Hawk99
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- California
Hello there!
Just posting this in the off chance that someone has time to read it and provide a little feedback
In 2016 I was smashed by a car that was speeding as I was pulling out of my alley. It's extremely hard to see past the parked cars in that particular alley way. I only pulled far enough to see the street, inching out as slowly as possible. The car that hit me was coming so fast I didn't even have time to react.
They hit the front corner of my car so hard that I spun sideways into another parked car on the side of the road. There is no way they would have hit me if they weren't speeding, or if they were paying attention. These are extremely narrow roads in my neighborhood and all of my neighbor's comment on the regular problem of people speeding down these roads and not paying attention. I was absolutely a casualty of that, and several neighbors made that comment when it happened.
In fact, just this last July 4th (just days ago), another car wreck happen in the exact same spot at around 11am. That blind intersection is tremendously dangerous, and I know other similar accidents have occurred here.
When I was hit, my car was totaled, and the car that hit me was only slightly damaged. That driver (who had his girlfriend in the passenger side) were able to drive home without issue. I, on the other hand, needed to have my neighbors help me push my car back into my driveway. But it was completely wrecked.
I got on the horn with my insurance company immediately, explaining to them that I do not feel even the slightest bit responsible for this accident - that they were absolutely speeding and not paying attention, and that's why they clipped the nose of my vehicle.
I provided lengthy emails describing exactly how the accident occurred, I took many pictures and I even have a video I made recently to demonstrate that there is no way to see the road without having the entire car out of the driveway and into the street.
Here is where things get tricky. Unfortunately my insurance company decided that I was at fault, and somehow I missed that communication years ago. I had received a message that my car was going to be paid for in full at the time, and that no further action was going to be required on my part, so I just forgot about it.
Fast forward to 2019. I received notification from my insurance company that the other party was going to be seeking damages that exceeded my insurance cap of $10,000, and that if I am served papers, I might want to seek legal counsel outside of my insurance.
At this point I am still thinking that this is a no-fault situation. I have not yet seen the communication that I was considered at fault by my own insurance company. So I didn't give this too much thought. I figured if they wanted to come after me, it would be difficult to prove it was my fault.
I was finally served papers in June that the other party would be seeking injury damages of around $17,000. $10,000 of that it's been covered by insurance, so I would owe $7000.
This seemed like a joke to me, as they were the ones who hit and totaled my car. The driver of the other car and his girlfriend seemed perfectly fine. I don't believe for a second that they suffered any injuries. I was in pain for the following week, but I didn't seek any injury damages as I am not a litigious person, and just wanted this to be taken care of and out of the way, which I explained to my insurance company at the time. I suppose I thought that if I didn't go after them for anything more than car repair, they would do the same, because I had it way worse than they did.
So after I was served, I got in contact with my insurance company to ask if I should seek legal counsel. My new claims adjuster told me they would negotiate on my behalf, but after a lot of confusion oh, I realized that I was considered at fault for the accident by my own insurance company and hadn't realized this until now. Somehow I had missed the letter & email they sent me years ago informing me that I was considered at fault.
I told my new adjuster that I intend to fight this and find my own lawyer if I needed to. They told me that I have a right to do that, but based on all of the information, including the pictures and summary I provided at the time, my interests would best be served by insisting that the other car was speeding, and see if we can negotiate down their claim. So, I said okay give it a try.
My adjuster got back to me a little later and said the other party would be willing to bring it down to $6,000 with a payment plan that would suit my budget for however long. She told me she got the impression that this was just their starting number, and that there was room for more negotiation. She also told me that if I'm able to come up with a certain amount to pay upfront, that could reduce the amount even further. Basically "they just want to recover something" for injury damages even if it is not the full $7,000.
Here's the deal. I don't want to pay these people a single penny. I don't want to be sending money to another person who drives recklessly down these streets, (showing off to his girlfriend in his mercedes) because people like that are a constant nuisance and endanger people's lives. I do not feel in my heart that I am the least bit at fault in the situation. I believe my insurance company was wrong in their final determination of the accident, but I don't know if there's any way for me to prove that now.
I would love to share the video I made recently with somebody on this forum to get their expert opinion on whether or not I have a case, and if it would be worth it for me to try and battle this.
