Person at fault admitted his fault to me . . .

by Mufasar
(Fairfax, VA USA)

Few days ago I was coming home from work. I took an exit of RT66 (Fairfax, VA), as I was coming down the ramp I would have to change to left lane, otherwise I would have gotten back on to the interstate.

Now traffic was starting to back up, so I turned my left indicator on and came to a stop since traffic was backed up in front of me and to my left. The minivan in front of me changed lane, so I looked back and saw there was a truck still far enough for me to change lane. So as soon as I got about half way into the lane he his me on left side rear with right side of his bumper.

This was a company truck he was driving. After he clipped me on the left side, I turned my hazard flashers on and stopped on the shoulder about 20 FT up. I came out of the car and asked him if he was ok and he did the same thing. I looked at this company tanker truck and there was no damage to it at all. I called the police.

While waiting for the police officer to come, the other driver said that he did not even see me changing lane, and this is his second accident on the same road in the same week. Police officer arrived, she looked at the both vehicles and said that she is not going to give anyone a citation and just exchange information. So she gave us the information sheets we filled it out and handed it to her.

She looked up something in the computer and than handed it to us. I came home and half hour later called my insurance company to tell them what had happened. She recorded my message and told collected all the information.

Now I tried calling the insurance company of the other guys but there was no number listed. I tried to find the info online but was not successful. The next day I took my car to a shop as my agent told me to get an estimate. They did an estimate but I told my agent I am going to take my car to Nissan dealer. While I was there my agent called me and gave me the information about the other company. Now an hour alter I get a call from them and she does the same thing.

She recorded my account of the accident and told me that she will let me know after she talks to the other driver. Now I am the one gave her the other drivers number. She also told me that someone will contact me to do an come do an estimate on my car.

I am going to give her a call tomorrow. Now I don't have much choice if she does not tell me anything tomorrow I am going to have to file a claim with my insurance company and get a rental car so I can get back to work.

I do have to pay $ 500 detectible. My insurance company told me that if other company admits fault I will be reimbursed.

My question now is that what happens if the other company refuses to pay. I did take picture of the truck showing no damage. The only problem is the there are no witnesses and no one got cited.

What is my company supposed to do in this case because I don't want them to pay without a fight and raise my insurance rates. Is there any legal course of action I can take.

If it helps I work for department of motor vehicles in my state and I give people road exams everyday. So there is no way I could have made this mistake. I am a nice guy but I am not at fault here.

Let me know what should I do. I been killing myself for last four days trying to do research online. This forum is great because i can get a idea from others.

Thanks in advance

Answer to: Person at fault admitted his fault to me . . .


Hello Mufasar,

Well, there is no "real" way to have them pay without a "fight." Sounds like both vehicles where changing lanes, and as you should not when you give driving exams, the vehicle that changes lanes must ensure that it is safe to do so before proceeding.

The collision shows that it was not safe to change a lane at the time. Both vehicles will have to explain what happened and how they did not see the other car.

Talk to your carrier, honestly. They will have to protect you.

You pay insurance for a reason. This is the reason. This is true even if you feel that you are not at fault.

Good Luck,
Auto Insurance Claim Advice