TL_PILOT

HEY GUYS,
Last month i was sitting in my TL PARKED in NYC, when some idiot (pakistani cabbie who barely spoke english but knew how to lie very well) pulled up next to me to parrallel park and he side swiped me. the damages are on the left rear qaurter panel and bumper. He got out of the car apologizing and offered me 100 bux for the damages. I refused and call the cops . When the cops arrived he denied hitting me at all !!!
The cop saw that my paint was on the other drivers right side front bumper, and knew that he was lying, but he said he cant write in the report that he hit me bec he did not observe the accident. Instead, he wrote that "the other guy was attemting to park and claims that he did not hit me". it also stateson the report that he has damages (my white paint) on his right side front bumper.
I got an estimate from the dealer to fix the damages at 1025 +tax. His insurance appraiser estimated the damages at 800 bux. I just got a letter from his insurance adjuster stating that "they will only pay half ($400) of their estimate of 800 because their driver claims he was parked and did not hit my car" !!!! WTF
what i dont get is why are the even offering half if their driver claims they did not hit me , and second, there is evidence that he was not parked because my left rear side and his front right side both have damages indicating there was a accident. I dont want to go through my insurance bec I do not want to pay my 500 deductible if this accident was not my fault.
What is the best way to handle this ?

sorry for this being long just wanted to give all the details.
THANX IN ADVANCE

cpm06wdptl

Go talk to a lawyer. Most legal offices will give you a free consultation. You just need to put some fire under the other insurance companies ass

con5tant

iTrader: (4)

Did you talk to your insurance? They have their own lawyers and should fight for you.

TL_PILOT

Hey,
My insurance company wants me to pay the 500 deductible and they are not guaranteeing me that i will be reimbursed for the full amount of the damages. If I pay 500 , and my insurance estimates the damages to be less then the actual cost of repairing the vehicle, then i will be liable for the remaider.
I was going to first call the other guys insurance and if they dont want to pay me the full amount , then I was leaning towards suing in small claims court. But i am not sure if that is the best way to handle this, how much money and time it would cost me to go this route. wondering if anybody here had similar experiences ...

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Just go through your insurance company and pay the deductible, then let them fight with the other company and in the end you should recoup your outlay.

shellready

Your insurance will only fight for you if they are paying something out...so you can either fight there insurance or file with your insurance and hope you get your deductible back

truonghthe

you should taking pictures right at the accident scene on your door and his door where he side swiped you because your paint on his car is evidence that he hit you then lying. Like everyone else said go talk to a lawyer and have them settle the rest for you, it happened to me couple years ago when a woman cut me off and side swipe me and according to her statement was "the silver coupe was hit and run". The police said the same thing as your case that they did not see the accident happened or any one around there can become eyewitness for statement. Now how the fawk can I get the police badge number that show up along with the accident report then, I just laugh and have my lawyer deal with her lying a$$, dumb b*tch.

truonghthe

if you do so more than 90% of the time each party will end up paying for their own anyway and your premium will goes up even it wasn't your fault.

J35A8

I hate car insurance companys with a passion. We pay premium dollar for bullshit coverage and when we get into problems like this they start acting like fukin idiots!
TL_PILOT, I wish you the best.

ny747pilot

I went through this issue with my TL. Your best bet is to go through your insurance company and let them repair the vehicle, in which you will be responsible for your deductable. Your insurance company will more than likely litigate against the other company, it will go to arbritration and in approximately a year you will be notified as to the decision and your will be reimbursed the percentage of deductable you are deemed not at fault (i.e.- if you're found 20% at fault you will recoup 80% of your deductable, etc). Good luck.

Healingduck

This is what insurance companies do. They are trying to give you as least money as possible. Call them and tell them you have pictures that corroborate your story and if they refuse to pay the full amount you will sue them or the driver. DO NOT accept the $400 and expect to get the rest later. If you accept it, you are saying that you are giving up the right to sue them later and are taking the $400 as compensation for the accident.

If you took pictures of both vehicles, it should be clear what actually happened. Him saying he was parked is nonsense. Obviously he was parked after, but he hit you first. If they truly believed he was parked and didn't do anything, they would offer you nothing.

Azndjay

yup just like hail damage whatever you accept your agreeing to the damaging of the car. If you dont agree wait and talk to a lawyer.

turbo_oxide

^--- This.

IamaTL

lets hope he would be 0% at fault since he was sitting in his car.

TL_PILOT

Thanks everyone for their input. I do have pictures and a wittness. I will call the adjuster tommorow and allow him to do the right thing and pay up for the full damages, as it clearly states on the police report the markings on my car and other guys car. their insurance knows that their driver was not parked and he hit me, it is evident by the police report. i believe thy are just hoping that i sign and lave with the 400 which i am not. Per a lawyer, if he fails to comply i will then have to get 2 estimates from 2 diff body shops and bring the pictures with my witnesses statement to court, and sue for all damages. I dont think going through my Insurance is effective because they may not fight hard for me to get my deductible back, and they are not guaranteeing me 100% refund although in their system it says im 100% not at fault.
will let you all know as soon as i speak to the other guys insurance adjuster.

WayneJay

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. As some of the other posters said... Let your insurance company handle this. I know it sucks that you have to put out the $500 deductible, but you're doing the right thing. That's part of what you pay them to do.

A SiQ TL

Sounds like you are getting it worked out just fine. Good luck.Is the lawyer cheaper than the $500 deductible?

TVL65

NYPD SUCK. Years ago I was driving thru brooklyn & got rear ended by a box truck, we both pulled over & I dialed 911. It took 90 minutes for the police to show up! So 2 NYPD officers in a patrol car pull up, the passenger simply looked at my the truck, then my car & says: Doesn't look too bad, we're getting off duty in 30 minutes & I don't want to tie us up with such non-sense, exchange information with each other then they drove off. We did & I had to fight & fight their insurance company for weeks.

TL_PILOT

hi,
I have only consulted with the attorney and it was no charge. BUt i may have to do the suit myself, if it ever reaches to that level , in small claims court against the insurance co. Just not sure of the procedures. Any one ever file a suit against an insurance co in small claims court? ty

midnightcivic

iTrader: (1)

Ahh i hate getting lawyers involved, the only time i would personally involve them is when you actually get injured. The way i dealt with another insurance company when i had to deal with my totaled out motorcycle was contact the Texas Department of Insurance. They went to work and got the other insurance company to pay up in a few days. Not sure what your state can do but you can go that route. I also filed a claim with the BBB which really didn't do jack.

truonghthe

first off the if the insurance offer you money then they agree that accident was cause by their client, if the insurance know they can get away from it they would never offer you any amount of money at all.