Q: Just had a collision, who would be at fault for it? And whats my options?
Hi, I was driving today and got into a collision. I had the right of way and she had a stop sign. When I was driving normally (not over speeding or anything) I saw her continue straight after her stop, but then stopped a bit (figured she did that to let me go since i'm on the right of way) so I continued and unfortunately I crashed into her (I think people call it a T-bone accident but I'm not too sure). She is certain that I'm at fault and that it was negligent driving but i'm pretty sure she had to wait after her stop to be safe to cross. No police were involved, we went to estimate our cars right after, and then went to see our insurances. Her estimate is around 3000$ since they have to change the door (tiny cut, not total loss) and paint over some scratches. Mine will come tomorrow but is less extreme than hers.
A:
I'm sorry about your collision. The jurisdiction where this took place could play a role in how it would be handled. But putting jurisdiction aside, you could wait to see what the determination of the insurance carriers are here. The fact that there was not a police report makes matters more difficult, but the other driver did have a stop sign. You won't know what she tells her carrier in her statement until they present their position. At that point, your options (based on the findings), could be to accept their payment if that materializes, go through your own carrier in a first-party claim, contemplate small claims court if you do not wish to accept their figure, or consult with an attorney to represent you. This is just a glossing over of the issues. There are more elements to this, and if you consulted with an attorney if and when it came to that, they could cover these issues in greater depth. Good luck
Tim Akpinar
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