Phantom vehicle crashes are more common than you might think. A phantom vehicle accident involves a vehicle causing an accident without contact and then taking off from the scene of the accident.
In such situations, it is very difficult or impossible to get the make and model of the vehicle that caused the crash, a description of the driver, or any other details regarding the driver that led to your accident. Sometimes there is no evidence of the other car even playing a role in the crash.
You can lose control of your car and crash because someone swerves in front of your vehicle or just bumps it. The insurance company is most likely not going to buy your story without a witness.
The Details
If you do have a witness to your phantom car accident, then the witness may be driving behind you. From that angle, the witness really is not going to have seen much more than you did, except that they can back up your claim that another driver caused the crash. Often, the bump that caused the crash is relatively minor damage compared to the damages that result after you are run off the road or lose control.
If there was no initial impact with the other car, filing a claim against a phantom vehicle can be even more challenging. Many times, these kinds of insurance claims are denied because you don’t have evidence of what exactly happened, and the insurance adjusters want hard evidence that supports your details.
Pursuing the Insurance Claim
You will want a personal injury attorney who will aggressively pursue your claim. Because these claims are often denied, an attorney can aggressively pursue your claim and help you recover the compensation you deserve after suffering damages in a crash caused by a phantom vehicle.
Your lawyer will investigate the accident and will most likely uncover evidence supporting your claim and reveal details that were missed by the initial review by the insurance adjuster. Sometimes there are bits of evidence that are in plain view yet missed. This might be a tiny indentation on your car’s fender, a mark on the bumper of your car, or something similar.
Proving that the Initial Collision Happened
Without evidence of the initial bump or cause of the crash, your claim is more difficult. There are some options, which most insurance companies won’t tell you about. You could benefit from the testimony of a witness who has no interest in the crash but who saw the other car cause your crash.
The phantom car crash must have been reported to law enforcement and an accident report must have been completed.
Any uninsured motorist claim must have been filed within a reasonable time frame, which is usually within 72 hours of the initial accident. Gathering evidence that supports your claim from other sources gives you a wide scope of opportunity.
Consult with a Personal Injury Attorney
If a phantom vehicle has caused an accident that resulted in damages to you, complete the Free Case Evaluation Form on this page. Your case will be reviewed by an attorney, who will tell you how to proceed with a claim.
