You’re right, it doesn’t look like it would make sense. With that said, there are some weird things that happen in accidents that don’t always look like they physically make sense. I don’t necessarily think that this is one of them, however without enough direct evidence to prove contrary, the Prius insurance is going to believe their version of events.
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Got in accident and at-fault insurance company denies claim
- Thread starter dragonxlwang
- Start date
Yeah the new normal - since you can never trust the other party are:
1) Always have sentry cam on, recording & downloaded
2) Shoot cam video at accident scene immediately after getting out of the car
3) Shoot pics of 360° of your car & counterparty
4) Call police no matter the imposition to others
5) Take vid/picture of counterparty's face & body
You may look like a douche bag but you are protecting your interest.
vs. the other guy doing same.
Those are all 100% correct. I’d add to also take a few wide pics of the scene. If you can stop immediately after the accident and take wide shots showing the vehicle locations, it really helps prove what happened and where if that ends up being disputed, like it often is (lane changes in particular). Don’t worry about blocking traffic for 30 seconds if you can do it safely. It could really save you in the long run.
I can’t tell you the number of claims I’ve seen where we wish we had photos showing the surrounding area to match up to Google Maps Street View to really show exactly where an accident happened. When we do have them, it can be a game changer if the claim is disputed.
Can't agree more. TeslaCam, and especially Sentry Mode are amazing features. But they have issues, particularly the gap when saving and the random glitches.
In comparison, I have had a couple Street Guardian dual cams now for 2 years. They have been bullet-proof, truly 'set and forget.' They never miss events on saving, and will save automatically on impact.
it was already in rightmost lane. It was about 1.5 car wide and I was in the middle. The lane is about to merge onto a HWY. the Toyota was almost on the right side curb when hitting me.
Is there a way to save the rear camera footage? I was Rear ended as well a few months ago and when I went to retrieve s the footage the next day it had been over written/deleted as it only saves for 6 or 8 hours or something. Or do you need to pull the memory out immediately to stop over writing etc. Thanks
FYI, you can use talk to these guys for diminished value claims or appraisal of total loss. They have helped me in the past to get additional $ and their fees were reasonable: www.autoloss.com or contact Monica at [email protected]
So sorry this happened--we've had 4 not our fault claims with our Model 3's and it's a pain in the behind to deal with this stuff. Work with your insurance company to handle this. On DV, we've had two situations. If the other insurance company makes no offer, in Oregon we can then work through an attorney and recover attorney fees. We got all we asked for on that situation. As fees pile up the attorney can usually get the insurance company to pay. Where the insurance company made a low offer we had to go to small claims court. Got a judge who sided with insurance company and barely looked at our appraisal. Got some money but not nearly what was documented. Good luck that things will be resolved ASAP.
I believe you are supposed to tap the camera icon on the screen and it is supposed to save the last 10 sec or so in a separate file. I haven't tried it yet and hope I never actually need to use it but guess it would be good to try it out before really needing it.
ColonelRHS
Member
Always call the police when there is an auto accident. Having the police write down the other driver's version, would have avoided this hassle. I tell people that if you don't, I guarantee the other driver is getting advice from someone on how to flip this accident and avoid their insurance going up. A couple of years ago, a young man had an accident on my street in front of my house. I noticed later it was taking some time, but the police were on the scene. Went outside to find that the party at fault had a witness, but the young man who was getting written up was insisting he was innocent. I told officers I personally did not see the accident but I had two front security cameras covering this area, and he was welcome to watch them to quickly settle this dispute. Cameras not only showed the other party at fault, but it also showed the at-fault driver's witness was not even present, and had shown up ahead of the police and was conversing with the guilty party in her car before the police drove up. She was the girlfriend of the driver at fault and had given a false statement. The police reworked their report to reflect what the camera had documented. I made a copy of the video and told the young man to let the other guys' insurance company know he had it, and invite them to view it with him.
Thank you so much @Debani -- in the case "If the other insurance company makes no offer", how the attorney can help if not going to court? My lawyer (a good one, but a general lawyer) is helping preparing for the small claim court now. Were yours negotiating on your behalf with the at-fault insurance? Was your attorney a specialized one? This is my first time having a lawyer so I'm a bit confused
ThanksMultiple cameras, including rear, are saved.
Pushing the camera icon within about 60 minutes permanently saves the footage. You can also change the car settings to save footage when the horn is honked.
Actually pushing the camera icon only save the last 10 minutes. But you want to wait at least a minute after the accident before you press it to prevent from losing the most current minute.
1. Stop
FYI - I'm not a lawyer and I don't have anyone in my family who is a lawyer. I have a few friends who are lawyers, though none in California, and this is what I have learned.
Good luck, now go delete this thread if you can.
- Stop talking to insurance companies.
- Stop posting anything on all forms of social media (heck, delete this thread if you can).
- Stop talking to anyone except your immediate family.
FYI - I'm not a lawyer and I don't have anyone in my family who is a lawyer. I have a few friends who are lawyers, though none in California, and this is what I have learned.
- Insurance companies run on the Ferengi business model of "once you get their money, never give it back."
- Insurance companies have buildings full of lawyers who's one job is to never give any money to anyone.
- Their fall-back position is to give as little money as possible away.
- If any insurance company (yours or the other guy's) offers you a settlement it may look big, but considering you mentioned neck pain you may need long-term health care (physical therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, whatever you need/want) and what they offer will not come close to covering long term requirements.
