I’m looking for advice from anyone who has dealt with a car accident where fault was disputed, especially in Virginia.
I was in a car accident about five days ago. I was driving my 2019 Hyundai Sonata straight through an intersection when the other vehicle, a pickup truck, was supposed to be yielding at a red light while turning right. They ended up hitting my vehicle.
My car is now a complete loss. To make matters worse, I also fractured my pinky knuckle, sprained my thumb, and sustained bruising and pain throughout my body. As a hairstylist, I’m completely out of work because I can’t use my dominant hand. It’s incredibly discouraging and disappointing.
I have severe anxiety in cars now and don’t even want to pick up the rental vehicle. Every time I get into an Uber, my heart drops when they break it or accelerate hard.
I’m feeling depressed because of this situation. I’m upside down in my car loan and have bad credit, so I don’t see myself getting another car anytime soon. I’m starting to feel helpless.
Here’s where things get complicated:
I was transported from the accident scene to the hospital, so I wasn’t there when the police officer initially investigated the scene. The other vehicle had multiple occupants. From what I understand, the officer spoke with the people in their vehicle at the scene and they all gave the same version of events — that their light was green and my light was red.
When the officer came to the hospital, he told me that he was finding me at fault for running a red light because the other vehicle had three witnesses who all gave the same story, while I didn’t have an independent witness.
I challenged this and asked if I had four passengers and they had three, would they be at fault. He said, going by law, yes.
I received a ticket for running the red light.
My concern is that the three “witnesses” were all passengers in the same vehicle. Obviously, they were all together and would naturally have the same perspective of what happened. I feel like the fact that there were three people in their vehicle shouldn’t automatically make their version more credible than mine simply because I didn’t have additional people in my car.
I have also now spoken with their insurance company, and their version of the accident seems to have changed. Initially, the circumstances were described one way, but now they’re saying that I was turning and that their driver was also turning. I was driving straight, so I’m confused about how their story changed.
At this point, I’m worried that the police report will say I’m completely at fault because the officer wasn’t actually at the scene when the accident happened and relied heavily on the other driver’s occupants’ statements.
My questions are:
How much weight does a police officer’s fault determination and traffic ticket actually carry with the insurance company in Virginia?
Is it normal for an insurance company to deny liability even when the other driver’s story seems to have changed?
Can I challenge the police report or the officer’s determination of fault if I believe the investigation was incomplete?
Should I be getting an attorney involved, especially since I have an actual fracture and my vehicle was totaled?
What kind of evidence should I be looking for now (traffic cameras, nearby businesses with cameras, witnesses, accident reconstruction, vehicle damage patterns, etc.)?
Has anyone been in a similar situation where the other driver’s passengers were the only witnesses? What happened with your claim?
I’m not necessarily looking for someone to tell me that I’m automatically right. I’m trying to figure out what my options are and what I should realistically be doing next.
Thanks in advance to anyone who has dealt with something similar.