I don't have any disposable income at this time. I have a full-time job, but I am also currently in a 3 to 4 year program getting myself out of debt. So until I get a significant raise, or a large chunk of money comes in from somewhere, I basically have NO extra money. I make just enough to scrape by month-to-month living in LA.
If anyone here is willing to take a look at the video, I will send you a link in a private message. The video is only a few minutes long. Any help I can get through this forum will be tremendously appreciated, and thank you for your time, and consideration thus far.
Below is the statement I sent to my insurance company at the time:
-------
Hello *****;
Here are pictures and a summary of the accident on Sun 3/6:
I was driving my dark grey Toyota Yaris out of my alley as I do every day. I stopped and looked both ways at the sidewalk, and then creeped forward in order to see the roadway. It's hard to see, so I was pulling out extremely slowly. There was also a tall jeep-like vehicle parked at the edge, away from the corner, making it extra hard to see (pics A & B).
Cars always have to creep out of alleyways on these narrow back streets. There's no other way, aside from getting out and putting up cones. Anyone driving and paying attention slows down, or veers slightly to make room for them. But in this instance, the Mercedes came full speed and smashed into me like a freight train, just when I got far enough to see what was coming.
The other driver should've been able to see and avoid me, with the amount of space he had (see alley pic) which means one of two things: A) he was distracted/not paying attention, or B) was going much faster than he should've been.
As I said, my car was blasted clear out of the Mercedes' path, into a half-spin. I might have done a full 180 but I hit a parked car and stopped there. The Mercedes that hit me stopped a good distance passed where I landed, so they didn't even have time to react. You can't drive that carelessly on these backstreets, because there are alleyways everywhere.
I was extremely disoriented at first. I found myself looking in my trunk, but then realized it was my insurance info I needed, which was in the glove compartment. I didn't hit my head but felt dizzy and concussive. I was still in a state of shock when I called *** to report the claim.
Here's something I forgot to mention on the phone as well; while we were exchanging information, the driver (****) asked me if I was pulling out of the alley, which clearly indicates that he didn't see me, so his eyes weren't on the road.
I'm very confident that I didn't do anything wrong and I was not at fault. I don't know any other way to drive out of an alleyway other than to inch out until I see the roadway. So I just want to make sure that's very clear.
Thank you very much for your time.
Just posting this in the off chance that someone has time to read it and provide a little feedback
In 2016 I was smashed by a car that was speeding as I was pulling out of my alley. It's extremely hard to see past the parked cars in that particular alley way. I only pulled far enough to see the street, inching out as slowly as possible. The car that hit me was coming so fast I didn't even have time to react.
They hit the front corner of my car so hard that I spun sideways into another parked car on the side of the road. There is no way they would have hit me if they weren't speeding, or if they were paying attention. These are extremely narrow roads in my neighborhood and all of my neighbor's comment on the regular problem of people speeding down these roads and not paying attention. I was absolutely a casualty of that, and several neighbors made that comment when it happened.
In fact, just this last July 4th (just days ago), another car wreck happen in the exact same spot at around 11am. That blind intersection is tremendously dangerous, and I know other similar accidents have occurred here.
When I was hit, my car was totaled, and the car that hit me was only slightly damaged. That driver (who had his girlfriend in the passenger side) were able to drive home without issue. I, on the other hand, needed to have my neighbors help me push my car back into my driveway. But it was completely wrecked.
I got on the horn with my insurance company immediately, explaining to them that I do not feel even the slightest bit responsible for this accident - that they were absolutely speeding and not paying attention, and that's why they clipped the nose of my vehicle.
I provided lengthy emails describing exactly how the accident occurred, I took many pictures and I even have a video I made recently to demonstrate that there is no way to see the road without having the entire car out of the driveway and into the street.
Here is where things get tricky. Unfortunately my insurance company decided that I was at fault, and somehow I missed that communication years ago. I had received a message that my car was going to be paid for in full at the time, and that no further action was going to be required on my part, so I just forgot about it.
Fast forward to 2019. I received notification from my insurance company that the other party was going to be seeking damages that exceeded my insurance cap of $10,000, and that if I am served papers, I might want to seek legal counsel outside of my insurance.
At this point I am still thinking that this is a no-fault situation. I have not yet seen the communication that I was considered at fault by my own insurance company. So I didn't give this too much thought. I figured if they wanted to come after me, it would be difficult to prove it was my fault.
