Driver Lied to Cops, Should I Claim to My Insurance

[DaveMel]

Limo Driver Lied to Cops, Should I Claim to My Insurance

My Wife and I were passengers in a Car Service (NJ Limo Plates) heading to LaGuardia airport from deal, nj.we were on the BQE and 65th St. when the driver of my car service slammed on his breaks, skid across two lanes, and got hit by a commercial truck with a big cage on the back of it.

I got hurt in the accident and was taken from the scene by an ambulance to mt sinai queens hospital. (with my wife and suitcases)

Turns out, the driver of the car I was in lied to the cops and claimed he had no passengers.
Even worse, the Ambulance company never called in to the cops that they were transporting injured people from the scene, so the police never took my report and their report has no mention of me being in the accident.

Luckily, my wife took pictures at the scene of the accident and we have the ambulance record and hospital records that all match up to the police report.

We tried to get the police report amended, but the officer said while he believes us and sees we have enough proof, that he cant amend it because he did not witness us at the scene or know about us being there.

He advised us to file a no fault claim with the insurance company on the police report and file our own version of the accident with the motor vehicle department.

Problem is, the insurance company says the policy number on the police report doesnt exist or isn't active. My most recent correspondence with them is I emailed a scanned copy of the police report for them to try to track down the policy.

Since I flew to Denver that evening, I had to get medical care there, which is out of network of my health insurance...
In the mean time.... I am paying out of pocket.
$500 for an MRI,
$125 so far for PT
$30 for a walgreens pharmacy charge
who knows how much for the two visits to the orthopedist, the ambulance ride, and the ER visit.

I definitely need much more PT and other medical care...

Here are my questions.
1. Should I file a claim with my personal car insurance (progressive) even though it wasn't my vehicle, and I wasn't driving. Will it affect my premiums? Progressive claims it wont, but what if I ever switch policies?

Are there other ways to track down the insurance company of the car I was in via vin, or plate number, limo commissionin nj?
According to the NJ MVC website, limos must have proof of atleast 1.5 million in liability coverage

I have lots of info,... but they wont talk to me, and its clear they lied to the cops on the police report, about how the accident happened ( I was there, it wasn't how he claimed) etc...

Any and all advice would be extremely appreciated.

Thanks,

David Melamed

 

[rudy323]

This isn't a cut and dry case, considering the how the limo driver lied and such, I would get a lawyer

 

[brooks]

You have Med Pay on your policy? Use it. Let your carrier wrestle with cab company insurer.

Police reports can be good for information. They are inadmissible as hearsay in court proceeding unless "copper" actually was an eye witness to the accident.

 

[DaveMel]

Will it affect my premiums if I go through my own insurance at progressive?
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This isn't a cut and dry case, considering the how the limo driver lied and such, I would get a lawyer

Working on getting a lawyer, trying to figure out what to do in the mean time. Keep on paying out of pocket and hope for reimbursements, or file with progressive under my own policy.
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You have Med Pay on your policy? Use it. Let your carrier wrestle with cab company insurer.

Police reports can be good for information. They are inadmissible as hearsay in court proceeding unless "copper" actually was an eye witness to the accident.

is this medpay? Here is my coverage with progressive, what does it mean?

PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION (PIP) - MEDICAL EXPENSE $250,000 EACH PERSON LESS $250 DEDUCTIBLE PIP - NON-MEDICAL EXPENSE (EXTRA PIP)NAMED INSURED/SPOUSE/RESIDENT RELATIVES INCOME CONTINUATION BENEFITS $700 EACH WEEK/$72,800 TOTAL

 

[Sam]

By the way, Dave is my brother and I greatly appreciate you all taking the time to help him figure this out.

 

[DaveMel]

That's my big brother; always looking out for me

Thanks Sam and the Insurance Forum Community for all of your help and insight.

 

[TeePee]

I hope you start feeling better soon! I can't believe the limo driver lied AND the ambulance company didn't report it. Not sure how it works in your area but doesn't the ambulance have record of where they picked up from as well as the hospital having these records too?

 

[Guest]

no, a company can only surcharge you for an at fault accident, so in this case, no.

 

[DaveMel]

I hope you start feeling better soon! I can't believe the limo driver lied AND the ambulance company didn't report it. Not sure how it works in your area but doesn't the ambulance have record of where they picked up from as well as the hospital having these records too?

Thanks. I hope I start feeling better soon too
I have the ambulance record and the hospital records as well as pictures from the accident.
the question is why the ambulance company didnt call it in. It was either incompetence or some fraudulent angle.
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no, a company can only surcharge you for an at fault accident, so in this case, no.

Thanks, I will make a claim with my insurance company ASAP.

 

[djs]

Dave -

I hope you feel better soon. I know these accidents can really mess with a body, though fortunately, usually the body is pretty good about getting itself back together again. I hope thats the case with you.

Let me start with a few things, keeping in mind much of what you are talking about will vary based on state laws, so there is no universal answer.

The police report is just a statement of whatever the officer was told and his observations. If he wasn't told about you, then he wouldn't know. He should have checked the limo's log, but may not have. It should have shown you in the car. If not, the dispatcher for the company will. Of course, if the driver is the company, maybe not.

You are right though, you have enough proof to show you were there. Probably not the biggest thing to worry about in proving this part. If you have any receipts, reservation confirmations, whatever, keep those. Even phone records showing you called the company is a good record.

I'm usually not one to say go see an attorney, most people are better off protecting themselves. This is one case where it may be worthwhile though, especially if the injuries are severe enough.

Now, if you just want to get a call back from the limo company about their insurance, you can probably file a claim with their bond company (which is probably listed on their website). The bond company is AMAZINGLY good about helping you to do anything but process a claim against them.

If your current carrier (Progressive) will allow you to file the claim on your personal policy, by all means, do it. This is where state laws will come into play and I'm not sure what state you live in, and may not know the rules anyway. Usually, if you are driving the car, it will process the claim for you, but since you were a passenger, it might be sticky. If they will process it though, they will subrogate the claim back to the limo company and their insurance carrier. You won't have to do much else, they will take care if it for you.

Does the limo service have coverage? Probably. Police report probably just had the info wrong. I can bet you they are getting their car fixed!!!!

Dan