How can they prove fault in a red light accident with no witnesses?

Question

I was in an accident the other day in which a woman ran a red light and broadsided me while I was making a left turn with the green arrow. We told the officer on the scene that we did, in fact, have the green arrow. While I don't know what the other driver told him, the questions the officer was asking me made it seem as though the other woman did not admit to running the red. Ultimately, he ended up ticketing her and told us he determined she was at fault.

Unfortunately, no one who witnessed the accident stopped, so now my family and our lawyer is very concerned that the other driver is going to say that she didn't run the red and that we made an unprotected left turn.

Is there anything that we can do? They've gotten me very concerned about what happens if it comes down to me and my passenger's story vs. the other driver's story. What happens in this case?

Answer 1

That depends on whether or not her insurance company chooses to believe the cop. The fact that he ticketed her for running a red light *might* give your claim credibility, but you can't be certain. Most of the time in cases where there's a dispute over who ran the red light, if there aren't any witnesses around to verify what color the traffic light was at the time, then the insurance companies usually only award 50% to each party. That's why it pays to slow down, look around, and always proceed carefully through an intersection, even if you clearly have the right of way.

Answer 2

I wouldn't worry about this one. She was cited. Case closed. To ease your mind, there was physical evidence too.

Answer 3

If she already got ticketed you are probably going to be OK. The way she hit you makes it very likely that she was at fault in most officers eyes and in the judges eyes. Even if you had been turning left she would have had to be through the red and in the intersection to have hit you.  They can tell a lot more from the damage to the cars then you think.

Answer 4

It all boils down to credibility.  Yours, the officers and the woman's.  What should you do?  Write down in detail everything that you recall about the event so you can use it to refresh your recollection if you are required to testify about the accident at sometime in the future.

Answer 5

Depends on the state, but usually they do crash reconstruction in times like that.  Measuring skid marks, photographs after the fact, a number of things.  I'd suggest contacting the agency that responded and see if they have records of the accident as well as the officer's report.  The officer's determination would hold up in court should the other driver refuse to pay any repair or medical bills, and the report of the accident is just icing on the cake.

In a word, what can you do?  Sue.

Answer 6

i got into a wreck the exact same way just a week and a half ago.  Unfortunately, the cop believed the other driver.  But I think your story looks good because the other driver got the ticket.  The cop must have believed she was at fault.  My opinion is the judge will side with the cop because there was not witnesses and your lawyer is just looking at the case from every angle.