O/T I'm so mad | Arthritis Information

Oooh I'm so p*ssed off!!

On Feb 1 my new car was hit. I was heading home and slowed down to make a right turn at a very slippery corner. I'd almost completed my turn when wham a 16 year old slid into me. He was going too fast for road conditions. When my husband and I got out of the car to look at the damage, the kid came up to me and said "I'm sorry!" Then he asked us what he should do and we told him to file a claim and make his statement as soon as possible. We even told him that delaying wouldn't look good since he's a novice driver and is on a 2 year probationary period. I reported the accident and made my statement to an adjuster, then I waited to hear if my deductible would be waived. I didn't think there'd be a problem. It was a no brainer... he hit me so my deductible should be waived.

I find out from my adjuster that the kid told his adjuster that he thought I was going to turn left so he decided to pass me on the right and out of the blue I made a right turn and smashed into him!

At the time I was hit there were huge amounts of snow left by snow plows on the side of the road. When I was making the right turn there was absolutely no room for him to pass me on the right...there was my car and next to me was the snowbank. There was no way he could be on my right.

The kid took over a month to make his statement about the accident. Now if I were a kid and the accident wasn't my fault , I'd hurry and make my statement. I guess he needed the 6 weeks to come up with a story. My adjuster tells me his version and mine don't match and said I need to submit a written statement giving my version of the accident. So I did and what happens? I get a call from my adjuster saying that they've decided I'm at fault. What the H...? By saying that the kid's statement is true, they're saying I lied and that my husband and I had forgotten how to get home after 25 years of driving the same route! When I got off the phone yesterday, I was so frustrated that I burst into tears. I can't believe this has happened! Guess we're headed to small claims court. I can afford to pay my deductible and the increase in my license and insurance premium, but it's the principle of the thing. I told the truth... the kid's car slid into mine. One thing I regret is that I didn't have my camera with me. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that is so true. Sorry for this long winded post. Does anyone have some words to cheer me up?

Hey Punkie, life was never meant to be fair, isn't that why we are here already. It stinks what happened to you, but what goes around comes around and the truth will out itself. Best of luck, love Jane.XXXXXX Punkie, almost the exact same thing happened to us, someone hit our new car from behind and then the other driver gave a false statement to their insurance about the circumstances and said it was our fault. I was livid! We had to pay our deductible but our insurance requested the case go to "arbitration" where a neutral party is supposed to decide what really happened and we have to accept their ruling. They said that can take 4-5 months. The lesson I learned was, even if it seems like a minor fender bender, in future I will insist on calling the police so they can make an official report. Ours happened in the middle of a busy downtown intersection at rush hour so my DH never thought to call the police but now we know better. Sorry this happened to you, I hate it when you have to pay even though you did nothing wrong because someone else lied.

Always look for witnesses or license plate numbers of witnesses, carry a camera and a voice recorder. It's too bad, but that's the world we live in now. And of course call a cop no matter how minor the damage is. Isn't it illegal to pass on the right anyway? He should still be at fault.Always, always contact the police when an accident occurs, no matter how minor you think it is, or how nice the person who hits you seems. Stories change over time, so it is important to get the police to make a report of what was said immediately following the accident.

Thanks everyone for responding to my rant. I really appreciate it.

WanttobeRAfree, that's what I thought too!

GG, I've learned my lesson the hard way. From now on I'm carrying my camera with me at all times. I've extra batteries in my purse, my camera case and my glove compartment. If it ever happens again, someone's going to find their face & car in my camera lens.

Former Mermaid, I'm so sorry you had this happen, too.

As for calling the police, they won't respond unless someone's injured or needs the jaws of life to get out of the vehicle. Oh well, as they say, live and learn. Thanks again everyone. I'm feeling muchos better.