Disproving injury claim?

[mayuriinabox]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA


About a month ago I was involved in an accident- I rear ended someone. However.. we were stopped in a turning lane (I was third in line) and the person in front of me was moving up to merge into traffic. There was nobody coming and when she moved, I moved. She slammed on her brake (half in the road and half in the turning lane) and even though I was just coasting forward.. I moved to slam on my brakes and my foot slipped off of the pedal. I did not have time to correct.

That being said.. the accident was under 5MPH and we pulled over immediately. I asked if she was ok- she said she was (16 year old new driver) and we looked for damage- there was absolutely no damage- even the cop who took the statement noticed no damage. We both stated we were ok- she insisted on calling her parents (who am I to stop her- they are the ones who called the police, which is fine).. So everyone was fine, no injuries noted, no damage noted.


Fast forward to today. Suddenly- on the 30th day after the accident.. there is a claim stating that there is damage to the car and personal injury. They are supposed to be sending some things to the insurance company.. but the interviewer for the insurance company (upon further investigation) stated that it did sound like they were just trying to get some money out of the situation. I wholeheartedly believe this is true.

Someone suggested I see if I can disprove the injury claim or find a post regarding the accident via facebook or Instagram- my sister had found that the father of the girl is an insurance broker.. so I am sure he knows the ins and outs of it- what to claim as an injury, how to get past all the red tape, etc.. The girl in question is an acquaintance. Whereas we are not friends, several of my friends know her. All of them state that she is a very active girl, into sports, etc.. My sister did bring a post on Instagram to my attention- the girl and her mother have been in and out of the hospital since December and I am wondering if they might try and claim a prior incidents injuries to get money on this rear-ending situation.

We are awaiting evidence- I am not sure what the insurance company can show me.. but we are going to fight it.

Just wondering if there is anything in particular I can do to disprove it. We have pictures of our car... unfortunately I could not get a picture of theirs- even though there was literally no damage.. I was busy with the police officer.

EDIT:

I am not denying that the accident was my fault. If I was able to hit her while coasting like that, I was too close.
What I am denying is that I caused damage. No damage to the vehicle was done- to EITHER vehicle, not even a scratch. We literally tapped. The car did not move from its stopped position.

 

[stealth2]

There was no visible damage, you mean. It is entirely possible that there was damage that was only discovered when the car was checked by a mechanic. As for the injuries. Again - it's not unusual to feel as though there is no injury due to the stress of the moment and the adrenaline rush. Until you wake up the next morning in pain.

 

[mayuriinabox]

There was no visible damage, you mean. It is entirely possible that there was damage that was only discovered when the car was checked by a mechanic. As for the injuries. Again - it's not unusual to feel as though there is no injury due to the stress of the moment and the adrenaline rush. Until you wake up the next morning in pain.

But waiting the full thirty days to make a claim? For a literal tap? We were not going fast enough to even leave a small ding or scratch. How would there be any damage to the car?

 

[Proserpina]

But waiting the full thirty days to make a claim? For a literal tap? We were not going fast enough to even leave a small ding or scratch. How would there be any damage to the car?

You really don't understand this at all, do you?

I strongly suggest you don't handle this on your own. In fact, I strongly suggest you seek out the services of an attorney or three to sort out all of your other issues too.

 

[Just Blue]

You really don't understand this at all, do you?

I strongly suggest you don't handle this on your own. In fact, I strongly suggest you seek out the services of an attorney or three to sort out all of your other issues too.

Agreed!!

**************......

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA


About a month ago I was involved in an accident- I rear ended someone. However.. we were stopped in a turning lane (I was third in line) and the person in front of me was moving up to merge into traffic. There was nobody coming and when she moved, I moved. She slammed on her brake (half in the road and half in the turning lane) and even though I was just coasting forward.. I moved to slam on my brakes and my foot slipped off of the pedal. I did not have time to correct.

That being said.. the accident was under 5MPH and we pulled over immediately. I asked if she was ok- she said she was (16 year old new driver) and we looked for damage- there was absolutely no damage- even the cop who took the statement noticed no damage. We both stated we were ok- she insisted on calling her parents (who am I to stop her- they are the ones who called the police, which is fine).. So everyone was fine, no injuries noted, no damage noted.


Fast forward to today. Suddenly- on the 30th day after the accident.. there is a claim stating that there is damage to the car and personal injury. They are supposed to be sending some things to the insurance company.. but the interviewer for the insurance company (upon further investigation) stated that it did sound like they were just trying to get some money out of the situation. I wholeheartedly believe this is true.

Someone suggested I see if I can disprove the injury claim or find a post regarding the accident via facebook or Instagram- my sister had found that the father of the girl is an insurance broker.. so I am sure he knows the ins and outs of it- what to claim as an injury, how to get past all the red tape, etc.. The girl in question is an acquaintance. Whereas we are not friends, several of my friends know her. All of them state that she is a very active girl, into sports, etc.. My sister did bring a post on Instagram to my attention- the girl and her mother have been in and out of the hospital since December and I am wondering if they might try and claim a prior incidents injuries to get money on this rear-ending situation.

We are awaiting evidence- I am not sure what the insurance company can show me.. but we are going to fight it.

