Was involved in a minor accident where an 89 year old decided to come to an abrupt stop halfway in the merging lane and halfway into the shoulder, while attempting to merge onto a main road. I was going less than 5mph during the accident and his vehicle had minor bumper damage.
In the police report there is a yes/no box for injuries, he did not check a box but just wrote “?, elevated heart rate”. I get it, he’s old and fragile, but he was walking around, agitated, telling his (untrue) side of the story to everyone with zero issues. I am now being told by my insurance he is suing for injuries.
I did say that I was at fault, because any other fender bender I’ve been a part of has always been just a simple insurance claim with both parties being cooperative and that’s it. Never had to deal with someone faking injuries to make a couple bucks. My insurance said I can still attempt to make him at fault but I’m not even sure if it’s worth it.
While I’m not worried that my insurance will not cover the costs, I was curious and decided to look up his name in our county court system. There are multiple cases spanning from 2012 till now where he was rear ended and claimed all of these injuries. Each injury was the same back/neck pain, with no actual damage found in MRI’s/imaging.
I get that accidents happen and will take full responsibility for them, but this dude seems like he’s just using the system to scam insurance companies and it’s just not sitting right with me. With this many accidents at his age should he even be allowed to drive anymore?
Am I allowed to ask my insurance what his injuries are? Should I consult with an attorney if these injuries are the same he’s been claiming for the past 12 years of being rear ended?
In CO if that matters
Posted by peepeekissing
5 Comments
Let your insurance company handle the details and move on. It’s not worth the mental energy, and your insurance company does this all day, every day.
>My insurance said I can still attempt to make him at fault
You misunderstand. YOU don’t get to put him at fault or “attempt” to. You don’t have that power or authority. Your insurance decides that.
>Never had to deal with someone faking injuries to make a couple bucks.
You’re not qualified to know if he is actually injured or not. Maybe he is, maybe he’s faking it. You don’t know.
>There are multiple cases spanning from 2012 till now where he was rear ended and claimed all of these injuries. Each injury was the same back/neck pain, with no actual damage found in MRI’s/imaging.
Unless there was a very serious HIPAA breach, where you illegally got access to his private medical records you can’t possibly know what his imaging results were.
Step back and let your insurance handle this. His health/injuries isn’t your business to be trying to he handling it personally. That’s your adjuster’s job.
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Your insurance company will search his claims history (that’s standard) and will most likely request copies of his prior medical records. Remember – this is all they do (claims investigation & resolution). You of course can call your adjuster & let them know what you found to give them a heads up.
I know it’s aggravating but let your insurance company handle it (I think it’s reasonable if you cell them every 45-60 days if you want updates on the status of the claim).
That’s a frustrating situation. I had a minor accident once where someone tried to claim injuries that didn’t seem genuine. It can be really exhausting dealing with insurance after an incident like that. I hope it gets resolved quickly for you.