After a car crash in New York, you will probably spend a good chunk of time on the phone with insurance. New York uses a no-fault insurance system, meaning that the first insurance company to pay for your crash will be your own insurance, and you can only go after the other driver’s insurance if you suffered “serious” injuries. As such, both insurance companies will have questions, but their aims will be a bit different.
To get coverage from your own insurance, it doesn’t matter who was at fault. As such, your insurance company’s questions will focus primarily on what happened and how much they need to pay you. This means asking about your medical bills, your lost wages, and so on. If you want to seek coverage for property damage or do meet the standard to go after the other driver’s insurance, they will be more focused on fault, asking you about what happened in great detail to try to avoid liability. In any case, never talk to insurance before speaking with your own lawyer about your case and what to expect.
For a free case review, call The Martello Law Firm at (914) 685-6950 to speak with our Westchester, NY car accident lawyers.
What Does Insurance Want to Know About Fault in a New York Car Accident Case?
It is no surprise that fault will be a big part of your car accident case, but this might be surprising in the context of New York’s so-called “no-fault” insurance system. All this means is that your own insurance covers your injuries after an accident regardless of who caused the accident, so there will be no need to prove fault in court or anything like that before getting medical bills and lost wages covered.
However, if you have a “serious injury” under I.S.C. Law § 5102(d) and want to file a claim against the at-fault driver or sue them in court to recover pain and suffering and vehicle repair costs, fault will be incredibly important to their insurance company.
Even though your insurance might be paying regardless of fault, they might still have a “subrogation” claim they can file against the at-fault party’s insurance to recoup some of the money they paid you, which means they will still be interested in fault at the end of the day.
As such, the following questions are likely to come up from both insurance companies. However, you should always talk with your own Mount Vernon, NY car accident lawyer before answering these questions, as any mistakes or inconsistencies could make it harder to determine fault and pay your claim on time.
What Happened?
The simple facts of the case are going to be one of the first things that the insurance company wants to know. What cars were involved, who was driving them, and where did it happen?
Lighting, Weather, and Road Conditions
Questions about the lighting in the area – whether there were streetlights, whether it was daytime, whether the sun was out – will all play into what you could see and whether either party could have avoided things. Questions about both drivers’ headlight usage are also common.
Along with these questions, the insurance companies will ask about the weather and the road conditions. A dreary, rainy day might make it harder to see and will again play into whether headlights were being properly used or not. Additionally, a wet road, a gravel road, or a beaten-up road is harder to drive on, and road conditions might play a part in how quickly a driver can stop, whether they skid, etc.
Questions About Before and After the Crash
Details about what each driver did before and after the crash will also help illuminate issues of fault. For example, if you saw the other driver swerving erratically before they crashed into you, that can be used as good evidence that they were drunk or driving recklessly – potentially placing blame for the accident on them. If you were reaching down to adjust your radio right before the accident and didn’t see what was coming, that might also affect fault. Insurance companies want a full picture of what happened.
What happens after the crash is less likely to work as evidence of fault, but the drivers’ actions can help people infer their mindset and thoughts about their own fault. For example, a driver who says, “Let’s not call the police,” might be trying to cover up their own fault or might be on drugs or driving drunk. Similarly, a driver who admits to not seeing you, to speeding, to driving drunk, or to running a red light might be admitting fault, and taking note of those admissions is important.
Insurance companies will also want to know whether you were drinking, where you were coming from, whether you were wearing your glasses (if required), and more.
What Was Said?
As mentioned, admissions made after the crash can be used to prove the other driver was at fault. Other statements might also be helpful in assigning blame, though not every statement is admissible in court. For example, statements made outside of court are usually considered “hearsay” and blocked as evidence unless they meet certain exceptions. New York law often allows police reports to be admissible, and statements by the opponent are always admissible by the other party.
Questions About Damages from Insurance in a New York Car Crash
Your own insurance will want to know the full story, so they may begin with questions like the ones discussed above. However, their core focus will be on how much your damages are so that they can pay them.
At the end of the day, this doesn’t actually require much by way of questions. Instead, insurance companies are going to want hard proof of the damages rather than your own statements about your damages. For example, they might ask you what was injured, what your job is, and how much money you make, but they will ultimately base payment off of the medical bills you submit to them and the pay stubs you are able to produce as proof of income.
Be careful because any questions they do ask might be there to trip you up or give them grounds to deny payments if you produce any discrepancies or inaccuracies in your answers. This is why it is best to always work with a lawyer before answering any questions.
Call Our New York Car Accident Attorneys Today
If you were hurt in a car crash, call The Martello Law Firm’s Bedford, NY car accident attorneys at (914) 685-6950.
