi and two claims
That is the thing that my first claim was ONLY for my damage in the parking lot. I had no idea of what had happened. Then when the other came against me, that was news to me... That's when I told them I had blanked out and that there had been no mention of any accidents. Apparently, since the police was there, they might have given my insurance info to the people that I "hit" - If I did hit anyone (wouldn't I have gotten other charges for this?)... That's the reason I have not used the check for the first claim... Because, what if the damage was caused by something else (ie me hitting someone... or maybe I had damage in the parking lot and then caused more...) -I really hate not remembering- , I'd rather wait and see what insurance tells me just to be safe though.-. As for drinking... I have given it up all together, nothing good ever comes from it... :(
Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 10:49 am Post Subject: insurance
TOO MANY drunk drivers on the road....that's what I say. You shouldn't be on the road if you're drinking. But,..if you ARE, you should be 'man enough' to take the responsiblility that comes with it. Thank goodness it was ONLY you car that was damaged. You could have hurt someone and not remembered it.
Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 11:58 am Post Subject:
Hello David,
That's the reason I have not used the check for the first claim... Because, what if the damage was caused by something else (ie me hitting someone... or maybe I had damage in the parking lot and then caused more...)
How would it actually get affected by yours not using the claim check? You have been reimbursed by the insurer for the damages caused to your vehicle.
Now if you were involved in an at-fault accident, that's a different claim. Please clarify if I've missed a point here.
Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 02:35 pm Post Subject: insurance
OOPPS!! Sorry for the double post! :roll: NOT remembering what you id or din't do IS a serious matter. I guess it's just a 'pet peeve' of mine.......no drinking and driving.
Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 05:01 am Post Subject:
I would tell the other company making a claim that without some kind of proof that you will not work with them. If there was an accident then there should have been a report period because anyone can say that you did it the burden of proof is now on them.
Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 09:00 am Post Subject: insurance
Hopefully, OP, you DID NOT do anything (damages,etc) and not remember them. But,...the above Posters are correct....if anything DID happen, it's up to THEM to prove it did. I know you said you were worried that this would look bad on your Insurance. Yes..........it will. REGUARDLESS of what happened, DWI's ALWAYS look bad.[/quote]
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