<p>I had a parking lot fender bender a couple summers ago - my fault. I was using my brother’s truck and didn’t want to report it (so as not to affect my insurance premium or his) and paid the other gal’s repair bill directly ($900).</p>
<p>The police report should not have been forwarded to the state DMV, as the damages were under $1000 and no personal injury. However, by mistake it was. And the insurance companies now have systems whereby they see all these reports. So, it WAS reported and my premium went up quite nicely, thank you very much.</p>
<p>In my case, since it wasn’t supposed to have been reported, with a lot of red tape and a helpful DMV person :rolleyes: I got the report vacated (or whatever you call it) and my premium went back down.</p>
<p>So - you may not have the option of “not reporting” given the size of the damages and depending on how that’s handled in your state.</p>
<p>Sorry to be the bearer of bad news (and maybe it won’t apply in your state), but I figure it’s better than being blindsided.</p>
<p>Separate issue: if the “other guy’s” insurance company is willing to pay 75%, doesn’t that indicate they feel he’s pretty well at fault? So why not negotiate a better deal?</p>
<p>Well, I have spoken with my agent, so maybe I have already reported it without realizing it. I have an appointment with my agent for tomorrow morning. We’ll see what happens from here.</p>
<p>Today my son received a solicitation from a local lawyer. Guess the public record is already out there.</p>
<p>I am an accident reconstructionist and biomechanics (injury) expert who testifies at trial regarding such issues (almost always for the defendant). I would advise, first of all, to make sure you take several photographs of your son’s car before it is repaired, so that if it is ever necessary you have documentation of what actually happened.</p>
<p>Although your son may have had the right-of-way, if such a matter ever went to court a jury could decide for some reason that your son was partially at fault. If someone in the other vehicle claims to have been injured (and plaintiffs’ attorneys in every state know the right doctors to send clients to for them to receive a diagnosis of having been injured due to an accident), then their claimed loss may be a lot of money. If a jury decides that your son is 10 percent at fault, then in some states you would need to pay 10 percent of the costs, which could be a lot more than $1200 (in some states, you need to be more than 50 percent at fault before you have to pay).</p>
<p>If you decide to handle this on your own, then you need to make sure that you get something in writing that says that the other driver will never bring a lawsuit or make any claim agains you for any money. I had a situation where I personally had made a claim for my vehicle when I backed up in a parking lot and hit a pole, and my insurance rates were going to increase significantly for several years because of the claim ($750) I had made. I asked my insurance company if I could pay them back so the claim would not count against me, and they allowed me to do that but then said that they were therefore not responsible for representing me in any lawsuits that might result. I am not an attorney, but you should make su8re to protect yourself.</p>
<p>If the other person’s front bumper came off due to the impact, then your son was likely traveling at a significant speed when the impact occurred. The other person could claim that if your son had not been traveling so fast, that he coud have either avoided the accident or that it would have been less severe. </p>
<p>Just because this is likely a minor accident does not mean that the other driver cannot claim to have tens of thousands of dollars of medical treatment that are causally related to the accident. Especially nowadays, with arthroscopic surgery, people often undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery on some joint (e.g. knee or shoulder) that has been bothering them for years but they have never sought treatment for. A typical plaintiff’s attorney will ask for something like $70,000 from your insurance company if their client is “forced to” undergo such surgery. I have seen hundreds of cases where such claims are made in extremely minor rear impacts where there is no damage to either vehicle.</p>
<p>Your son may well have been in the right in this accident. Nevertheless, you still need to do what is prudent. The court system is really set up for the person who has the deepest pockets or the one with the best insurance policy to pay for any claimed losses. I would advise trying to get the insurance company to pay as much as possible, but absolutely INSISTING that you receive a guarantee in writing that no one in the other vehicle will ever make any financial claim against you.</p>
<p>Ebvitajr… Actually my insurance company IS going after the deductable but said it could take time. Happily, the US (or New York, not sure which) has some reciprocal arrangements with Quebec province that allows them to do this. Some of the other Canadian provinces apparently do not. So one of these days I am hopeful to see a $500 check in the mail. </p>
<p>Of course the agent had the police report, which was all in French, and didn’t have a clue what it said. (My son’s incident with the dwi driver ended up costing in excess of $4,000. Luckily, he was quite able to drive the car home from Montreal.)</p>
<p>I am working on the assumption our insurance rates will not be affected by this incident; but the speeding ticket I mentioned before is another matter. So he is taking the 6-hour course next week that lowers his points. Also, because he does not bring this car to school and it is registered under our name, I am hopeful we will not be too severely impacted. </p>
<p>Regarding the speeding, he learned. (And will learn when HE pays the fines and the increased insurance rates.) He is otherwise a careful driver but just was not focused on the speed he was going on an open highway.</p>
nytheatremom - I’m with you on this one. S received a speeding ticket for 40+ in 35mph zone. HE paid the fine ($132) <em>of course</em>. We, too, have not seen the insurance impact yet and, like you, hoping it will be minimal as he will be at school with no car and it is our car. </p>
<p>Around here if they get a speeding ticket before age 18, they lose their license for a period and the insurance goes up astronomically. And some of them just don’t learn; one friend had two instances in first year of driving! S was 18, so I guess we can rejoice that he waited until then.</p>
<p>I Got Issued a 180 dollar ticket after ramming a car in the back in a 25 mph zone around a curve when it was raining for failure to control speed to avoid collision in md. It was a three car collision, I hit the 2nd car who hit the first. I felt extremely bad about it and freaked out. I went to court and got the 180$ fine erased and no points issued. My dad had taken the car to a mechanic who said the brakes werent working properly… I took that report to the judge as evidence and got cleared. (Just felt like sharing my story)</p>