I was finally served papers in June that the other party would be seeking injury damages of around $17,000. $10,000 of that it's been covered by insurance, so I would owe $7000.
This seemed like a joke to me, as they were the ones who hit and totaled my car. The driver of the other car and his girlfriend seemed perfectly fine. I don't believe for a second that they suffered any injuries. I was in pain for the following week, but I didn't seek any injury damages as I am not a litigious person, and just wanted this to be taken care of and out of the way, which I explained to my insurance company at the time. I suppose I thought that if I didn't go after them for anything more than car repair, they would do the same, because I had it way worse than they did.
So after I was served, I got in contact with my insurance company to ask if I should seek legal counsel. My new claims adjuster told me they would negotiate on my behalf, but after a lot of confusion oh, I realized that I was considered at fault for the accident by my own insurance company and hadn't realized this until now. Somehow I had missed the letter & email they sent me years ago informing me that I was considered at fault.
I told my new adjuster that I intend to fight this and find my own lawyer if I needed to. They told me that I have a right to do that, but based on all of the information, including the pictures and summary I provided at the time, my interests would best be served by insisting that the other car was speeding, and see if we can negotiate down their claim. So, I said okay give it a try.
My adjuster got back to me a little later and said the other party would be willing to bring it down to $6,000 with a payment plan that would suit my budget for however long. She told me she got the impression that this was just their starting number, and that there was room for more negotiation. She also told me that if I'm able to come up with a certain amount to pay upfront, that could reduce the amount even further. Basically "they just want to recover something" for injury damages even if it is not the full $7,000.
Here's the deal. I don't want to pay these people a single penny. I don't want to be sending money to another person who drives recklessly down these streets, (showing off to his girlfriend in his mercedes) because people like that are a constant nuisance and endanger people's lives. I do not feel in my heart that I am the least bit at fault in the situation. I believe my insurance company was wrong in their final determination of the accident, but I don't know if there's any way for me to prove that now.
I would love to share the video I made recently with somebody on this forum to get their expert opinion on whether or not I have a case, and if it would be worth it for me to try and battle this.
I don't have any disposable income at this time. I have a full-time job, but I am also currently in a 3 to 4 year program getting myself out of debt. So until I get a significant raise, or a large chunk of money comes in from somewhere, I basically have NO extra money. I make just enough to scrape by month-to-month living in LA.
If anyone here is willing to take a look at the video, I will send you a link in a private message. The video is only a few minutes long. Any help I can get through this forum will be tremendously appreciated, and thank you for your time, and consideration thus far.
Below is the statement I sent to my insurance company at the time:
-------
Hello *****;
Here are pictures and a summary of the accident on Sun 3/6:
I was driving my dark grey Toyota Yaris out of my alley as I do every day. I stopped and looked both ways at the sidewalk, and then creeped forward in order to see the roadway. It's hard to see, so I was pulling out extremely slowly. There was also a tall jeep-like vehicle parked at the edge, away from the corner, making it extra hard to see (pics A & B).
Cars always have to creep out of alleyways on these narrow back streets. There's no other way, aside from getting out and putting up cones. Anyone driving and paying attention slows down, or veers slightly to make room for them. But in this instance, the Mercedes came full speed and smashed into me like a freight train, just when I got far enough to see what was coming.
The other driver should've been able to see and avoid me, with the amount of space he had (see alley pic) which means one of two things: A) he was distracted/not paying attention, or B) was going much faster than he should've been.
As I said, my car was blasted clear out of the Mercedes' path, into a half-spin. I might have done a full 180 but I hit a parked car and stopped there. The Mercedes that hit me stopped a good distance passed where I landed, so they didn't even have time to react. You can't drive that carelessly on these backstreets, because there are alleyways everywhere.
I was extremely disoriented at first. I found myself looking in my trunk, but then realized it was my insurance info I needed, which was in the glove compartment. I didn't hit my head but felt dizzy and concussive. I was still in a state of shock when I called *** to report the claim.
Here's something I forgot to mention on the phone as well; while we were exchanging information, the driver (****) asked me if I was pulling out of the alley, which clearly indicates that he didn't see me, so his eyes weren't on the road.
I'm very confident that I didn't do anything wrong and I was not at fault. I don't know any other way to drive out of an alleyway other than to inch out until I see the roadway. So I just want to make sure that's very clear.
Thank you very much for your time.