how...what, what?!

[Green_Fairy]

so one of the girls i work with ("A") was driving down the road last week when she needed to change lanes. she put on her blinker and sped up to get in front of the guy in the lane next to her.
he sped up.
she slowed down to get behind him.
he slowed down.
this when on for a while until she finally floored it and cut him off.
so he followed her.
might've just been a coincidence, but once he got in the lane next to her, rolled down his window, and started screaming at her and flipping her off, it wasn't a coincidence. now, she's one of the nicest people i've ever met. probably hardly over 5 foot, just tiny. she was rightfully annoyed and rolled down her passenger window and asked what his problem was.
so he hit her.
he swerved into her lane and hit her car.
he tried telling the cops that she rear-ended him, but the cop didn't believe a word of it. also, turns out that it wasn't his car and the girl with him? reeeeally not his wife. oh, and he's a navy chief.
when she filed a claim with her insurance company, they said that because he was at fault, they wouldn't cover a rental car or repairs for her car.
and...it turns out that because he hit her on purpose, his insurance won't cover it either.
how's that right? i mean, isn't that the entire point of insurance? to cover things when stuff like that happens?
she's taking him to court and luckly, one of our customers is a pretty good lawyer and has offered to represent her for $500 (and probably free coffee for the rest of his life, but that's besides the point).
i feel so sorry for A! to make matters almost worse, she's a few months pregnant. if he had hit her in a worse sorta way, something really really bad coulda happen. i hope he gets kicked out of the navy and his wife leaves him.

...so anyone know how insurance companies get away with that kinda shit?

[Bright_Star]

They get away with that shit cause they assume most people won't take it to court & when someone does then they give in real quick. Sad state of affairs that it takes going to court for these insurance idiots to take someone seriously.

[Broomjockey]

...so anyone know how insurance companies get away with that kinda shit?

It's in the policy. Insurance never covers your own intentional acts of destruction, so his insurance is right out. They'll probably drop him when his term's up. For A's insurance, it's probably listed in her policy that for incidents with other insured drivers, it's up to that person to cover certain things. In a case like this, a good insurance company would probably be suing the other guy for her. But, she's probably just got the cheapest coverage she can get.

[MaggieTheCat]

That's ridiculous! How can the other person's insurance NOT cover the damages? It was obviously HIS fault and that's what insurance is for, from what I understand -- to cover the OTHER person's damages in case you're in an accident and found liable.

I was in a similar accident about a week and a half ago. I needed to change lanes into the right-most lane to take an exit. Looked behind me, checked my mirrors, looked clear. Started going right and there was a guy right on top of me and we side-swiped each other. Because I was changing lanes, I was found at-fault (actually, I guess the fault hasn't been decided 100% yet, but the insurance agent I talked to sounded pretty definite that it would be my fault) and my insurance company is paying the other guy's damages, while we're paying our damages out of pocket (we do have collision insurance so they're paying for part of the damages, but we have to cover our deductible.)

Anyway, I really hope your friend gets this messed cleared up quickly. What a jerk the other guy was. Hugs and cookies.

Edit: Just saw BJ's post, and I didn't realize insurances didn't cover accidents that aren't really accidents, although it makes sense.

[Green_Fairy]

But, she's probably just got the cheapest coverage she can get.

probably. being a barista isn't the best paying job in the world. i hope when it all goes to court the judge hands his ass to him. pay for damages both material and emotional. i also hope he's sentenced to anger management courses.

[BookstoreEscapee]

when she filed a claim with her insurance company, they said that because he was at fault, they wouldn't cover a rental car or repairs for her car.
and...it turns out that because he hit her on purpose, his insurance won't cover it either.

That sucks. When I was rear-ended last year (actually, all 3 times I've been rear-ended), my insurance covered a rental ($30 a day, up to a certain total amount) - which I didn't need since I was able to borrow my dad's car - and the repairs (well, the first time the car was totaled so I got a check for the value of the car minus my deductible), then they went after the other driver's insurance and got reimbursed (and I got my deductible back). I could have simply gone through the other insurance directly but it was just easier for me to pay the deductible and let my insurance company handle the rest. Since I was rear-ended while waiting to make a turn each time, it was clearly the other driver's fault.

My roommate has the same insurance as me (which was handy when we moved in and had to list each other on our insurance as "other driver in the house"...we just had to give them the name and they pulled the info)...she had an accident and had to rent a car for a few days; they pretty much covered everything but the taxes.

So far (knock on wood) I have had only one accident that was my fault, and I was 17 and had been driving for only about 6 months at the time. Not that it's an excuse, but it was really due to lack of experience.

PS Green_Fairy - I love your avatar...I have that pic taped to my pencil holder at work...and I don't even drink coffee!

[lupo pazzesco]

Ok, I am not a lawyer, nor am I military, but having been embroiled in a legal thingie because of my sister, with the other dude being active military, the advice I was given, besides going to a lawyer, is to go up this jagoff's chain of command. There's apparently a whole chunk of the military code that is a catch-all for anything that isn't criminal the guy may be guilty of. Quoting what Accounting Drone told me, it's under article 134 of the military code, which (again to quote AD) includes

"all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital, of which persons subject to this chapter may be guilty,".

I think road raging while scooting around with someone who isn't his wife counts as something that could bring discredit upon the armed forces. Just something your friend might want to look into, or at the very least point her lawyer to, for a little extra ammo against this guy.

ETA: See page 4 of This thread for the details of the convo between Accounting Drone and myself over the military code and how it can help civilians. Best of luck to A!!

[Green_Fairy]

hehe. "scooting around." i like that

we work in an area with a ton of military bases, so the majority of our customers have something to do with the 'forces. one customer's husband actually works with the guy and is going to talk to their CO. every time a military person hears the story, they offer advice. most of it has been along the lines of "that's no way for a chief to act, he should be dishonorably discharged, jailed, this is what you should do, ect."
i almost fear for her if he does get kicked out of the navy. he knows where she lives because they had to exchange info. if he's crazy enough to run into her...who knows what he'll do

[BookstoreEscapee]

There's apparently a whole chunk of the military code that is a catch-all for anything that isn't criminal the guy may be guilty of.

This kind of behavior should be considered criminal...misdemeaner (sp? that looks wrong) at the least. Purposely ramming someone and endangering the safety of everyone else around you because you think you own the road? There should be charges for that.

[Green_Fairy]

i agree entirely. i really really hope they throw the book at him. A went to see her lawyer today so we'll see how that goes.

[trailerparkmedic]

Also, you mention that the chief had a chick with him who wasn't his wife. I bet his superiors would love to know that, especially since adultry is illegal for people in the military.

[gremcint]

Wow, why would you do that? Seriously you don't want them to pass you ok you're being an idiot but ok, then they try to go back behind you and you won't let them in. The only thing I can think of is you are trying to kill them, there is no other reason for that behaviour. Then he rams and runs her off the road.

License revoked for life, pay for all damages out of pocket, go to jail for attempted murder.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Your insurance covers accidents. This was not an accident. So they owe nothing. You can't just go out and cut a swath of mayhem and expect your insurance to pick up the dime for it.

However HE owes something. He will have to pay out of pocket for her damages.

Furthermore, were I her, I'd file charges for harrassment and assault. How was he not arrested for this??

I'm betting his insurance won't pay because they expect charges to be filed and lawyers to be called.