Just wondering if there is anything in particular I can do to disprove it. We have pictures of our car... unfortunately I could not get a picture of theirs- even though there was literally no damage.. I was busy with the police officer.

EDIT:

I am not denying that the accident was my fault. If I was able to hit her while coasting like that, I was too close.
What I am denying is that I caused damage. No damage to the vehicle was done- to EITHER vehicle, not even a scratch. We literally tapped. The car did not move from its stopped position.

Significantly no one would be sending "things to the insurance company" if you didn't have a liability policy in place at the time of the incident.

Assuming that the incident is covered, THEN the thing you should do is allow your carrier to assess and manage any third party claim that may be presented or defend at its expense any ensuing lawsuit. All with your complete cooperation, but not your independent assistance!

You do the latter and you could void the coverage.

The only need for someone in your position to hire independent counsel is if a lawsuit is filed seeking or having the probability of gaining a monetary judgment that exceeds the policy limits. And the need for that hasn't presented itself.

What your immediate concern is the next insurance premium notice. And I suggest that you be seated before opening it

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

You need to allow your insurance company to handle it. They will schedule a deposition and subpoena all the treatment records from her prior injuries to see if she is scamming.

 

[justalayman]

It's time for the old mans story about how vehicular damage, or lack of, does not necessarily correlate with bodily injury.

Many years ago a friend was in an accident. She would be in the place of the driver you hit. The physics of the accident would be quite similar. She was stopped. Driver behind rolled into her at a very low speed. No damage to either car.

Well over $100,000 (yes, one hundred thousand dollars) later she is doing pretty good. After so many surgeries i lost track (8-10 I think) and eventually a full joint replacement she is doing pretty well. Granted it was kind of a freak situation but just as you see people walk unscathed from obliterated cars, there is the opposite as well where no vehicular damage does result in some serious bodily injury.


The amount or lack of vehicular damage can correlate somewhat with the severity of injuries but there is nothing that says a lack of vehicular damage means no bodily injury or a lot of vehicular damage means severe bodily injury.


As to the vehicle damage; if none was seen it would mean there should probably be no need for paint but there are impact absorbing devices behind the bumper that are a one shot deal. If they were compressed they would need to be replaced to restore the engineered impact system originally provided in the vehicle.

As well, often times after an accident you are not looking for the fine damage you could have caused. Most vehicles have urethane bumper covers. When you impact them, even if they were not actually damaged, the paint can crack. Special additives are used in the paint to make it more flexible than the paint on the rest of the car but even this more flexible paint has its limits. If the bumper cover was distorted enough during the impact, it could require the bumper and valances to need to be repainted.

 

[mayuriinabox]

You really don't understand this at all, do you?

I strongly suggest you don't handle this on your own. In fact, I strongly suggest you seek out the services of an attorney or three to sort out all of your other issues too.

How is this remotely helpful?
I am sorry I had a question regarding this and a question in a completely separate field?

 

[justalayman]

But waiting the full thirty days to make a claim? For a literal tap? We were not going fast enough to even leave a small ding or scratch. How would there be any damage to the car?

They had a couple years to actually make a claim. I have not checked your states statutes of limitations but it isn't unusual for personal injury or property damage to be a couple years.

 

[justalayman]

How is this remotely helpful?
I am sorry I had a question regarding this and a question in a completely separate field?

it is good advice. You have insurance, right? They do this for a living so you get out of the way and let your insurance company handle this. Only a fool would get in the way of somebody that will be defending you at no cost to you.

Of course if you would rather do it yourself, tell your insurance company you release them of any obligation to indemnify you and have at it. Otherwise listen to what Proserpina said.

 

[commentator]

Quote: "am not sure what the insurance company can show me.. but we are going to fight it."

If you go all Nancy Drew on these other people, and start monitoring them via Facebook and other internet sites, checking on them at their place of residence to see if you can catch them out playing basketball or mowing the lawn, they may end up filing charges against you personally for stalking or harassment.

If things like this happen, checking on the people, etc. they should be done by the insurance company and their representatives, not the person who had the accident. After they have sued the insurance company, they will probably sue you personally for expenses over and above what was paid for by the insurance company to encourage them to settle. And this can take quite a while, you may hear from them a year from now. At this point, you might need an attorney.

But until then, the very best thing you can do is stay far out of it, don't try to check up on them, get involved personally, find out more about them, monitor them, catch them being healthy and active....just let your insurance handle it.

 

[stealth2]

But waiting the full thirty days to make a claim? For a literal tap? We were not going fast enough to even leave a small ding or scratch. How would there be any damage to the car?

Cars are made to crumple w/an impact - it is quite possible that there was damage to the undercarriage. A month is not so very long. By the time the car is checked over, insurance billed by the doctors, etc. - it's quite a reasonable period of time. Their insurance probably wanted to have all of the pieces in place first.

I was in a similar fender bender a number of years ago. No outward damage to the car, but there did turn out to be damage to the undercarriage. I was mostly just sore - but was also several mos pregnant. Darned tootin' I went back to my OB to make sure the baby was okay - (med) insurance balked at paying for another visit/scan right after one (I was actually on my way home from there when I was hit). So yeah - my insurance went after the other driver (uninsured) for the expense. Funny story, actually.... The owner's son was driving. The owner? A Superior Court judge. Who tried to intimidate me to drop my suit. When his kid was driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.