- Attorneys will work on contingency, they may take a big bite, but part of a watermelon is a lot better than a whole grape.
- You may be saying to yourself "lawyers are a bunch of bottom-feeding blood suckers." I don't think they are, but if they are don't you want you own bottom-feeding blood-sucker?
Good luck, now go delete this thread if you can.
To be honest, an attorney can't help you much with DV other than giving you guidance and pointing you in the right direction. They can't represent you in small claims unless you're filing a very large DV claims that exceeds the small claims threshold.Thank you so much @Debani -- in the case "If the other insurance company makes no offer", how the attorney can help if not going to court? My lawyer (a good one, but a general lawyer) is helping preparing for the small claim court now. Were yours negotiating on your behalf with the at-fault insurance? Was your attorney a specialized one? This is my first time having a lawyer so I'm a bit confused
Oregon is definitely different when it comes to DV due to some statutes they have on the books. It honestly does make insurance companies more willing to settle as if they do go to court and the judge awards the plaintiff more than what the insurance company offered, the insurance company has to pay all attorney fees. If the award is the same or less than the insurance's offer, they don't. So to avoid those attorney fees, you can often settle in OR without having to go to court.
Other states, such as CA, are different. Since DV is such a subjective thing, no two people are likely ever going to come up with the same number. You as a vehicle owner obviously see a much larger loss of value. It's very hard to "prove" DV without actually selling the vehicle and showing what that loss was due to the accident history.
I definitely recommend having a "professional" work up a DV report for you, but be prepared to settle for less than what they perceive as the actual DV. Again, it's subjective. That professional is paid to give you a DV report, so they're often going to give you what you want. The insurance company will likely do their own evaluation and it will surely be less. If you go into it willing to negotiate, you'll be better off.
Man, you sure know a lot.
You're so wrong on so many of your points. Insurance companies absolutely do not operate on that model - not the big ones anyway. Their model is to pay what they owe. No more, no less. Most of the big insurance companies are mutual companies, meaning their policyholders are part owners in the company who have a vested interest in how the company performs.
I promise you that no insurance adjuster (for the large companies) gets ANY incentive for paying you less money than what you are owed. Insurance is so heavily regulated and monitored by the state departments of insurance, the adjusters have strict guidelines they have to follow. No insurance adjuster has any incentive to drag out your claim. The quicker they can get your claim settled, the quicker they can move on to the next one and the less they have to talk to you.
Injury claims are different and if you are truly injured, a lawyer isn't a bad idea as they know how to handle the situation. For property damage claims, attorneys are pretty much useless - not to mention they typically have zero incentive to take your case as there is no money to be made in property damage claims. The law says you have to be paid what it takes to repair/replace your property. No more. There are no "general damages" such as pain and suffering for property damage.
iamnid
Active Member
I guess I'll weigh in here. I'm an accident attorney in Southern California and deal with this kind of thing day in and day out.
First, you probably won't find an attorney to take your case unless there was bodily injury -- we typically don't take property damage only claims as it doesn't really work with our fee structure (1/3 of total recovery).
Second, there is no reason NOT to file with your insurance company. AAA has made it clear that they are standing behind their insured and are denying liability on this claim. There's no more working with them -- they are refusing to cover the accident. You have a few options at this point and none make sense except putting a claim in with your own insurance.
Option 1: You can fight AAA by hiring an attorney to fight your property damage claim (probably on an hourly basis as an attorney probably won't take the case on a contingency) and pay several times the value of the car pursuing your damage claim -- that isn't really a feasible option.
Option 2: You can take the Prius driver to small claim's court so that you are on equal footing (neither side allowed an attorney) but there's California law that allows the insurance company to simply set aside any small claims judgments against their insured's, which will then revert you back to Option 1 (having to go to Court against AAA -- not a feasible option).
Option 3: File a claim with your insurance. Pay your deductible (unless it is waived), and have your insurance fix your car for you. If you had to pay a deductible it will be refunded if your insurance is able to collect from AAA. There's no hassle with this option, provided you can pay your deductible. Your insurance fixes/replaces your car and there's no fight about liability. What happens in the background is that AAA and your insurance fight over who is the culpable party. If they can't agree on who is at fault, they will go to something called "inter-insurance arbitration." The two insurance companies essential have a mini-trial where they agree to be bound by the decision of an arbitrator. Your insurance will use your photos as well as any recorded statements to argue that the Prius caused the accident and there was no phantom third vehicle. When/if they are successful, they recover the money they paid to fix/replace your car from AAA and refund your deductible (if applicable).
As for diminution of value, if your insurance doesn't cover it, you likely won't recover it. Honestly though, from the photos, your car may just be written off so it is a moot point. I suppose you could sue the Prius driver in small claims for the diminution but, again, AAA can have any judgement set aside quite easily.
Do not waste any more time with AAA -- if they have denied your claim, there is really no practical way to go any further. The advice to avoid using your own insurance is very bad advice.
Thank you. I continue to repeat this over and over again, and I don't know why the myth perpetuates. You pay insurance premiums to have access to their resources - money, repairs, and legal coverage.
After paying those premiums, why would you deliberately avoid availing yourself of the resources you paid for?
ai4px
Wes
Looking at the picture of the Toyota, my first thought was he didn't get hit as hard as he hit you. My gut tells me he hit you and the guy behind him nearly stopped but tapped him. But good luck proving that. Damn frustrating not being able to file the diminshed value claim.