<p>LMNOP - but if you look at the numbers, it would have been darn near impossible for him to have avoided the old guy. I thought last clear chance implied that normal people would have been able to avoid the accident, not someone with lightning reflexes, ESP, and a car that can stop instantly. You can <strong>always</strong>* avoid the accident - by driving like a snail, stopping every single time someone is crossing your street, even if you have the right of way - but we don’t demand that people drive like that.</p>
<p>Here is a tale of caution: My 18 year old S was driving home from school. He had stopped at a stop light behind one car. After the light turned green, the car in front accelerated for approximately 100 feet then slammed on his breaks for no reason, there was no other car anywhere in the vacinity and there was no driveway or turn. My S ran into the back of him because he was accelerating at the same speed. The man got out of the car, came around and looked at the damage. Both cars were driveable (they could only have been going about 20, they had just accelerated from a light) and my S suggested they move the cars off of the road. The man said nothing, got in his car and called an ambulance. He must have also called his friends because within 5 minutes a car load pulled up and started taking pictures. When I arrived, the police man took me aside and told me that although my S was responsible for “failing to control speed” he thought it was an insurance scam and to tell that to my insurance company. They filed it as a fraud claim, BUT my S is still responsible because he hit him from behind. The man is suing for neck pain, loss of work time, and suffering. The agent says that he hasn’t accepted the offer they have made, but that he will settle. </p>
<p>Anyway, tell your kids not to accelerate right behind someone after a light. Give them plenty of room in case they suddenly stop.</p>
<p>Adding to Ag’s post - keep a small, disposable camera in the car. If you get into an accident, take pictures! Also, write down names of witnesses - although not the ones who are part of the insurance scam.</p>
<p>a) I’m not a Minnesota lawyer. So, grain of salt—
b) Here in California you are required to report the accident, whether your son is at fault or not, whether a claim is made or not.
c) Again, in California, your son’s insurance rates will be affected by whether he is determined to be at fault, not by whether or not a claim is made.
So, my suggestion is that you make your claim to your insurance company, and let them handle it. But do ride them to make sure they handle it correctly. In my experience, insurance companies tend to be pretty black and white about property damage claims. And a black and white analysis of this accident says the other guy is at fault. So I’m guessing that that’s how it will shake out.</p>
<p>Just got the letter from the insurance agency about damages. The guy settled for $8500. That’s not for the car damage, that has already been paid. This is for his supposed “pain & suffering”. This drives me crazy!!! There was hardly any damage to his car! Oh well, at least S learned a valuable lesson. He is now a much more Defensive Driver! </p>
<p>Watch out for kooks and insurance scammers!!</p>
<p>My car was hit while I was away. It was parked and the driver left a note. I called my insurance company (State Farm) after getting put on hold too many times from his insurance company…they got everything done for me…had my car towed, repaired, gave me a voucher for a rental…and negotiated with the other driver and insurance company…as they settled, my insurance companies attorney called me and asked if all my costs including cab fare to the rental company had been met. When I told them that the car rental went a week over the voucher because of delays at the shop…they sent him a letter telling him to settle that amount with me before sending them their first check.</p>
<p>Consider telling the other insurance company that full reimbursment is neccesarry and that at this point it will not include lawyers fees.</p>
<p>I am SO sorry and am so glad no one was seriously urt.
You SHOULD get your insurance company involved. This is what you are paying them for even if they raise your rates. Also, I did have a fender bender with an elderly person and their insurance company faught like cats and dogs. You see, their client is a risky a driver as your son and they will shift the blame any way they can. Go to it, contact your insurance company and stand your ground with the other driver’s company!</p>
<p>I’m the OP. Just thought I should let you know how things turned out.</p>
<p>The elderly driver’s insurance company proposed a 25/75 split (we would pay 25% of our damages). We countered with 10/90 (this would have been approximately equal to our deductible. No go on their part. </p>
<p>After much soul searching and number crunching, we decided to file a claim with our company. The increase in premiums (over a three year period…25%, 20%, 15%) and our deductible were about a wash with the amount of damages the other company was expecting us to pay. A small claims court claim would likely not have been heard for two months in our county. A long time to be without a car. </p>
<p>Our company has paid to have our car fixed (minus the $500 deductible) and is in the “investigative” stage. They are trying to get my deductible back…I’m not holding my breath.</p>
<p>My son is still very upset about this. Don’t have much advice for him except to say that life isn’t always fair.</p>
<p>That’s not how it should have ended, but it’s better than how it could have ended. Have the police, or the insurance determined whose fault it is? Go beyond your agent, to the HQ, and talk with the adjusters and claims, and try and have this written up with the least possible damage to your son’s driving record.</p>
<p>…haha what was an 86 year old guy doing at the mall? sry, just had to bring that up. Was it the parking lot outside of abercrombie, or Hot Topic? Maybe ‘Forever 21’.</p>
<p>I would not report anything to the insurance company that I could not pay out of pocket. Progressive Insurance are nothing but scam artists who charge people astronomical rates because they think they cannot get lower premiums any where else. Do not give Progressive any reason to raise your premiums, because they will. Accident not your fault, Regressive will jack your rates up. Minor speeding ticket, in steps Regressive Insurance with doubled rates for a person who hasn’t had a ticket in 5 years. Apply for a job, they go back 10 years on a 7 year background check. I would rather eat crap than recommend anyone go with Progressive. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, AVOID PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE AT ALL COSTS, YOU WILL THANK ME LATER!!!</p>
<p>Yikes. Not dealing with Progressive…guess that’s a good thing.</p>
<p>Not that exciting of a mall. He was just coming out of a grocery store parking area. For what very likely may have been the end of his driving career, I’m sure he wishes it had been “Forever 21”!</p>
<p>We’ll keep fighting for our boy. Thanks everyone for the support!</p>