Messed up legal matter...Help!!

[Redtatt2]

Can anyone explain this to me? This is coming from my other posting about my friend who went down on the freeway about a month ago. The on ramp from the 52 west to the 5 south it's a nice curve that goes left and while she was going through it someone clipped her rear tire while changing lanes and sent her into the wall. She's got full coverage and is doing good now. But she got a letter in the mail saying that her accident was her fault b/c she was speeding and wreckless riding! WHAT!!! She is a beginner rider and does not speed through turns AND I was like 10 cars ahead of her b/c I was speeding! Not her! And how would the police know anyways? No one was around when she got in the wreck. The cops rolled up AFTER it happened. This is messed up b/c now her insurance is going to go up and it wasn't even her fault!! Can someone help me with some advice? She should fight this right?

[brakstad]

Yes, get a lawyer for sure!

[Yeti]

How did her insurance get the idea she was speeding? From the police or somewhere else? I sent you a PM.

-Scott

[technophile]

sounds like a case of cage said, she said. If she was in the cagers blind spot, that driver will most likely claim that the accident was because your friend was trying to pass, which implies that she must have been driving at an unsafe speed and in a wreckless manner. In this type of situation, without reliable witnesses you can call to your aid, you will want to get some kind of legal council. I am a little suprised as CHP will usually tag any rear-end accident as the fault of the driver that rear-ended the one in front. Sort of an automatic fault (i.e. following too close for conditions yadda yadda yadda). At any rate, getting legal council is probably the best way to go. Without arbitration it will become a shouting match between insurance companies, and if the cops reported your friend as at fault, there isn't much her insurance company can do (except raise her rates).

[Shady]

I don't practice this kind of law, but having been there before can give you an idea of the steps you should take. First off, if your friend is just worried about insurance then there are plenty of steps outside of retaining a lawyer. When talking to the insurance company she needs to be stern in her position that she was right no matter what the police report says. Police reports really dont mean much...they can be challenged and are often disregarded by the insurance companies - no matter what the insurance company tries to tell you.

The length that your friend takes the matter really depends on how the insurance company reacts to the accident after getting all of their information. Retaining a lawyer is expensive and is often unncessary. I'd avoid it, if at all possible, but sometimes it is the only way. I cant really get into any focused legal advice, but if you have any more specific questions then just PM me and I'll try to answer them :thumbsup:

[Redtatt2]

Thank you guys for your suggestions and advice. I need to talk to her and see if she really wants to fight it. I agree that going the lawyer route is going to cost her alot and she doesn't really have the money to start with.
Basically it was the cops that reported her speeding (not that they had ANY proof) b/c the guy who hit her basically did a hit and run. So it's only her insurance company against the Police report. She's got to be able to get this straightened out. This is just ridiculous!

[Yeti]

Thank you guys for your suggestions and advice. I need to talk to her and see if she really wants to fight it. I agree that going the lawyer route is going to cost her alot and she doesn't really have the money to start with.
Basically it was the cops that reported her speeding (not that they had ANY proof) b/c the guy who hit her basically did a hit and run. So it's only her insurance company against the Police report. She's got to be able to get this straightened out. This is just ridiculous!
It occurs to me: If she was hit from BEHIND, how was she speeding? To hit someone form behind yo must be going faster than them.

Your friend can also call the CHP and challenge the report and ask to have it reviewed. I've had a few accident reports changed this way.

[R6ravenrider]

i would go to the police and challenge the report bc the insurance co will try and use that as proof that she was speeding, and the police are the law so....., get the report changed by going down to the station or dmv and say i would like to challenge this accident report bc its BS! Then they will get started and hopefully everything will work out for yall.