Fighting insurance company.

Hey,

I was involved in an accident on 11/11/2020. I was travelling down a road in New Orleans where you can park on the shoulder. The car in front of me, when we came to an intersection, went to the right and then turned left in front of me. I slammed on the brakes but couldn't avoid hitting him in the driver door.

The police came out, determined that the other party was at fault, then a supervisor was called out, because the other party was pissed. The supervisor agreed that the other party was in the wrong. The other party was issued a citation for failure to yield. The officer told the other guy that when you leave the lane of travel, you give up your right to the lane (makes sense to me). I didn't receive anything.

The other guy and myself were both insured through USAA. USAA has decided that I am at fault and denied fixing my car. USAA has also said that police report doesn't matter because "the officer wasn't there when the accident occurred"

Anyone have any advice on how to proceed.

Thanks in advance!

 

Color me skeptical.

When are the cops present for any accident?

Are we missing any details?

 

Yea, the insurance industry is a strange group. They have their own arbitration group that determines who is at fault and of course this works to the insurance companies advantage. I had a similar situation in the past where the other guy performed an illegal "U" turn with no u turn signs all over the place. He turned right in front of me. He was issued a citation but the arbitration group still said I shared blame since it was I who hit him. I was told that the only way to get them to pay had to sue the other driver.

 

I'd talk to a lawyer... I fought my insurance years ago over a hit and run... subsequently I was ran into again on a highway of all places 6 months later... I used the police report they issued me and stated I'd be suing them over failure to cover insurance minimums or some BS like that.. I don't really remember, but I was parroting what the lawyer told me to say, and I was covered instantaneously.. Took forever though, and it wasn't USAA... I am with them now, and am starting to have doubts, but at the same time.. its been the lowest I've ever seen on my end....

 

Of course the officer wasn't there at the time of the accident. But they did come out investigate the scene and wrote the report. Not missing details.

 

Criminal liability and civil liability don’t always align.

Talk to an attorney.

 

I picked up a dashcam from another member on here for $30. Would come in handy for a situation like this.

 

Yep. First thing I bought for the Tundra after the accident. When I get the car back, I am putting one in it as well.. and the wife's car.

 

Good move. There is an adapter that you can buy which plugs into your rearview mirror in the back for power so you don't have to run a power cord down the dash. Let me know if you want the link or brand. I think I paid around 20-25 dollars for it, but it works great.

 

The main issue is it's USAA vs USAA. They never want to cover when they represent both parties. All insurance companies are like this. I'd definitely talk to a lawyer.

 

This is correct.

TLDR.... Given that you and the at-fault driver have the same insurance, I would get a lawyer ASAP. Good luck, you are going to need it.

Abbreviated version of my saga is I got t-boned by a lady texting who flew they a red light at over 55mph as I made a left hand turn with my green arrow. Was damn lucky she hit my passenger side with no one else in the car. Her and her occupants suffered no truly serious injuries, I was just shaken up. Police issued her a ticket, they gave me her insurance information, and I thought it would be a pretty open/shut case......... boy was I wrong.

The at-fault insurance called me and asked for my version of what happened. Then proceeded to twist all my words into saying I was 25% at fault for making the turn in the first place. During the interview I said I didn’t see her hit me (obviously since she hit the passenger / rear side of my truck as I was nearly thru the intersection and was looking forward, which the at fault driver obviously wasn’t).

My truck was less than a month old. Brand new with less than 2000 miles. Hadn’t even made the first payment yet. Since it didn’t take out the motor / front end, there was “only” $30-35k in damages. Vehicles even with a totaled frame won’t be totaled unless the repair price is more than 75% of the value. Since the value was $50k, they wouldn’t total it.

Took nearly 6 months of fighting with the at-fault insurance, along with my own insurance, but finally got them to total the truck and pay me a decent amount in pain / suffering. It was a game of attrition, and I hated it, but was not going to not be made whole. If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten a lawyer right up front once things didn’t go smooth.

BTW- making payments for 6 months on a totaled vehicle where you weren’t at fault SUCKED. I totally understood the bank’s perspective as all they cared about was the note. I also had Gap Insurance, but it was a joke and would have never worked out. They basically wanting everything under the sun and to have the bank / my insurance / at fault insurance all work together, which was NEVER going to happen.

