“Hey Steve. Take my car to pick up the pizzas.”
It is a seemingly benign statement that comes back to haunt you just a few minutes later. Letting someone else drive your car for only a few blocks can lead to an accident such as a side swipe.
Accidents involving a car hitting another car on the side of the vehicle frequently lead to auto insurance claims that require substantial payouts to handle the financial obligations of repairing both vehicles, as well as diagnosing and treating every personal injury.
Whether another car hit your vehicle at an intersection or barreled into the side of your car on a major highway, you have to know how to handle a side swipe accident while driving someone’s else’s car.
Monetary Impact of a Side Swipe Accident
A side swipe accident has the potential to produce irreversible damage to a vehicle. In addition to fixing the body damage made to the side of the vehicle, you also might have to account financially for operational issues that include a cracked engine and a transmission that now leaks fluid.
The severity of personal injuries depends on the speed of the car that hit you, as well as where the other car impacted your vehicle. At a fast speed and a direct hit to the driver’s side of the car you drove, a side swipe auto accident can trigger thousands of dollars of both property and personal injury costs.
Who Pays for the Monetary Damages?
Driving someone else’s car while involved in a side swipe accident brings several unique components to the auto insurance table. Some states put the financial burden of paying for damages on the driver of the vehicle.
Other states have mandated that although the owner of the car was not behind the wheel of the vehicle, he or she should shoulder the fiscal responsibility of paying an auto insurance claim. When what is called a “permissive” driver is behind the wheel of someone else’s car, then it’s the policyholder of the vehicle’s obligation to take care of all costs associated with the crash.
Know How to Handle a Side Swipe Crash
The moments that pass quickly after a side swipe crash are crucial in ultimately determining which driver caused the accident. Your first instinct is to ensure everyone in your car, including yourself, have not suffered any life-threatening injuries. Contacting law enforcement is the next step, as a formal report filed by the police to your insurer becomes the official version of events that led up to and transpired after the auto accident.
Although law enforcement arrived at the scene, you still have to play the part of detective by collecting evidence surrounding the side swipe crash. Speak with witnesses as soon as possible after a car crash to acquire supporting information that backs up the physical evidence collected by law enforcement.
A sense of urgency is critical for speaking with witnesses, as time can diminish memory and the fact that most witnesses to a car crash remain at the scene after an accident for just a short amount of time.
Any type of car accident can lead to incredible frustration when dealing with an auto insurance company. It gets much more complicated if you were side swiped while driving someone else’s car. Schedule a free initial consultation today with a state licensed lawyer to determine the best course of legal action.
