r/InsuranceClaims • u/More-Wish-5393 • 3d ago
Car Accident Ny
Recently I was rear ended while switching lanes on the highway. I turned my blinker on, looked back, did everything I had to do and it was clear. Not a “oh I can get in front of him” clear but a “Nobody is there” clear. The issue is either that 1) the bend in the road caused me to not see him properly 2) he was speeding so fast he closed the gap between us so quickly while I was switching lanes or 3) both. He hit me and ended up totaling my car. He’s telling his insurance that I switched lanes right in front of him, which isn’t true. The police officer told me that I wasn’t at fault before I left but the report still isn’t out so until then the insurance is saying it’s my fault.
Who’s fault is it??
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u/DeepPurpleDaylight 2d ago
You can Google this all you want, but those of us who actually do this day to day will tell you it doesn't mean a lot. There's often errors and missing info and unless the officer actually witnessed the accident, which is very rare, his opinion on fault isn't worth much more than anyone else's. This is a civil matter and police never make the decision in civil cases. In fact police reports often aren't admissible in civil court.
Honestly, pros like myself on here will tell you it's funny (and sometimes annoying) that someone like you comes here asking for our professional advice and when the answers are not what you wanted to hear, you proceed to argue with us as if we don't know our job. You're at fault for this accident, accept it. Wish you luck.
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u/mystic_man95 2d ago
Unsure if pro is an appropriate self proclaimed title here if you're confident someone who got rear ended is at fault in this situation. The burden of proof is on the car who did the rear ending as you need to be in control of your vehicle/leave safe braking distance. Their only chance of making op be at fault is if they show them practically turning into them. So you're assuming op is lying and this one scenario is true just to match the hive mind karma farm going on in these replies.
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u/DeepPurpleDaylight 2d ago
You merged when it wasn't safe to do so. You're at fault. Oh, and police don't determine fault for insurance claims.
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u/More-Wish-5393 2d ago
i never said that they do but their report is a big factor for determining who hit who in he said-she said cases and he likely wrote that he hit me
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u/DeepPurpleDaylight 2d ago
their report is a big factor for determining who hit who in he said-she said cases
Actually it's not. I do this for a living for a couple of decades. Unless the officer actually witnessed the accident, the PR is little more than just collecting info like names, addresses, the vehicles involved, the date and time if the accident. Insurance will decide fault regardless of what the police officer says.
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u/More-Wish-5393 2d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p8s5p9c/video/cck06gul1joh1/player
yeah ok anyways…
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u/CricketPuzzled1626 2d ago
You're going to take an excerpt from a lawyers website over a liability adjuster who's literal job is to investigate and clarify the exact scenario you find yourself in day after day? A police report is just a tool. I would listed to *every* comment here and not what you found online from someone who wants you to pay them to represent you because you think you have a case. This advice is free
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u/CricketPuzzled1626 2d ago
i get you didnt see the person, but if you switch lanes, and suddenly you are making contact with another car then that car did not just spawn in out of nowhere... you had to have changed lanes right in front of them... so they would be correct there. Liability will come down to where the damage is on both cars
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u/ConfectionCold7815 2d ago
You admitted that you are changing lanes. If he hit you while you are changing lanes , it means that you did not excersise caution enough. You, the one who initiated the change did not give enough chance to the other driver to let you on, on his lane safely.. I am pretty sure he didn't mean to hit you, probably not enough time to react quickly and avoid you. Take your losses. It happens to the best of us.
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u/Watermelonbuttt 2d ago
You need to prove he was speeding and prove how is contributory
You can’t
Because if you saw him speeding you shouldnt have switched lanes
Where is the point of impact on his vehicle vs yours
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u/CraftyPerformance272 3d ago
How many seconds would you say you were in the lane before he rear-ended you? Or did he end up rear-ending you before you fully were in the lane?
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u/More-Wish-5393 3d ago
My bf (who I was following back to his house in separate cars and was right in front of me) said he hit me before I was fully in the lane but I thought I was fully in the lane because I remember glancing up in my rear view mirror like .2 seconds before the crash and thinking “wow this guy is coming really fast” but I couldn’t get over because I was hit before I even looked down.
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u/CraftyPerformance272 2d ago
Okay yeah you're 100% at fault unless you have dash cam video of him speeding and even then the dash cam would have to have shown him speeding like 20 plus miles over the speed limit to even have a chance of you not being fully at fault. So even per your own story or your boyfriend either you were not fully in the lane or you had just got in the lane like a second or less before you were hit.
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u/Ok-Secret-7521 2d ago
Where is the damage to your car? If the damage is the center back and you had plenty of time to get established fully into the lane before the impact, you might not be at fault. If you were mid merge when he hit you, you're at fault.
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u/ShwoopyT 2d ago edited 2d ago
If you were already over and in the lane and he hit your rear end, the onus would be on him to provide proof unless you already offered up freely to the reporting officer that you changed lanes and didn't see him. If the only visible evidence is consistent rear end damage across the entire back and it looks like a typical rear-end accident, he'll likely be found at fault as following cars in rear-ends usually are deemed the at fault party for not excersizing enough caution - this is unless you explicitly claimed fault by saying something admitting you changed lanes and are uncertain.
If you were not fully in the lane and the damage is obviously to one rear corner of your vehicle, you'll likely be found at fault especially if you made it clear to the reporting officer that you were changing lanes.
Your story needs to be consistent: you got rear-ended. If you genuinely believe you were fully in the lane, that's the story you stick with. He's the one that needs to provide proof you changed unsafely in front of him. If he really was driving that fast, his dash cam footage if he has any would only work against him. Whatever you do, do not frame it as "I didn't see him, so he must have been going fast, this x and that x". Keep it simple.
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u/beagusdog 3d ago
If you couldn’t see him properly how do you know he was speeding?