 

It’s working against you that both of you have usaa. They’ll look to assign blame to both parties, have each of you pay your own expenses and then jack your rates. I dealt with usaa and they’re a pain in the ass......Geico worked them over with my lawyer but it was an easy case to make (guy texting ran a red light and t boned me going 55 with three witnesses who stopped to give statements).

 

And the other driver was the squeaky wheel first, call 444-4444 and sue them/him. I had to do that to State Farm once, I won.

 

Is that Dudley/Debosier?

 

lol, yes but serious.

 

I just sent them an email.

 

A friend of mine had USAA and was hit by a USAA Insurance Car. He had a hell of a time getting them to pay. You've got to keep at them and keep making noise. Get on their forums and bitch about what they are doing. Sooner or later, the right person will see it and help you.

 

The "I slammed on the brakes" doesn't help.....

 

+1 for getting a lawyer if it makes sense monetarily. Weight the cost vs. benefit including over time.

 

$37 Dongar Dash Cam Power Adapter (12-pin Type A) - Compatible w Toyota Tacoma (15-23), select Highlander, Tundra, Sienna; Honda Ridgeline & more. USB Power, Connects to Rearview Mirror. Easy Install!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DMW3DML/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A1ZURKM38KV5LC&psc=1

 

LAWYER! Insurance companies will never do what is in the best interest of the insured.

 

Insurance companies are strange. Last year I was in an accident that wasn't my fault and after being avoided by their insurance company for a week or so, they determined that she was 100% at fault but didn't have enough coverage to cover the damages. My insurance company had to eat it.

https://youtu.be/TPkEN3aaRrk

 

Man, thats a bummer.....so they went right and you thought they were going to park on the shoulder, but they went left instead (kinda making a wide U turn?)?

My friend had something similar happen, he was driving behind a car and thought they were turning right down a side street because thy veered off to the right shoulder...but they were just swinging right to turn into a business driveway on the left. he thought they were turning right and went to go around them and they ended up hitting each other when she turned left into him. Insurance said it was his fault.

The police shouldn't really say who is at fault, it ends up making things worse. In this case, if they broke any traffic laws then that should be recorded in their report, but its not up to them to determine who is at fault, its the insurance company's task.
I would go over your side of the story with your claims adjuster and his/her supervisor and make sure they are crystal clear how it happend. Make some diagrams (use google earth) and make sure that they know 100% what is going on. Since you hit them, i would be shooting for 50/50 split on who was at fault. If you get less fault than that, go buy a lottery ticket. This is probably going to slow the claims process down, so be prepared to have your vehicle down for a bit if it isn't drivable.

 

Good luck. I had the same type of deal years ago. A kid going Southbound ran a red light, hit a Vette coming Northbound and came to rest under my truck's front bumper heading Eastbound and stopped at the red light.

The kid's mom had rented a car and did not choose the insurance and the kid had taken the car without permission....The mom's insurance was from the same agent my insurance was from. They tried to take me for 50/50 when I was stopped at the red light and the car slid under me. Took months for them to acknowledge I had nothing to do with the accident. I had taken pictures of the truck behind the lines at the red light or they would most likely have won the 50/50. The kid's lawyer claimed I was past the line and so partially responsible...pictures incoming. Paid in full.

*Get ready for more stupid than you have ever heard.

 

Contact a lawyer immediately. Stop all communication with the insurance company until you retain a lawyer.

Good legal advice is priceless and well worth it. Even a couple hundred bucks for consultation is worth it.

 

I found a lawyer this week. They are handling everything from this point.

 

Awesome - good luck and keep us posted.

 

Reading all of these incidents of insurance companies not wanting to pay makes me so angry

Have people found that having a dashcam has helped them in these type of cases?
I like the idea of getting one but I don't know the facts on the benefits.

 

If you did nothing wrong/are not at fault, then a video illustrating this is something your attorney could use when pursuing payment from an insurance company. I doubt it will influence an insurance companies decision before an attorney is involved. Just speculation here, as I have never had to deal with insurance in an accident.