by richardj » Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:30 pm
If 2 cars parked side by side, car on left starts pulling out 1st. Now both are pulling out backwards from parking spots and the left car is further out of the parking spot than the other car turns wheel left and makes contact on other car driver side door. who is at fault?
No auto insurance. No ticket issued. Police said both cars were at fault. Woman in other car pleaded me to call an ambulance for her so I did. Now her insurance demands me to pay for her medical bills.
No auto insurance. No ticket issued. Police said both cars were at fault. Woman in other car pleaded me to call an ambulance for her so I did. Now her insurance demands me to pay for her medical bills.
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:45 pm Post Subject:
Wow! So you are uninsured right? She is insured and her carrier wants repayment I assume for her vehicle damage as well as her injury...what exactly happened in the accident? What the cop said (believe it or not) really doesn't mean that much...What state are you in? (we'll need to know the negligence laws, they differ by state.)
She needed an ambulance? what was her arm out the door and you hit it? :roll: geeze, what's her injury?
Ok you're both backing out at the same time and neither of you are paying attention, or not enough attention to see the other vehicle right? From what you've put here without seeing a diagram sounds pretty much like a 50/50....what is her carrier saying your 100%...again we need to know the state to find out the negligence law...some have a 51/49 rule and if you're both 50/50 no body collects from the other...course if you had ins they would fight for you...and without it you're in a bad bad spot...
provide the additional information and lets see if we can come up with something for you....
ps do you have ins now?
Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 12:08 am Post Subject:
Thank you Lauri for your quick response. I currently live in the state of Wisconsin. Insurance is not mandatory. Her arm was not out the window and her insurance company did not specify what her injuries are yet. once the paramedics arrived I heard her say that her neck and arm hurt though. The initial letter the insurance company sent me said that I was liable for her vehicle and her medical bills but the 2nd letter only mentioned her medical payments due to the accident.
Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 02:48 am Post Subject:
While it's true that Wisconsin is not a "mandatory insurance" state, it is a mandatory "financial responsibility" state. This means that a person,will have to show the ability to pay for damages and injuries they cause in an auto accident. This requirement is usually solved by purchasing liability insurance coverage. Definitely the least expensive way to go.
There are other methods of proving financial responsibility other than liability insurance, but first here's Wisconsin law copied from their docs regarding financial responsibility requirements:
"Proof of financial responsibility" or "proof of financial responsibility for the future" is the ability to pay damages for accidents which occur after the proof has been offered and which arise out of maintenance or use of a motor vehicle. The person must be at least able to pay $25,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident, $50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident and $10,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident. [s. 344.01]
So, while you don't have to have insurance, you still (under law) must be able to pay for the injuries and damage you cause. More state of Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI):
These requirements may be met through a motor vehicle liability insurance policy, a surety bond, personal funds, or certificate of self-insurance. Details are available at the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Hill Farms State Office Building, 4802 Sheboygan Ave., Madison, WI 53702.
So, I would first of all find out why the liability to getting pinned on you, and if it was your fault, unfortunately, you're responsible for paying even if you don't have insurance. Sorry to be the one to tell you this. As well, there will likely be sanctions on your driver's license and possibly vehicle registration. :cry:
Find out as much as you can about what's going on here. Let us know what you find out and we can help you.
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 06:04 am Post Subject:
I think both of you is having fault when both of you did not even notices the existence of both party thus making this incidents. But then you are crashing to the women front door and making her injusred. Since this is careless case, the woman may use this excuse to blame that you are in fault and you must pay of her bill.
I think you are better to settle this with the women faces by faces, as i see when comes to claims, you are most probrably liable to pay for all her claims.
Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:37 am Post Subject:
Hey Teacher, how financial liability is different from having auto insurance?
Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:37 am Post Subject:
I currently live in the state of Wisconsin. Insurance is not mandatory
Ins. teacher thanks, couldn't have said it better myself...non-manditory ins. states do not let you off the hook for payment of damages you are responsible/liable for they just don't give you a ticket for not having ins....I'm sure this also means, (you not having insurance) that you have a ga-zillion bucks in the bank right? :wink: In case that's not it, I'll continue..What part of your car hit her car? Was part of her or your car still in the parking space if so how much? Were there any witnesses? Is this parking lot monitored with cameras?
Ok, good new, well maybe, if you can prove it....WI is a comparative negligence state (not PURE)
Q. What is meant by comparative negligence?
So that's the 49/51 rule I mentioned...if you are both (or you can PROVE) you are both 50/50 then no body recovers from the other...might involve you getting sued to do this though since you are uninsured. If she is 49% at fault and you are 51% at fault then you owe her 51% of her damage and she owes you nothing...if the opposite is true she owes you 51%...and so on with any division of 100.Wisconsin has a comparative negligence law that means responsibility is frequently shared. The comparative negligence law is based on a percentage of negligence. This means you may recover damages from another party providing your negligence is not greater than the other party, but your damages shall be reduced by the percent of negligence attributed to you. You are barred from recovery if your negligence is greater than another party's negligence
kiatsiang
I think you are better to settle this with the women faces by faces, as i see when comes to claims, you are most probrably liable to pay for all her claims
The OP cannot settle with this other owner on his own now, because her ins is already involved and have her full rights of recovery against the OP..
Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 08:42 am Post Subject:
Lori, I think that the other driver's insurer is trying to collect the entire medical expense from OP. If the comparative negligence law applies to Wisconsin, can the insurer claim full compensation from the other party involved in the accident? Isn't the OP entitled to know how much he has contributed to the accident and how much he is required to pay?
Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 11:47 am Post Subject:
Lori, I think that the other driver's insurer is trying to collect the entire medical expense from OP
yes, they are that doesn't mean they are entitled to the entire amount of the claim.If the comparative negligence law applies to Wisconsin, can the insurer claim full compensation from the other party involved in the accident?
If the other party was a greater degree at fault (51% or more---see my post)..Isn't the OP entitled to know how much he has contributed to the accident and how much he is required to pay?
Sure he is but there is no hard and fast rule, and the a carrier is claiming he is 100% at fault...comparative negligence is a negotiated process...and in his case (unfortunately) he is uninsured so will have to try and negotiate it himself, which will likely be very difficult...typcially (if insured) both adjusters come to an agreement re: percentage of fault and the claims are paid accordingly. Or if the adjusters cannot reach an agreement it goes to arbitration in most cases..Add your comment