Accident question.

[punky]

So brother got into a little bumper accident.
He got hit by the car behind him, the car behind got hit by another.
1) From my understanding is that only the one that hit him is responsible for his damage right?
2) He did not called the police because the damage was quite little, just a little bent where the lisence plate is.

But here is the problem, after he came back from the autobody, the quote came out to be over $1000. Will there be some legal problem because he did not report to the police? Any advices from those with experience would be helpful.

[Hemi RT]

Have him go to the police station and report the accident, I take it he has the info from the person that hit him. That's all he has to do, also he should report it to his insurance company.

[Masked Bandit]

No worries about the delay in reporting it to the cops. That kind of thing happens all the time. Have him call up his insurance guy and they will take care of it. This will not change his insurance at all.

[punky]

Sweet, thanks guy for the assurance.

[TrevorK]

Originally posted by punky
1) From my understanding is that only the one that hit him is responsible for his damage right?

In the background this is what happens:
Person A = Your brother
Person B = Person behind your brother
Person C = Person at the back

1) Person B's insurance will pay Person A's claim upfront
2) Person C's insurance will pay Person B's claim upfront
3) Person B and Person C will debate on which company will pay for the damages caused in step one. Person A is paid immediately, but Person B and C's insurance will decide amongst themselves whether Person B or Person C is responsible for Person B hitting Person A.

If you don't have collision and have a poor insurance company they may try to stall you while Person B/C's insurance decide who will pay. This shouldn't take long if it happens, but it may if you let it.

[punky]

well today he called her (Person B) , and she said she talked to her neighbor, who is a cop, and he said Person C has to pay.
We are trying to settle this privately right now, but if she keeps this up i'll just call the insurance company to deal with this.

[spikerS]

^^ all depends on if person B was stopped too close to your brother's car. not sure on the legalities of how to prove it, but either way, is not your brother's problem in this case.

Go through insurance, you pay for it, might as well use it. In this case it would not affect your brother's insurance premiums, and saves you the headache. If they keep stalling of course.

[TrevorK]

Originally posted by punky
well today he called her (Person B) , and she said she talked to her neighbor, who is a cop, and he said Person C has to pay.
We are trying to settle this privately right now, but if she keeps this up i'll just call the insurance company to deal with this.

You will have a very difficult time resolving this because Person C sure as hell won't want to pay out of pocket for two cars (Especially since person B will be well over $1000 as I'm assuming both bumpers need work).

If you wish to settle privately, tell Person B to pay for your car and recoup the cost from Person C. This should be an acceptable solution if she feels that Person C is responsible. Person A should not be "held hostage" by the actions of Person C, which is exactly what Person B is doing to you right now.

There are two collisions here - first between Person C and Person B. Second is between Person B and Person A. You should not be waiting for the results of the first collision to get your car fixed. It's clear Person B is at fault for the collision that you were involved in, so they should pay and recoup the costs from Person C.

It's actually very logical - the damage on Person A's car is a direct result of Person B colliding with them. The reason's behind Person B's collision with you are irrelevant.


You need to reinforce to Person B that the collision is between Person A and Person B, and that whatever Person C did to cause this collision is between Person C and Person B. This is not your fault, and you do not need to seek compensation from someone who didn't hit you.

Think about it - if you go to court and sue Person C what will the judge say? "Well, Person C is arguing that Person B had already rear-ended you by the time that they came along and there is no evidence to decide either way. The damage on your car is caused by Person B. You will need to sue them for the damages because there is no evidence to the contrary."


And BTW - the police have absolutely no part in resolving insurance claims and determining fault. The procedure I outlined above is how the insurance company solves the claim internally, and you should follow the same steps for your claim if you go privately.

It's a logical process and it puts responsibility on the parties that should be responsible. So if Person C has no insurance, Person A is still covered by Person B. Or else, Person A would just be shit out of luck.