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Someone in the inside lane of a rotary attempted a right turn and hit the rear of my car and spun me 180 degrees. Great. Figures I was on the way to CVS to get candy because I felt bad that kids were ringing my doorbell and I had nothing to give them. What a hassle - ugh.
Oh man, that sux. It's a jungle out there!
Looks largely cosmetic so I hope the chassis is straight and everything gets quickly sorted under insurance for you.
Oh man, that sux. It's a jungle out there!
Looks largely cosmetic so I hope the chassis is straight and everything gets quickly sorted under insurance for you.
yeah doesn't appear to be anything wrong with it besides cosmetic, it still drives fine. just hope its a speedy turn around
Well, it needs a left quarter panel, which requires the trunk interior and rear cabin interior to come out. Then the bad quarter needs to be cut out and a replacement quarter welded in. They'll need to paint the quarter, blend into the roof and rear door and decklid.
If it's not leased, you have a valid diminution of value claim in addition to the damage and rental expense.
Well, it needs a left quarter panel, which requires the trunk interior and rear cabin interior to come out. Then the bad quarter needs to be cut out and a replacement quarter welded in. They'll need to paint the quarter, blend into the roof and rear door and decklid.
If it's not leased, you have a valid diminution of value claim in addition to the damage and rental expense.
damn, i don't like the sound of that. its also a lease
Mine too. No diminution of value as it won't be realized by you and the leasing company doesn't care. Another good reason for leasing. It may not be as bad if they can salvage the inner quarter (may not need to pull the interior). There's probably $5k in obvious damage there. Send it to a Mercedes Certified body shop and kiss it goodbye for about 3 weeks. I was an auto adjuster in a prior life, feel free to post any questions about the claim process.
My one worry is that he will try to claim to his insurer that it was my fault, even though the cop and my claims person said it was his. I was on the right in a rotary and he tried to take the right exit from the inside left lane. I found this which shows it wasn't my fault, I was going straight through (exit 2/4) where he was only going a quarter the way round. I don't care about the repairs I just want to make sure that it is his fault, since it was and the way my car was hit it looks fairly obvious. My bet is that he will say I cut him off or something but i was in my own lane. I appreciate the help Mike
That sucks man. I hate that section after Alewife at those two rotaries when I come down rt 2 from the west heading into Boston. Drivers around that area drive like crazy people.
Carriers generally go with the police report, unless there's an independent witness whose account conflicts with the police report. MA is a Pure Comparative Negligence state, meaning if a party is 51% or more at fault they cannot recover anything from the other driver. (Most states are Modified Comp Neg, where you can recover anywhere from 1 to 100% of your damages from the other party...80/20, 70/30, 50/50 etc.)
I would try to file the claim through the at-fault driver's carrier if at all possible. You'll avoid your collision deductible and any cap on rental. Who are the two respective carriers here?
Carriers generally go with the police report, unless there's an independent witness whose account conflicts with the police report. MA is a Pure Comparative Negligence state, meaning if a party is 51% or more at fault they cannot recover anything from the other driver. (Most states are Modified Comp Neg, where you can recover anywhere from 1 to 100% of your damages from the other party...80/20, 70/30, 50/50 etc.)
I would try to file the claim through the at-fault driver's carrier if at all possible. You'll avoid your collision deductible and any cap on rental. Who are the two respective carriers here?
When I called my company (Geico) I made it clear I want to go through his insurance since he was at fault, I'm awaiting a call from his (Plymouth Rock) to go over everything, I am impatient so I will probably give them a call this morning. The Police report only says what areas of the car were hit, nothing specific besides our information. Thanks for the help I will report back!
Sounds like the report at this point is just a driver's information exchange. He may have been ticketed for careless and that would show up in the formal police report. The damage supports your facts of loss.
Turns out he has Gieco, he gave an insurance card from 2013. This should hopefully make it easier, just waiting for the adjuster to call me to get my recorded statement - hopefully today
Depends. Sometimes when it's "in house" and liability isn't clear the adjusters, to make life easier on themselves, decide its "best" for each party to handle their own damages under the collision coverage on their own policy. It saves the adjusters from having to complete a complex liability investigation.
If you feel liability is 100% adverse the other driver, don't let Geico off the hook. They need to treat each claim as if it was against someone they didn't insure.
Depends. Sometimes when it's "in house" and liability isn't clear the adjusters, to make life easier on themselves, decide its "best" for each party to handle their own damages under the collision coverage on their own policy. It saves the adjusters from having to complete a complex liability investigation.
If you feel liability is 100% adverse the other driver, don't let Geico off the hook. They need to treat each claim as if it was against someone they didn't insure.
I called the adjuster and gave my recorded statement and really stressed every point that made it his fault. Also submitted pictures includes where his car ended up that are basically indisputable. I asked how long the turn around is because I dont want to drive the car until an adjuster comes and looks at it and all i got back was it depends. What if i relied on my car for getting to work? jeez.
after apparently 3 adjusters arguing over this, I am 90% at fault because there were no clear lane markings in the rotary so technically he could have turned right from the left if he wanted to, even though he admitted to not seeing my car and hitting me. un-effing-believable.
You remained in your lane through the rotary and the guy hit you in the rear? I'm not sure I understand their theory of liability. The driver that is changing direction...a lane change in this case...has the duty to assure a clear path. You can ask them to put their theory of liability in writing, although unless you can convince a claims supervisor to take a second look I'm not sure how much good it would do.
If there are no lane markings the presumption would be there is only a single lane, in which case he would have needed to remain behind you until he got to his turn off.
