Am I at fault?

by Samy

This happened last week. I was driving wel below speed limit when it was raining heavily.

Suddenly I felt a jerk and my car lost control. As in it was not moving in a direction that I was trying to.

My breaks were not working.I realized that it would be best to take the car off the road as it would be dangerous to control the car while I am on the road. So i took a hard right turn and moved towards the side rails.

Since my car din't have breaks and the Tyre had blasted the car wasn't stopping. So finally it hit the siderails and stopped. After stopping I realised that there was a big plank with some nails etc stuck to my front wheels.A sheriff came by and told that this could have also happened due to "hydroplane". I was not given any ticket though.

Few other details include that I was driving on a road which was midst of the ocean ie. on both sides of the road were water.There was a bridge within few feets from the acident spot.So even if I would have tried "controlling" the car without hitting the side rails, I might not be alive today as I would have fallen
off the bridge or something.

Also I avoided from colliding with other cars on the bridge. I do have the photo of the plank under my car etc in my mobile.

Now the insurance company tells me that "I am at fault".
Can you please tell me how this is true? Or how I can clarify the situation more?

I cannot afford a premium hike on my insurance.

thanks,
Samy


Answer:


Well Samy,

It depends. Why was this plank on the road, or better yet how long? If this plank just got there, then it is possible that you are at fault (100%). When you drive, you have a duty to look out for "animals, children, deer, cattle, and well planks." This is true even if you are driving in bad weather condition.

If the plank was there for a couple of minutes, and it just came towards you, then you had no way of avoiding this situation. If on the other hand, the plank was there for five minutes or more, then you are going to have a hard road arguing that you are not at fault.

For more information about determining how insurance companies determine fault visit:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/Fault-for-the-Accident.html

Where did the plank came from? Do you know if there is construction or something of that nature around? They might be liable to you for this.

It is easy to argue the what ifs, but insurance companies will only look at what actually happened.

I hope this help some.

Good Luck,


http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com