Any input would be nice!

#1 10-30-2002, 03:02 PM

I have a terrible situation! My luck never seems to get any better!

My car got hit by an 18 wheeler. (refer to earlier thread) But to try to make a long story short I work for a company that I have to run errands and stuff during the day in a downtown area. My old beater that I usually drive was/is having radiator problems that day so unfortuatly I had to drive the SVX (first mistake).
Well after having trouble in the past, the owner of my company called the mayors office to find out about parking and they said it would be okay for us to park in the truck loading/delivery area. I parked there. Behind that there is a private parking lot shaped like a "U". The entrance to the parking lot is on the far side of the "U" that I was not parked near. None the less the 18 wheeler decided to pull up over the curb into the lot that he should not have entered in the first place since, of course, that was not the entrance but a curb side parking area for deliveries. When he was backing over the curb into the parking lot he hit my car and did close to 4,000 dollars damage. The STUPID PIG (no offense to anyone here) that wrote the police report marked that I was illegally parked and made no mention that the truck illegally pulled over a parking space, over a curb, and into a private lot that no truck are supposed to enter. I noticed this on the report right off and went back into the precinct to have the report adjusted and the Sargent that talked to me got smart with me and let me know there was nothing they could do. I got home called the Mayor's office and spoke to a lady about the situation, since of course the Mayor's office said it would be okay to park there in the first place. She told me to call another number associated with the police. They told me to call another number to take care of the situation. I called the last number and after I explained the mayor's office (sorta) said to call you to take care of this "situation"...blah blah blah... I realized it was the same sargent I had originally talked to. He was pissed at me for calling the mayor's office and said that I should not have gone behind his back in a "tone". Now I am stuck with a misleading police report and I am dealing with a trucking company that is "self-insured" and I know they are not going to pay since I was "illegally parked". I called the Mayor's office back immediatly and mentioned my run-around and I also mentioned the pigs attitude to me. The lady seemed truly appauled and said she would look in to the situation. At 5 pm still NO call back...(you know those people leave at 4:45)... What can I do does anyone have an idea? I would doctor the police report up my-self but I would be scared they would get a copy directly from the police themselves...

-G

#2 10-30-2002, 03:14 PM

well certianly don't doctor any police reports.. I'm no lawyer, but I'm sure it's not the best thing you could be doing. I'd say just be persistent but polite, try to laugh a little bit, smile, say a lot of pleases and thank yous, but at the same time make yourself perfectly clear and don't stop until you get what you want. I've found that women are generally easier to talk to about this sort of thing since for whatever reason, they tend to be sympathetic as soon as you make it obvious that you're in trouble and don't know how to get yourself out. Just suggestions..

-Adam

Aredubjay · #3 10-30-2002, 03:18 PM

Did the policeman give you a ticket? If your car was illegally parked, he should have cited you. If he didn't, he failed in his duties and he failed to provide true evidence to his argument that you were illegally parked. Furthermore, get something in writing from the Mayor's office and your employer that agrees that permission was given to park where you were parked. Once you've got all of your stuff in order, make one last appeal. If you get no satisfaction, have your insurance company pay for having your car fixed and let THEM go after the truck people's insurance company for reimbursement.

lee · #4 10-30-2002, 04:28 PM

I think you should do a little investigation of laws on private property.

After an accident in a Best Buy lot, I was shown the FLA code that essentially says that there are no driving laws in a private lot (akin to driving around on a farm if you get the picture). Police will only write it up if actually witnessed by them. So in FLA he wouldn't be violating any laws (or be at fault) for driving into the lot, probably why no tickets were issued. But he has no excuse for hitting a parked car either.

What does that mean for you? If you had been in the car at the time of accident State Farm in FLA would have said you were equally at fault (remember no rules on private property). But from your description you weren't in the car; therefore it has to be his fault.

My advice, contact your insurance company. If you have comprehensive insurance your company will pay (minus deductible) and sue to recover their expenses and your deductible. Just having your insurance company call may be enough to have the trucker's company pay off given the circumstances. Make sure the documentation states you were not in the car and it was not running when the truck hit your car. Finally, if this is your job you may not want to go there, but it might be possible to claim against the lot/property owner just as if you parked in my garage and it fell in on your car.

Best of luck. Took me almost 3 years to get my $$ back, but then I was hit by a totally uninsured driver - which is illegal, but again it was on private property, don't need insurance except on public roads....

#5 10-30-2002, 05:21 PM

No I got no ticket. I was parked on a city street so it was not private property where the car was hit. But he did back over a space and up a curb to get into the back side of the parking lot. I do not have full coverage, only liability. That is why the car is not already in the shop. Uninsured motorist might coive me, because they do not have an actual policy they (the trucking Company...R&L carriers) are "self insured" What ever that means. But otherwise I am screwed. As for the mayor's office, I am trying to get them to give me something but I have not had any success. They have a certain means to get to the end "the run-around". I am just ready to cry!

-G

Aredubjay · #6 10-30-2002, 05:34 PM

"Self Insured," I believe, means that the drivers have to carry their own insurance. They are not covered under a "company" policy. This, indeed, would complicate things.

#7 10-30-2002, 06:34 PM

In responce to your run around problem, being calm and cool helps, being persistant is a must. I am in collections, yeah I know boooooooooo!,but when it comes to dealing with people who are generally pissed, the person who is will to talk calmly get ups in my book and get what they want. Your other recourse is to deal with mayors in person. They cannot give you the run around at that point, or hang up the phone. Hope this helps you out. Go get'em

Andy · #8 10-31-2002, 06:48 AM

I would recommend putting your questions in writing rather that on the phone. Are you near enough to hand deliver? Insist that your replies are also in writing, I am sure that the Mayor will suddenly become far more cooperative as he will be thinking about election time. (And the copies that you could then forward to the local papers, rivals etc.)

Andy