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Successful Insurance Claim By An At-Fault Driver in California (Accidents & Personal Injury Law)

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 12:41:00 GMT
Tags: accident, accidents, at-fault, california, claim, driver, driving, francisco, injury, insurance, involved, lane, law, personal, san, story, street, traffic

The Story:

Hi, I was involved in an accident in San Francisco. I was driving on a 5 lane, 2 way street. There was a lot of traffic on the street, and I was driving on the lane farthest to the right. I noticed a car that had his emergency lights on, that was about 100ft away from me, so I slowly merged into the middle lane, everything was fine... There was traffic at the 4-way intersection that I was slowly stopped at, because many cars where turning right. The next block only had 2 lanes instead of 3. I then completely stopped, and the the intersection had traffic, both of my lanes where turning right, but only the right lane, was right turn only. There was a purple BMW motorcycle between the middle lane, and the left lane(next to me) at the mark before the intersection crossing. The light was red, cars where still infront of me turning. The light turned green, the cars cleared up, pathway was open for me to go forward. As soon as I accelerated, he turned right, in front of me, and I hit his rear going 5mph, his motorcycle tipped over. No one was hurt, minor scratches on my car, and his motorcycle, no dents, no big damage, police was not involved.

The Problem:
I was driving on a permit given to me by the DMV, my friend who was in passenger seat, with a full California regular driving license. The car was not fully registered to my name, the last thing I needed was to get the smog test papers, and take it to the DMV to complete it. My uncle had sold me the car, and his policy expired on the 26th of March 2007, and the accident happend on April 6th 2007 Approx. The insurance company finally came to a conclusion with the claim, and found me at fault for reasons unknown to me, and sent me to collection just a few days ago for 2,200 dollars approx. for minor scratches. I had no insurance while driving the car, which was my fault. But the accident was not my fault.

What I Seek:

How can I appeal to be able pay for the damages for his motorcycle, with out the insurance people.

Or how can I appeal the whole thing in itself?

If the state of CA does put me at fault automatically for not having insurance (which I dont know if there is a law in this state that states that) how can I appeal the over exaggerated cost of 2,200 dollars for minor scratches.

I know attorneys here wont take a case that does not involve serious injury and minor insurance claims. So I am looking to do this myself. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

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  • Comments
  • Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:53:00 GMT(1)
  • Sounds like you rear ended him and that would make you at fault for following too close.
  • Wed, 06 Jun 2007 14:56:00 GMT(2)
  • No, he wasn't in front of me when I accelerated. So I was not "tailing" or "tail-gating" or following anything too close. He was on my left side, between the middle lane (the lane i was in) and the left lane. He then made a right turn from being on the left of me, to in front of me, as I was accelerating.
  • Sun, 08 Jul 2007 07:06:00 GMT(3)
  • GoLo, I have read your accident description twice now...let me see if I got it right. The motorcyclist made a right turn in front of you and you were going straight, the lane you were in was a r/turn or go straight lane and the motorcyclicsts lane must have been a go-straight lane only...is that correct?
    If that is what happened, then here is what I would do: I would take pictures of this intersection that shows what lanes go straight, turn right, or can do both...if he was in fact making a right turn from a go-straight lane he is at fault for this accident. Have you given your version of what happened to his insurance company? I am assuming you have. I would not pay the $2200, they will eventually take you to small claims court, at that time you can plead your case to the judge. You could also sue the motorcyclist for the damage to your car. Your friend can be a witness to how this all happened.
  • Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:16:00 GMT(4)
  • Unless he was lane splitting (which I was told in the MSF class I took two days ago is illegal at a traffic signal) I believe you are at fault here, especially if he was on your side of the line (in your lane) and had his signal on.

    If he was one of those who went in between the cars to be first in line, then it would be his fault.
  • Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:09:00 GMT(5)
  • File suit in small claims against the other driver for 2200.00
  • Sun, 08 Jul 2007 08:27:00 GMT(6)
  • It sounds like GoLoGo contends that the motorcycle was between two lanes, the one he was in (which was the "right turn lane" either by designation or as a result of the stopped vehicle) and the left "straight ahead" lane. I would venture that the motorcyclist's version is that he was stopped in the same lane as GoLoGo, albeit toward the left side of that lane, and GoLoGo ignored his signal and tried to pass him as he was turning right.

    A vehicle is in one lane or the other, or straddling lanes. With a motorcycle, that would mean driving on the line marking the separation between lanes, not merely being toward the side of a lane. If he was in the same lane as you, even if on the left side of it, you shouldn't have passed him.
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