A six-vehicle crash on the 405 Freeway in Inglewood injured eight people.
The accident happened at about 5:30 p.m. near the Manchester Blvd. off-ramp. Three ambulances were called to transport injury victims to local hospitals.
Multi-Vehicle Crash: Who Pays for the Damage?
In a multi-vehicle accident, if one driver was 100% responsible for the entire accident (as in a multi-car pile-up), then that driver must pay for everyone’s property damage and injury claims. If more than one driver was at fault, then the at-fault drivers must pay for their proportionate share of fault.
Usually, if there was a police report, the insurance company for the at-fault driver(s) will not accept fault and pay for the repair or total loss of any car until the insurance company receives the police report in order to see the parties’ statements and the officer’s conclusions about fault. That can present a big problem if the Los Angeles Police Department made the report, because LAPD police reports are usually not ready until three to four months after an accident.
What do you do with your Car while Waiting for the Police Report?
You have a duty to “mitigate your damages” while waiting for an insurance company to step up and accept responsibility. That means if you incur auto-related expenses that you could have reasonably avoided, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will try to weasel out of paying for those expenses.
If you have collision coverage under your own auto insurance policy, to avoid any delays in the handling of your property damage claim, you should go through your insurance on your repairs or total loss claim. Once the police report is out and the at-fault driver’s insurance company accepts fault, they will reimburse you on your deductible.
McGee, Lerer & Associates is composed of a husband and wife team of car accident lawyers. We have four office locations: Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena and Los Angeles.
A six-vehicle crash on the 405 Freeway in Inglewood injured eight people.
The accident happened at about 5:30 p.m. near the Manchester Blvd. off-ramp. Three ambulances were called to transport injury victims to local hospitals.
Multi-Vehicle Crash: Who Pays for the Damage?
In a multi-vehicle accident, if one driver was 100% responsible for the entire accident (as om , then that driver must pay for everyone’s property damage and injury claims. If more than one driver was at fault, then the at-fault drivers must pay for their proportionate share of fault.
Usually, if there was a police report, the insurance company for the at-fault driver(s) will not accept fault and pay for the repair or total loss of any car until the insurance company receives the police report in order to see the parties’ statements and the officer’s conclusion about fault. That can present a big problem if the Los Angeles Police Department made the report, because LAPD police reports are usually not ready until three to four months after an accident.
What do I do with My Car while Waiting for the Police Report?
You have a duty to “mitigate your damages” while waiting for an insurance company to step up and accept responsibility. That means if you incur auto-related expenses that you could have reasonably avoided, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will try to weasel out of paying for those expenses.
If you have collision coverage under your own auto insurance policy, to avoid any delays in the handling of your property damage claim, you should go through your insurance on your repairs or total loss claim. Once the police report is out and the at-fault driver’s insurance company accepts fault, they will reimburse you on your deductible.
McGee, Lerer & Associates is composed of a husband and wife team of car accident lawyers. We have four office locations: Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena and Los Angeles.