Collision claim reporting

On May 7, 7:08 am, j...@yahoo.com wrote:
> I live in Massachusetts.
> On saturday afternoon, while I was driving straight down the road, I
> happened to hear a big clump like I ran over something.
>
> I stopped got out and saw it was a piece of round metal on the road.

Huh?   You mean like a hubcap?   You make it sound like you ran over the piece of metal, not like your car collided with another as I understand from later in your post.   You need to get a consistent narrative together based on what you _do_ remember, and tell that to your insurance company.

Frankly, telling them something like the confused mishmosh you posted here is likely to make them not believe you, and wind up having them blame you for the collision, especially if the other driver cooks up a good, consistent story (even if it is a lie).   Get your story straight.

> I am not sure if it was mine or the other car.

Still?  Do you really mean to say you can't tell, after having a couple days to look at it, whether or not any part whatsoever fell off of your car??   Did you (or the other driver) happen to _save_ the piece of metal you ran over, as evidence?  I suppose not.   But it wouldn't hurt to go back to the scene and look to see if it was still there, if that's not too inconvenient.

>  The other car driver
> stepped out.  I think he was moving out of parking when I was driving
> and somehow this happened.

You "think"?   On what do you base that conclusion?   When the two of you got out of your cars to talk, was his car still mostly within the parking space, with its front end nosing into traffic where it could have collided with your passing car?   Or was it completely in a travel lane and pointed in the right direction?  If so, did the collision happen in his lane, or yours (if  more than one lane)?   You've got to get all these facts straight or you will be helpless to help yourself by countering whatever the other guy says.

>  Both of us had no idea what happened.

Then you're not going to make a very good witness in your own behalf unless you do some hard thinking and figure out for yourself what must have happened.   There's no one else besides the two drivers who can do that.

And I wouldn't be too sure the other guy hasn't come up with a consistent and believable story by now that exonerates him and blames you.

>From the look of it, he had scratches on his front right wheel and
> mine on my front left bumper. I asked if he wanted to make a report of
> it he said no.

That doesnt keep _you_ from making a report.   Which you should do, now, to your insurance company.

> He asked for my insurance information, I gave it to him.

You were obligated by law to do that; both drivers were, regardless of who is later found to be at fault.

>  When I asked for his, he said he has no insurance.  I managed to
> take a few pictures of his car, obviously no damage.

How convenient.   Those photos are valuable evidence in your behalf so guard them carefully.   You may want to scan them, or make color photocopies at your local copy center, to give to your insurance company.

> When I left the sence he called me to report damaged to his rear
> window (right) and said I must pay for it.  This was after we both
> left the scene.

Do your photos show no damage in that area?  Or did you not take any pictures of that area?

If the other guy was pulling out of a parallel parking space, which I presume would place him to your right as you drove by (unless it was a one-way street, or angle parking) how on earth could the collision have caused any damage at all to his car's _right_ side?

> No police report because he did not want to call (he does not have
> insurance on the car, it was his wife's car).

Did you ask whether his WIFE has insurance?   That's what matters; in most states the primary obligation to have insurance runs with the car owner, not the driver.

You state the lack of insurance parenthetically, as if that were the reason he did not want to call the cops.   And you agreed with that??  Friend, you have NO obligation to protect someone else who is in violation of the law by not having insurance, especially where that person has already harmed YOUR interests by colliding with you.   You need to grow a backbone and stand up for your own rights.   You should have insisted on calling the cops, unless the other driver willingly gave you all the required information (driver's license to show his number, name and address; car tag number and state; car registration showing owner name and address; insurance card showing policy number and name of policyholder).

I'm sure you were feeling flustered at the scene, but you still have to get your senses together enough to ask the questions you need to know to protect yourself.   That's something any driver should be prepared, in advance, to know he has to ask, because you're not going to have the time or requisite calm state of mind to figure it out for yourself _after_ a collision happens.

> But he got hold of my
> insurance information because I gave it to him, he however did not
> give me his, he said that he's not insured.

You said that already.   Did you happen to write down his OTHER identifying information, from his driver's license and registration card?   Don't tell me you didn't ask to see his license and registration...   If you didn't, you have no proof the guy was who he says he is, or who owns the car.   Did you at least write down the license tag number on his car?   That still wouldn't help you, e.g. if it was a stolen car with stolen tags etc.   For next time, if you didn't this time, you need to ask to see the actual paperwork (driver's license and car registration) and if he refuses, then DO call the cops, and THEY will make him do so.

> My question is, should I report his to my insurance company as soon as
> possible by monday to avoid problems?

Absolutely.   Although you won't see responses to your post on MLM until after Monday because your question didn't get posted until Monday morning and it takes at least a day to get a response on a moderated newsgroup.

> Does massachusetts require a police report?

I don't know, but probably not.  It doesn't hurt for you to call the cops from the scene and report an accident, but it probably doesn't violate any law if you don't do so.  FYI many states and localities have adopted a guideline that the cops will _not_ prepare an accident report, even if the cops _do_ get called to the scene, unless there is "serious" property damage, or a reported injury requiring an ambulance.  But the cops, if called, WILL act as an intermediary so (a) the 2 drivers don't have to talk to each other and (b) they will get all the required information from each of you to share with each other, because they know what to ask _and_ have the authority to require an answer.

So in cases where you don't have your wits together enough to ask all the right questions, and feel intimidated by the other driver to make you too shy to insist on answers, you should at least have your wits together enough to call the cops and have them do that for you.

> Because at the time both of us do not know what happened, but will he
> be able to sue me and turn the case around now because he had my
> information?

Yes, of course he could turn around and sue you, but not because he has your information.   And it's not as though you could legally refuse to give him your information anyway. 

> I have a busy week ahead and don't know what to do.

The bottom line is, the reason you carry liability insurance is to deal with situations like this for you, so you don't have to fill up your busy week worrying about it.   Just report the incident to your insurance, WITH A CONSISTENT STORY OF YOUR OWN recollection so they aren't left to depend just on what the other guy says, and let them handle it from there on; it is probably the last you will hear about it.   If they are NOT able to settle things, yes you may get sued, but in that case you can be sure your insurance will NOT roll over and play dead, but will hire a lawyer to defend you and will try to present YOUR side of the story to the judge IF you even have a story to present.   But if all they have to go on is the other guy's story that "OP hit me and damaged my car and I didn't do anything wrong", and you don't have any memory to contradict that, they don't have much choice but to pay him for the damages he claims.

Good luck,
--
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Mike Jacobs
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