Hi,
Last fall, I was involved in an accident with a Cambridge, MA police cruiser. No citations were issued, but my insurance company found me at 95% fault. I'll be appealing the insurance surcharge with the state of Massachusetts this Friday, but wanted to get some advice from this forum first.
Here's what happened: I was the lead car traveling through an intersection with a green light. Just after I entered the intersection, the front of the police cruiser hit the side of my car (in front of the driver's side door). The reason the officer was going through a red light is because she was leading a funeral procession. She did not have her sirens on, though she says she had her lights on. Due to the traffic in the intersection, she was not visible to me nor was I visible to her. This is because the road I was on had three lanes in the direction I was heading, with the leftmost lane being a turn only lane, and that lane had a long line of cars waiting for a left turn signal. This effectively blocked her view of the other two lanes she was about to cross (including the one I was traveling in) and my view of her car.
The surcharge notice I received says that I was found at fault because I "hit a legally or illegally parked car." Even if I ignore the fact that I had right of way and there was no reason for me to stop at the intersection, this surcharge claim baffles me. The office was clearly not parked, she was moving.
Here's the evidence I have:
1 - Pictures of my car and the officer's car. I've attached those to this post.
2 - State police report that confirms what happened. This is confirmed by me, my wife (who was in the car with me), the officer involved in the accident, and a witness.
One other data point: when the accident first occurred, the officer claimed that she was not moving at the time of the accident and that I hit her. I believe this is what she told the City of Cambridge and the insurance company (my insurance company told me that she was claiming this). The state police officer found the witness several weeks later. I believe after the witness's story aligned with ours, the state police officer went back to the Cambridge police officer and asked her to reconcile. At that point, I believe she conceded that she wasn't parked and did in fact hit us. I don't believe she went back to my insurance company and informed them of this. The insurance company did receive a copy of the state police report.
I would love tips on how to handle the surcharge appeal this Friday. Do I just need to prove that the Cambridge police officer was not a parked vehicle? If so, that's easy to do because the state police report clearly states she wasn't. Or do I have to prove that it wasn't my fault? There's no way I could have seen her, I had a green light, and she hit me.
Please help!
Thanks,
PKB
Last fall, I was involved in an accident with a Cambridge, MA police cruiser. No citations were issued, but my insurance company found me at 95% fault. I'll be appealing the insurance surcharge with the state of Massachusetts this Friday, but wanted to get some advice from this forum first.
Here's what happened: I was the lead car traveling through an intersection with a green light. Just after I entered the intersection, the front of the police cruiser hit the side of my car (in front of the driver's side door). The reason the officer was going through a red light is because she was leading a funeral procession. She did not have her sirens on, though she says she had her lights on. Due to the traffic in the intersection, she was not visible to me nor was I visible to her. This is because the road I was on had three lanes in the direction I was heading, with the leftmost lane being a turn only lane, and that lane had a long line of cars waiting for a left turn signal. This effectively blocked her view of the other two lanes she was about to cross (including the one I was traveling in) and my view of her car.
The surcharge notice I received says that I was found at fault because I "hit a legally or illegally parked car." Even if I ignore the fact that I had right of way and there was no reason for me to stop at the intersection, this surcharge claim baffles me. The office was clearly not parked, she was moving.
Here's the evidence I have:
1 - Pictures of my car and the officer's car. I've attached those to this post.
2 - State police report that confirms what happened. This is confirmed by me, my wife (who was in the car with me), the officer involved in the accident, and a witness.
One other data point: when the accident first occurred, the officer claimed that she was not moving at the time of the accident and that I hit her. I believe this is what she told the City of Cambridge and the insurance company (my insurance company told me that she was claiming this). The state police officer found the witness several weeks later. I believe after the witness's story aligned with ours, the state police officer went back to the Cambridge police officer and asked her to reconcile. At that point, I believe she conceded that she wasn't parked and did in fact hit us. I don't believe she went back to my insurance company and informed them of this. The insurance company did receive a copy of the state police report.
I would love tips on how to handle the surcharge appeal this Friday. Do I just need to prove that the Cambridge police officer was not a parked vehicle? If so, that's easy to do because the state police report clearly states she wasn't. Or do I have to prove that it wasn't my fault? There's no way I could have seen her, I had a green light, and she hit me.
Please help!
Thanks,
PKB
