by Guest » Fri Feb 20, 2009 06:13 pm
hey guys just yesterday i was in a major car accident my car (suv) was totalled and the other car(taxi van) received alot of damage as well. a pretty common accident, i took a left turn the taxi was speeding and i misjudged and we got into a head on collision. i suffered a strained muscle in my arm ( now in a sling) my back is stiff my neck is stiff. i am going to the doctor today, SO, i would greatly appreciate it if someone could tell me what i should include in my statement to the insurance company(s) to make it look a little bit more "professional"? i really appreciate you guys and this website
*extra info* i was wearing a seatbelt. also had winter tires. instead of calling the police he decided to phone a stack of his friends and it made me feel really scared as i was in a state of shock, pretty much waking up to a mob of men standing around my car talking in their own language and snickering at me. I know he was speeding alot because my cars front has pretty much caved in fully.
Thank you and god bless.
-Michelle
*extra info* i was wearing a seatbelt. also had winter tires. instead of calling the police he decided to phone a stack of his friends and it made me feel really scared as i was in a state of shock, pretty much waking up to a mob of men standing around my car talking in their own language and snickering at me. I know he was speeding alot because my cars front has pretty much caved in fully.
Thank you and god bless.
-Michelle
Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 06:40 pm Post Subject:
I don't know of any special words you need to say. I can say that it's very helpful to have a clear description of what happen. It's not that big of a deal but when people start tell me things like, "he was on the inside, I tuned left and he hit me"... this tells me less then nothing. Before you give a statement, thing about how you can describe the accident. You may was to use N, S, E and W directions and perhaps descriptions like, "he was in the far left lane of the 3 lanes that direction".
Let me mentioned that dealing with taxi companies and their carriers is probably not going to be easy. Sorry to insult anyone but taxi drivers are above even with ice cream truck drivers. Most drivers are renting the taxi on a daily or weekly basis. While the taxi is owed by a large company, they still may need a statement from the driver. But the police report might contain enough info in case they are not able to talk to the driver.
Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:21 pm Post Subject:
The fact that he was speeding or if you were wearing a seatbelt is irrelevant. The only thing that is relevant is who is at-fault in the accident. It sounds like there is not clear cut liability in your case, which means that your insurance companies are gonna battle it out.
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 01:27 am Post Subject:
The fact that he was speeding or if you were wearing a seatbelt is irrelevant. The only thing that is relevant is who is at-fault in the accident.
I think I know what your saying but driving faster then the speed limit does affect liability.I once pulled away from a stop sign to make a left turn. Person coming from my left was _way_ down the road. He hit my rear drivers 1/4 panel. I did not know what happen as this guy was a good 1/2 mile down the road (I find that hard to believe even today). Many people stopped after the accident and spoke to the police. They told the police that this guy had been speeding past them from a distance away. In order to cover that distance I'd say it was going about at least 100mpg in a 35mph zone. Other carrier paid 100% of my loss.
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 03:46 am Post Subject:
In order to cover that distance I'd say it was going about at least 100mpg in a 35mph zone.
This is obviously an extreme case and would have a significant impact on the amount of damage done to your vehicle. but...
i misjudged and we got into a head on collision.
In a case of a head-on collision unless one of the parties is either not moving or moving very slowly (and there are no stoplights, stop signs, yield signs, etc.) then liability is going to be hard to place solely on one party or the other. That is why I said that speeding is irrelevant. If he was going 10mph over or so its not going make a difference in the liability judgment. And there is the matter of the biggest nugget of info in the OP's post
instead of calling the police he decided to phone a stack of his friends
My question to the OP would be... Were the police called at all? If there isn't a police report I can already tell you what the outcome of the claim is going to be. Neither insurance is going to take liability for the claim. And then it gets really sticky.
But whatever you do DONT do this until AFTER you see how the claim is going to be handled by the insurance companies...
I would consult an attorney.
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 03:55 am Post Subject:
i took a left turn the taxi was speeding and i misjudged and we got into a head on collision
If you are looking to make your statement lean things your way, I think I would leave part of the above statement out.
i misjudged
Right there you are more or less saying you saw the guy and didn't make sure that you had enough time to clear the intersection.
I believe you that he was speeding, but if you don't have a witness it will be difficult to prove unless the police did a top notch job and measured skid marks and such. In either case, it would appear that liability is going to rest with both of you if the speeding can be proven.
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 05:57 pm Post Subject:
In a case of a head-on collision unless one of the parties is either not moving or moving very slowly (and there are no stoplights, stop signs, yield signs, etc.) then liability is going to be hard to place solely on one party or the other. That is why I said that speeding is irrelevant. If he was going 10mph over or so its not going make a difference in the liability judgment. And there is the matter of the biggest nugget of info in the OP's post
Yup, that is why I wrote that I thought I understood where you were coming from. Speeding can make a difference but 1) or would need to be excessive enough to change the the outcome and 2) the OP would need to be able to show that the other vehicle was speeding. If the police report indicated that the other person was over the speed limit, I'd place a little liability against the taxi driver for this. But most likely the taxi driver is going to deny being over the limit.Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 05:58 pm Post Subject:
I would consult an attorney.
I did not see that recommendation coming from Ken S! :roll:Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:00 am Post Subject:
OP you need to remain absolutely candid with the claim adjuster. Altering the facts might prove costlier in the long run. The liability is likely to rest on both of you if its not mentioned otherwise in the police report. I tend to agree with Dasfuk that it would be difficult to prove that the other driver was speeding if you have no witness and according to your statement the driver has got his friends to back-up for him. So, your chance of getting a fair statement from them is close to zero.
~jeremy
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 07:10 pm Post Subject:
All I can say is I bet that hurt T-scope. I can not imagine beinghit at 100mph. I was hit at 60 and it hurt. wow!
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 06:15 pm Post Subject:
What ever happened to measuring skid marks if any, considering mass and weight of the occupied vehicle, considering the road and tire conditions of the Taxi in this example, to calculate the speed if there were no witnesses or witlesses. How many claims do adjusters rely on physical evidence and accident reconstruction to assign liability?
Personally, I'd never give a statement to the other insurer's adjuster as I am not contractually or legally obligated to until such time as I am deposed and then my insurer would provide counsel for me if there was any question of percentage of liability.
Whether one considers themselves at fault or not, there is a contractual responsibility to comply with your own insurer with regard to making a statement of the facts and reporting any accident you are involved in.
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