Triumphrat

Lehbs

OK now this is going to be a bit of a rant so bear with me here. Driving in Calgary on the 5th, there was a bit of freezing rain and in front of me the person hit her brakes and I followed suit only to start sliding.... lock it up, release, lock it up, release, lock it up damn can't stop. I hit the person in front, but going so slow I actually had time in this to check to either side to see if I had an out as I was in the centre lane. So as we pull over to the side I can see her bumper, no damage. Excellent, I got it slowed down enough. Only to get out and she leaves it in reverse. Am I really seeing this right, her vehicle is backing up into mine. Crack. her vehicle hits mine and rides a bit up onto the left side. To put it in a bit of perspective I am in a cavalier, she has a pilot. she left the wheel turned so it pulled out from the curb. She gets back in and pulls the car forward. UNbelievable. My car now has a dent and big scratch. Hers, the bumper is scratched up on the right side, mostly around the corner of it. She gets out and loos at what she did only to say we both did equal damage. I say no F#$@#(ing way. She says well I hit her first and that made her nervous, and she is sick so that is why she left it in reverse by accident. OK fine, but you need to pay fo rthe damage to my car. She said no insurance as then we both loose as the claim would make our insurance go up. OK but I still want your information. So we exchange information and we both drive away. I get a couple of quotes to fix my car, both come in a little under a grand. I was going to call her Monday night, but I get a phone call late in the afternoon. It is my insurance, and they ask me if I was involved in an accident on Friday night? I say yes and explain the whole story. They stop and transfer to another person where they want me to give an official statement. OK things might be ok, as it appears they are taking me seriously, and may fight this. I find out the next day when they call me back that the other party is claiming personal injury, no damage to their vehicle listed. I say this is rediculous if there was no damage done to the vehicle (and we are talking not even a scratch on the front of my plastic bumper), how could she be injured? They claim they are looking into it and talking with the other insurance agency. I say that then I want to start a claim against her for the damage to my vehicle. At this point the adjuster also mentions that because they have an injury and aparently there was a doctors note attached so there was very little they could do. They are going to pay it out so there is no chance of being sued down the road so regardless there would now be a claim on my record. Great, my skweaky clean driving record now dirty (not even a speeding ticket in the last 10 years). I ask if there was anything I could do to fight this, they said no it was best to handle it this way. She sets me up with an appointment to have an approved shop give an estimate for the work so that it is recorded. I call my agent to see what this is going to do to my premiums, and tell her the whole story. She mentions that she would talk to the adjuster and see what the details of everything are. I get a call back from the adjuster the next day that the quote fromt eh shop is approved and at anytime I can go in and have my car fixed for the $500 deductable on my plan. I ask what do you mean, I started a claim againt her for the damages to my vehicle so why do I have to pay. She explains that as tere were two accidents and no witnesses, the best I could hope for was a 50/50 liability and would still have to pay out half my deductable.
Wait, what? She wasn't claiming any damage. Well aparently she is now. Great, I mention it might be time for me to call my lawyer. The adjuster said that woud be fine and to let her know what I was advised. I make the call and basically advised to keep talking with the insurance and direct them not to pay out until the liability is confirmed.
So I get another call on Tuesday from the adjuster, and she tells me liability has now been assigned 100% to me. I flip out. This is bullsh##. She says that if I want my car fixed I can take it into the approved shop and pay my deductable. They have paid out the claim as per standard protocol with a witness.
Again, wait, what witness? The other party has a witness who apparently came over after I left and gave her number to the other party in case there was any dispute. Only problem, I followed her when leaving?!? I say a few choice words and hang up on the adjuster, call my agent and expalin the whole situation. She then goes to find out the entire case file to tell me the details.
I get a call yesterday and here it is.
I am 100% liable. THe witness was in the Tim hortons drive through and saw the entire thing. I hit her coming through the intersection, we pulled over, argued, we gave each other our information and then I took off. This is when the witness came over to offer her help. The other person at this time complained about feeling a jolt and her neck is starting to stiffen up.
So, they have changed their story three times, I have no witness, and not even a giant tub of Vasaline to ease the big fist of insurance fraud from punishing me into submission. Oh and my advise from legal now, is with a witness, they have the upper hand and he would not recomend fighting it as he could not guarantee me the outcome. I can't believe that noone can see through this or is so scared of being sued that they wont do anything. Basically, so frustrated and hating the fact that common sense and decency is lost in the world.

To anyone still with me, sorry for the rant.

