revdorothyl | In Which My Faith in Human Nature is Once Again Misplaced

I just got a call from my insurance adjuster, asking me to re-affirm my account of the accident, because the other driver tells a very different story. She's now trying to get my insurance to pay for the whole thing by lying through her teeth, saying that she never left her own lane (lie), that she had regained control of her vehicle after initially fish-tailing for a moment (lie), and that I then went over into her lane and hit her from behind (big fat lie).

I'm so mad I'm practically shaking and feel chilled all over in a way that has nothing to do with the weather.

My insurance agent seems to believe me and is sending me a statement to sign, swearing to my account of the incident. After that, I guess it'll be up to the two insurance companies to haggle it out. But I'm just feeling sick at such bald-faced lying.

I have enough things that I am responsible for to feel bad about, without someone who's already done me an injury trying to insult and injure me further by blaming me for her mistakes!

I just want to ask this would-be "victim" how, if I came in from the left and hit her vehicle in that right lane, we both ended up being pushed leftward into the median strip by the force of the accident?

I know I shouldn't get so worked up about this further proof of human weakness, not when real disasters like the tsunami are resulting in the deaths of so many thousands elsewhere in the world. But especially when there's so much misery in this world that is beyond our power to prevent, why on earth do we have to go out of our way to willfully cause more harm to another person? It's the absolute uncalled-for-ness of it that galls me most, when I'd gone out of my way to be kind and understanding to that other driver.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This was your adjuster - right?? Not the agent.

This happens all the time. A police report would not make a bit of difference. She is lying and there is really nothing that can be done about it. You tell your version of the accident. You do everything you can to cooperate with your insurance company.

The adjuster then makes a liability decision based on the evidence. If it comes down to a she said/she said scenario - then you look to the other evidence (Points of impact, witnesses) - and you do the best you can. Unfortunately - the main evidence is driver statements and people do lie.

So, in other words, I need to chill out and accept the fact that insurance claims rarely bring out the best in people.

Okay. I'll try.

And yeah, it was the adjuster, rather than the agent who sold us the policy. I'll change that now. Thanks!

Hee - just my pet peeve, sorry.

And yes, chill out. This is not something you can do anything about other than what you are doing. So - stay in contact with your adjuster -make certain they know you want updates - and people are just assholes. Some people.

Sisabet has given the professional advice, Lori.

I'll just say Ms SUV is a big fat liar and I hope her pants catch on fire. If her nose grew when she signed her witness statement, that would be amusing too.

I hope your insurance company finds it worthwhile to contest the issue.

I hope they fight it, too. Especially since the woman's submitted estimates for the repairs to her SUV in the range of $3000 and up. Amazing that so little of that damage was visible at the time!

Unfortunately, it's very common. It's hard for people to admit culpability, especially when money is involved. Someone once stepped in front of a friend's car and fell to the ground. (Fortunately, the car was barely moving and the pedestrian wasn't seriously hurt.) But she told the cops that she turned around, looked in the direction of traffic, and then got hit, apparently out of nowhere.

Out of nowhere, by a car that was creeping down a crowded street on a day with good visibility. Not to mention that she said she was looking in the direction of traffic but somehow got hit in the butt!

I think the laws of physics will tend to uphold your version of the story.

*hugs*

Here's to the laws of physics, then!

And thanks for assuring me that this isn't necessarily a personal attack, but more of an unfortunate confluence of cowardice (refusing to admit to a mistake) and greed (wanting to get someone else to pay the freight).

Thanks for the hugs! I needed that!

Several years ago, I was in a minor accident when I hit the side of a cab that pulled out in front of me from an illegal parking spot without signaling. I was trying to be calm and not be "that guy" who screams and flips out, but by the time we got to the police station to give statements, he was in full-on lying mode. He lied about the direction in which we were both going and a million other unnecessary things. It's like traffic accidents switch something off in the brain. It was frustrating, but at the same time, everytime the cop said, "Well, that's just not possible, given what you've said about this," I was just cracking up at the absurdity of it all.

I'm glad you're ok and sorry that you have to witness the seamy underbelly of dumb people. It is frustrating and baffling.

It's discouraging, alright. But it makes me appreciate all the more the so-very-not-dumb and so-very-decent people I've met online!

Thanks for reminding me that these things happen, no matter how smart and/or careful we are. And that sooner or later liars get theirs, karmically speaking (love the icon!).

This pisses me off enormously. Yes, I know it is human nature to be defensive and confrontational sometimes, but it is also human nature - or at least a facet of human nature to which it is not unthinkable to aspire - to stop, think, and then bite the bullet and take responsibility.

When you're [I mean all of us, but particularly this other driver] in an accident, it's best to simply make sure that any injured people get help, to assist folks whenever possible, to exchange all pertinent insurance information, and to refrain from either admitting culpability or asserting it.

Immediately post-accident, none of us is in the best of shape, so you go through the routine and try not to freak out.

But then...you tell the damn truth. You tell your adjuster exactly what you recall, including the parts you're uncertain about. If the claim goes to litigation and your insurance company retains counsel, you tell the lawyer everything, no matter how it makes you look. Then the lawyer looks at that, the accident report (if any), the damage reports, medical records, witness statements...and if the lawyer has the facts, he or she is in a position to make (or demand) an appropriate settlement proposal.

But you don't fucking lie. You want to, but you don't. Because it's wrong.

I'm so sorry the police didn't take a report. Have you, your adjuster, or anyone taken lots of photos of your car? Be sure and write down in even more detail than you have already on LJ exactly what you recall.

You (well, the adjuster/investigator) may need to place an ad in the appropriate newspaper requesting eyewitnesses to contact you.

And - this is a long-shot, but you'd be amazed at what can happen sometimes - google the other driver's information (name, plate number, whatever you have).

If none of that works, let me know and I will pound that SUV into eensy little shards of metal and plastic, and I'll make the driver eat every bit.

I can do this because I am evil and doomed and not a woman of any sort of Godly virtue, so just let me know, okay?

"If none of that works, let me know and I will pound that SUV into eensy little shards of metal and plastic, and I'll make the driver eat every bit.

"I can do this because I am evil and doomed and not a woman of any sort of Godly virtue, so just let me know, okay?"

Thanks for making me grin! It's good to have friends like you in situations like this!

(I'll let you know about the SUV-shredding-and-force-feeding offer later, depending on how things go with the insurance adjusters!)

In Which My Faith in Human Nature is Once Again Misplaced

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