Legal Question in Personal Injury in Florida

I was in an auto accident approximately 6 weeks ago. A car in front of me suddenly stopped short, I was able to stop without hitting her, but I was hit on the left rear of my car. Within a few seconds a second collision happened to the car that hit me.

There were no Law Enforcement offers were around that saw the accident, I called 911, and so did the person that hit me.

I have been waiting 6 weeks to have my car repaired, and late today I was informed by the insurance company of the person that hit me in the rear, that on the police report I was charged with the accident.

She faxed me a copy of this report by the officer who later came to the seen. There are 4 pages to this report, on the first page there is a list of reasons of what caused an accident, with 3 boxes numbered 1,2,3, for the position of the cars involved in the accident.

I was #1 car, this box is marked with a 2, Careless Driving, and in boxes 2 & 3, the number is 1, No Fault. On the fourth page is a diagram she draw of the accident, it shows that the second car hit my car on the Right rear end, when in fact, it is the Left rear that the damage occurred. This diagram is completely wrong.

The report read "driver #1 stated she stopped because of a "Phantom Car" stopping in front of her." Than driver #2 turned into the cement divider to avoid hitting driver #1. But, when driver #3 hit driver #2, that caused driver #2 to hit driver #1. The driver #2, who hit me saw this "Phantom Car" also. We were both trying to get her license number, and when I got out of my car he stated that �I did get part of the that ladies license number.� Just as the accident happened this "Phantom Driver� started to move her car down the over pass after she heard the crash, than at the bottom of the ramp, she did not pull over but just stopped again in the middle of the passing lane, while traffic was still moving, got out of her car walked to the back of her car looked it over. She than turned and looked up at the accident she had caused, got back into her convertible and drove off.

It was obvious that she knew she was the cause of this accident.

Now the insurance companies tell me that

1) the driver that hit me is disputing the accident, saying that he did not hit me until the third car hit him. And the representive from his company told me today that they were deciding whether they were going to pay for any repairs to my car, especially since I was charged with the cause of the accident."

I was shocked, there was a report about the accident but especially that I was the cause of it.

2) He works for the insurance company he is insured by and had access to this police report almost immediately. 3) When the officer gave me a paper with the names and information of the drivers, I asked her if there would be a report about this accident, and would anyone be charged with causing the accident. She told me "no just this information for your insurance companies."

I than asked since I was hit from behind, isn't it the fault of the driver that hit me and wouldn't his insurance company be responsible for the repairs on my car?" She stated, "this is a no fault state, so no one can be charged."

How can this officer document that I was the cause of this accident, how can she document what she did not see? I explained to the officer about the driver in front of me stopping suddenly, and again she stated, �it�s a no fault state, so it doesn't matter what that driver did." I asked again, "even if she was the cause of the accident for stopping on top of the over pass for no reason?" The officer replied, "that�s correct."

Obviously, ignorance is no excuse for not knowing the law, but in this case, it is not my ignorance of the law, but a false sense of trust and an expectation of truth from a Law Enforcement Officer, that what they tell me is the truth.

Everything that I have read about auto accidents, indicates that the person that hits the rear of the car in front of them is responsible for the accident for not being in control of his automobile.

1) Can these 2 insurance companies get away with not repairing my care.

2) I called the police department and asked about the discrepancies on this report, and if there was anyway I could have them corrected. I was informed that the officer who wrote the report starts her shift at 6 am and I could call, leave a message and the officer would return my call and discuss my issues with her than.

3) Is this a good idea, and to your knowledge is there any possibility that she would change these mistakes?

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Asked on 3/25/10, 7:08 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

David Slater David P. Slater, Esq.

The officer was not a witness and her report means nothing. Your version puts blame on car the car that hit you (following too close). If you sue in Small Claims court, the judge will decide percentages of liability.

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Answered on 3/30/10, 8:44 pm


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