Did you happen to witness an accident I was in?

[ronhaha108.livejournal.com]

Hi, I was involved in a car accident in Ball Square Saturday 2/19 at around 3:45pm at the intersection of Willow/Bristol and Broadway. There were tons of people out and about, but I (stupidly) didn't take anybody's name/number. I don't believe this accident was my fault and don't want to have to pay the deductible but my insurance company stated it would be easier to fight if I had a witness to corroborate my account of the accident.

So if you had seen the accident it would be much appreciated if you could message me.

Thanks!
Ron

Comments

[geekpixie.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, MA is a no fault insurance state, therefore you will pay deductible no matter what. Fault is only important if you are suing for damages/medical costs. That said, having statements from witnesses may be useful in appealing points being put n your license, thus raising your insurance rate, so good luck!

[ronhaha108.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info!

[xuth.livejournal.com]

MA is "no fault" but that only applies to bodily injuries and inconveniences (ie missing work) up to a certain threshold (if my reading serves me right). Property damage (ie damage to the car) is still "fault based".

http://accident-law.freeadvice.com/accident-law/auto/fault-no-fault-car-accidents.htm is one such location but several said this. Sadly I couldn't find something that was decidedly local.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

No, establishing fault is very important.

If you're at fault, your rates go up for 6 years. And you have to pay the deductible for damage to your own car (if you have collision insurance; otherwise you have to pay the full cost to repair your car).

[gingicat]

I'm sorry to hear.

FWIW, I did not have to pay a deductible when I was rear-ended (gently, thankfully, and the bumper did its job) in Medford Square some years ago.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I think rear-ending and drunk driver are the two exceptions in most MA policies.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

It's inaccurate to call it an exception to paying a deductible, and there are more than a dozen other types of accident situations that establish fault the same way (hitting a parked car, hitting someone when turning left, hitting someone when backing up, a single-vehicle accident, etc). See
See http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/docs/doi/legal-hearings/211-74.pdf .

If someone else is at fault, it means nobody pays a deductible to repair your car, and your rates don't go up.

[ronhaha108.livejournal.com]

ya, my insurance company already told me i will be :( Thanks for the info tho...

[lena-a-mermaid.livejournal.com]

I have been hit by a car and I paid no deductible. The other car paid it and their insurance company paid for the whole thing.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

That's been my experience as well. If the insurance companies agree that the other car was at fault, then the other driver's insurance company pays, and in such circumstances I haven't paid a deductible. It's been a long time since I was in an accident though.

[ronhaha108.livejournal.com]

we'll see, the insurance company already told me that I would need to pay the deductible, I need to find out how that works though and how do I fight it..