Merry Christmas to Me

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May is going to be a busy month. Race school the 8th, Redline party on the 16th, first round of races 22nd & 23rd, and track night the 26th. Better order a couple sets of tires.

HiDesert

It sounds like about all you can do is buy a watermelon and a baseball bat and work out your frustrations. At least you'll have the extra leverage you get from the high ground.

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I won't stop riding because you tell me about someone who died in an accident, just as I won't stop eating because someone died of e.coli.

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Catenaccio

What?! All that and no kiss?

Seriously, I went through something similar 6 years ago. It took 2 lawyers and a zillion phone calls to get it solved. In the end, I paid my deductible and had a rate increase but with a clean record.

Baltobonneville

If it makes you feel better, I've been hit with false claims twice, and my insurance paid out on both of them and assigned the fault to me. It's infuriating; they'd rather pay than be bothered with contesting it.

Once by a 17 year-old girl with a car full of friends who hit me while I was parked (but in the car); she claimed that I pulled out in front of her!

Once by a guy who simply filed a small fraudulent claim, had it paid out by my insurance, then filed suit claiming injury. I had to take a day off work to appear in court to defend myself from this clown; he lost the case. I will say in defense of my insurance company that it vigorously fought the injury claim and put a good lawyer on it; she demolished the plaintiff's case.

On the other hand, I was recently rear-ended in a minor way (car, not motorcycle), and the woman who hit me apologized, gave me her information, told me to let her know how much the damage was, and promptly sent me a check.

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Marty
2005 Bonneville Blue 790cc, AI removed, Staintunes RC, Unifilter, no snorkel, 118/40/Thrux needle/1 shim/3 turns, tachometer, Ikon 7610s in back, Ricor Intiminators in front, Pirelli Sport Demons, D9 gauge panel.

Ratboy1050

Sorry to hear about this.

It just goes to show that there are some very dubious people around.

Next time, (hopefully there never would be a 'next time'), perhaps take a portable film (more difficult to alter 'film' images) take plenty of photographs and even a dictafone so that you can tell the other party you want to be certain of the facts?

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There comes a point in your life when you realize: Who matters, who never did, who won't anymore...
And who always will.

doodledog

SH*T it happens there too, I always carry a camera, and would also video the OPPOSITION moving around after an accident, only happened once to me and the guy got shafted when he tried the personal injury stuff, as he drove into my truck and said I swiped him, had him on vid from my cell and pics too. Only because I heard about his type from another trucker.

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I went to a restaurant that serves 'breakfast at any
time'. I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance

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Lehbs

Decided I will repair my own car this spring as from what I can tell it is two weekends and $100 in materials to fix my damage, as opposed to spending $500 to have a shop fix it. Have already bought a disposable and keeping it in the glovebox. So frustrating. Figured the money saved by doing my own work can go into the bike, will need new tires for the new season anyways.

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May is going to be a busy month. Race school the 8th, Redline party on the 16th, first round of races 22nd & 23rd, and track night the 26th. Better order a couple sets of tires.

Derswede

Don't know about Canada, but here I ALWAYS call the police. I've had folks BEG me not to call....I always do. It has saved my posterior once...the gal later claimed physical injury...at trial, when the cop testified, he clearly stated that SHE had backed out in front of ME (icy road accident, no ticket written). I won.

No matter what you think of the cops, in case of an accident they're considered expert witnesses for the most part, and tend to trump "witnesses" of the type noted above....if it is the other's fault, I want all the data to favor ME.

Derswede

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Common sense is dead. The wake is tomorrow.

Sands

That lady will get hers, carma happens. I hope she gets taken for 10 time what she took from you.

Baltobonneville

That might work where you live.

Here, the police by policy will not be involved with any accident with no apparent injury and/or the vehicle is not immobilized from the accident. All they do is tell the parties to exchange information, which is how the fraudulent claim and civil suit against me got started.

I refused to give my information to someone who was falsely claiming that I hit him, but the policeman he called told me that I must, although the cop refused to file a report, i.e. a report that would have stated that there was no accident, no damage, and no injury.

Luckily the insurance company lawyer found out that the claimant had a history of doing this, but not before they paid him for a new bumper for his beat-up car and charged the "accident" to me.

And forget about complaining to the state insurance regulator--that accomplishes nothing.

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Marty
2005 Bonneville Blue 790cc, AI removed, Staintunes RC, Unifilter, no snorkel, 118/40/Thrux needle/1 shim/3 turns, tachometer, Ikon 7610s in back, Ricor Intiminators in front, Pirelli Sport Demons, D9 gauge panel.