Damage is the front right corner of his front bumper. They said by examining google maps they can see tires marks on the road that indicate taking a right from the left lane is "common". I called the state police and asked for the status of the police report and it will come in the mail in around 8 business days. Ugh. Not guaranteed that the report will even say anything about what happened. How much do you think this will make my policy go up by? Right now I pay $110/month
Huh? Google maps? WTF are they talking about? It doesn't matter whether it's common, the question is whether a following driver can change lanes and strike a car ahead of him. (Hint: He can't). Not to mention that it's impossible to extrapolate from a static image on Google maps what drivers on that road "think". It's absurd.
A liability decision boils down to this question for each driver: What was the duty owed and duty breached? The other driver owes a duty to assure a clear path before attempting to change direction.
Ask the adjuster to explain to you what duty you owed, and how you breached that duty. And no, a driver on a public roadway does not owe a duty to be aware of what is "customary" irrespective of the basic rules of the road.
Can you post a screen grab of that rotary on Google Maps. I'm dying to see what these guys are hanging their decision on.
I just sent the adjuster an email, I borrowed some of your language (thank you).
"The accident happened in the yellow circle (picture below), and the white oval is where my car ended up (evident in the pictures I sent) after I spun 180 degrees counterclockwise. On the phone you mentioned it was OK for him to make a right turn from the left because there are no lane markings, but if there are no lane markings the presumption would be there is only a single lane, in which case he would have needed to remain behind me until he got to his turn off. I was very clearly in the rotary when my car was struck and judging by the photos of where I ended up. Again, the point of impact on my car (the rear bumper) shows that he was behind me. Thus, if it is considered a one lane rotary because of the lack of lane markings, the fact that I was in front of him, and he admitted to not seeing me in front of him and then hit the left rear of my car, I struggle to see how he is only at fault for 10% of the accident and does not carry 100% of the fault."
I'll PM you a letter you can send snail mail. It's the kind of letter no adjuster wants in his file because it indicates he failed to do an actual liability investigation and instead rushed to get the claim closed and off his desk. As I understand it you were established in the right side (lane) of the rotary, and you never changed lanes. The claimant driver was positioned behind you in the inside lane. The claimant driver changed lanes and attempted to make a right turn out of the rotary from the inside lane, and struck the left rear of your car with the right front of his. The claimant stated at the scene that he did not see your car before attempting to change lanes. Are those the facts of loss?
I figured it would be more instructive to other members to post it here:
__________________________________________________ ______________________
Geico Claims
[Street Address]
[City, ST, Zip]
Re:
Claim # (Yours)
Policy # (Yours)
Date Of Loss
I am writing with respect to liability in the above captioned claim. The facts of loss are as follows: On the evening of 10/31/2016 I was travelling [Direction] bound in the rotary at Alewife Brook Parkway, having entered from Concord Avenue(?). My vehicle was established in the outside lane of the rotary, as I was planning to exit the rotary onto [name of street].
A vehicle travelling behind me, in the inside lane, attempted to exit the rotary to the right from the inside lane but failed to assure a clear path. The driver struck the left rear of my vehicle with the right front of his. The resulting impact caused my vehicle to spin in a circle within the rotary, and my vehicle came to rest in the outside lane, where it had been and where it had remained. The other driver stated that he had not seen me when he attempted to change lanes.
Further, the physical damage here clearly supports my facts of loss. As you're aware, there is a presumption of negligence on a following driver, and nothing exists that would waive that presumption in this instance. I was shocked to learn that you had apportioned liability at 10% on the claimant driver, and 90% on myself. This apparently was based upon a discussion with the adjuster for the claimant driver (also a Geico insured).
In the case of competing insureds, it is improper to cross-share information, including the content of recorded statements, without the permission of each insured, and I did not grant you permission. Absent that permission, you are compelled by the insurance contract to investigate the claim as you would any other claim if the adverse party was not also your insured. In the event of conflicting facts of loss, and in the absence of any independent witnesses, you are required to complete an independent liability investigation and to give my version of the loss greater weight than that of the claimant driver if the statements conflict, especially when the damage entirely supports my contentions. Nothing in my statement to you, or in the physical damage itself, remotely supports a 90/10 apportionment.
My understanding is that you and the adverse adjuster consulted Google Maps and somehow divined that markings on the roadway in the rotary indicate that it's “customary” for drivers in the inside lane of the circle to exit to the right. This form of investigation is on its face absurd. Unless the Google image captured the accident, it has zero evidentiary value. Traffic is not goverened by “customs”. It's governed by statute, and statute prohibits a vehicle changing direction without first assuring a clear path.
However, let's state for the moment that I agree with your interpretation of tire marks on a Google map image. Drivers in the left lane are permitted to traverse the right lane to exit, provided there isn't a vehicle travelling in their path in the right lane. The adverse driver owed a duty to assure a clear path before changing lanes to exit the rotary. I, on the other hand, having been established in the right lane, owed no duty to a vehicle travelling behind me to anticipate his lane change and get out of his way.
As a result, as my carrier and acting in my interest as your insured under the terms of the policy contract, I respectfully request that you re-evaluate your liability determination. Liability here clearly rests 100% adverse the claimant driver. The above captioned claim should be closed and handling transferred to the adverse driver's claim under his Property Damage Liability coverage. Please refrain from making any payments to the adverse driver from my policy under the Property Damage or Bodily Injury Liability coverage and have a claims supervisor call me to discuss the contents of this letter at his or her earliest convenience.
10-31-2016, 08:15 PM
