This is great...someone is tryin to sue me

[Chiquae07]

apparently i was hit in my car by another car. he crashed into me.

story:

stopped at a light, seein a dump truck in the way,and i wanted to switch lanes. checked rear and side mirror, but saw nothing. turned the wheel and went into the lane accordingly. i then get hit by another car. apparently it was an older man. he must haven't been going faster than lets say 10 mph as i diddnt have my belt on and just felt a little bump in the car. no slamming of brakes or anything. he says he needs like 700 bucks from me for a fender and paint repair. also wants a rental while his car is in the shop. he hit me like my car is at 1 o'clock and his is at 12. no major damage, and we extange info. now i personally dont think i was in the wrong, as he is suppost to have time to react and he wasnt there when i moved my wheel to turn.


am i in the wrong? i think he must have been adjusting his radio or drinking something when he hit me

any insurrance bullshit i should have to worry about? he already is tryin to file a claim against me for it. personally the damage to his car is maybe 200 bucks tops. mines has paint scratches, a ding in my door, and rubber from his tire. i can post pics if needed.

[Right_LiRrr]

It depends if you want to settle this in court or via insurance.

If you go through the court process, it's a simple negligence case where you have to prove that he breached his duty of care he owed to you because he was negligent/at fault. This will take you many many months to settle even for a simple case like this.

When you go through insurance, insurance companies have like "general rules" they abide by to determine fault. Then they decie to pay out or not. Basically, they take a guess at what a court will decide.

This type of accident really depends on where he hit you. In Australia for example if you hit someone's behind you are at fault. No matter what! This is because you are supposed to keep a safe distance from the car in front of you, a distance far enough so you can react to anything.

So if you had completely changed lanes then he hit you, I would say it's not your fault. However, if he hit you during any part of the lane changing procedure i.e. if any part of your car was in both lanes, then I would say it's your fault for an unsafe lane change.

Trust me, don't go to court for someting like this, legal and court fees will run you dry. Just remember the avg negligence case takes about a yr here...in a sue hapy country like america, I would imagine much longer.

I notice u didn't say u indicated with lights before u turned. if this is a breach of a traffic regulation (it is here), then u as good as finished. Causing an accident whilst breaking the law is a big no no. That is of course u had already finished changing lanes when he hit you, then cos the indicating of the lights would be irreleavnt to why he hit you. So yeah, please explain at exactly what point he hit you e..g. was ur car stationary, were u completely in lane etc etc

[Chiquae07]

i was 3/4ths into the lane. blinker was flipped and than turned off after 1/2 way into the lane.....i might as well post thie pic....

[slideways...]

99.9% of insurance companies and courts will find both parties partially at fault if both cars are moving. simple as that. sorry to hear that.

[VR43000GT]

Hmm, keep us updated. I for one want to here how this turns out.

I once caused a three car pile-up with one of my work trucks, had an ambulance and multiple cop cars come, and on top of that got my company in a lawsuit along with two tickets for me and a loss of points. So, it could have been worse, but still, that sucks man.

[clawhammer]

I think you may be at fault in this one

Sounds like he was in your blindspot and you changed lanes. You're supposed to check for cars in the blindspot before doing so. Bodywork is really expensive, so $700 doesn't seem like much. You may just have to pay up.

[Right_LiRrr]

Originally Posted by slideways...

99.9% of insurance companies and courts will find both parties partially at fault if both cars are moving. simple as that. sorry to hear that.

Sorry, but WHERE are you getting this information from? For your information, there is no such legal definition as "both parties partially at fault"...what's the court going to order? for u to pay each other 100 each? I'm sorry, but it annoys when people start giving legal advice based on untrue hearsay.

Let me give you a simple illustration, i'm in lane a, someone is in lane b. we are both moving. lane b guy rams into me. By your logic, as we were both moving, we are both at fault...good one!

I'm sorry to have to say this chiquae but as you did not keep you blinker on until you had fully changed lanes, you disobeyed a trafic rule (i assume this is the case in your state). It's a bad habit most of us have, i am definitely guilty of that.

Also, as he was in his lane and you were the one changing, it would be your fault.

If you really wanted to take it to court, you can try to argue contributory negligence on his part...but that's a REALLY long shot and would only decrease the amount you have to pay him by a bit. But that's a really long shot.

Bad luck buddy. Check those blind spots!

[Gotian]

actually over here in florida "both parties at fault" does occur. It happened to my friend who was on the highway, he slammed on tthe brakes when there was nothing in front of him and someone hit him from behind. My friend was at fault for hitting the brakes when there was no reason to and it was the driver behind's fault for being to close. The same friend later was in another accident at a red, with a car infront of him when he got hit from behind. My friends foot came off the brake when he got hit and then he hit the car infront of him. The cops came and said the guy from behind was at fault because he hit from behind and my friend was at fault because his foot shouldve been on the brake. of course my friend took that one to court and won cause if you are hit from behind pretty hard, regardless of how much pressure you have on the brake, the car will still surge foward.

[CassiesMan]

Originally Posted by Right_LiRrr

Sorry, but WHERE are you getting this information from? For your information, there is no such legal definition as "both parties partially at fault"...what's the court going to order? for u to pay each other 100 each? I'm sorry, but it annoys when people start giving legal advice based on untrue hearsay.

Actually, yes, there is. I believe its No fault, though I could be wrong, where both parties did something to cause said accident. Not sure what happens, need to find my notes from American Jurisprudance last year and see what they say about No fault accidents.

Example:

Last year, I was in New Orleans (pre-Katrina) with a buddy. He wasn't paying attention, ran a red light, and got tboned. Technically his fault. However, the insurance company came out saying that, while yes, he did run a red light, the lady who tboned us was drunk (true), not paying attention (true), and speeding (true). So basically, both parties were at fault for the accident. It was scary as shit, I was sitting shot gun, and she hit us on my side. We were in a Ford Focus, and she was driving that BIG ASS Toyota SUV.

[Chad82]

from the limited info so far, I would say that you are at fault.

[BP2K2Max]

just from where the damage is located i would say it was your fault, from an insurance companies stand point. if he hit you clear in the back it'd be his fault but that damage looks like you merged into his lane and kinda side swiped him

[Jetts]

its your fault, bite the bullet and just pay up...

request that the vehicle gets a few estimates, and you actually get physical evidence of the actual estimates.
dont just let the guy pull a number out of his ass

[DylanTrott]

I don't know enough about traffic laws but the above is right... Make sure you get real proof of how much it would cost. 'Cus people are tricky. Good luck.

[Andydg]

Kinda sounds like you pulled out in front of the other car...

[CassiesMan]

Hate to say this, but the way I'm reading and envisioning it...it was your fault.