Can I prove that the car accident I got involved in isn’t my fault?
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Can I prove that the car accident I got involved in isn’t my fault?
I decided to help a friend who was looking to buy a car. We met this guy who was selling his car; I made the mistake of test driving it first. I got into a car accident. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that he didn’t have insurance but that’s a whole different story. My point was when the cop arrived, we had move the vehicle out of the way. He didn’t ask questions about the incident; he automatically thought it was my fault because of how the cars looked. However, the accident was not my fault. I later went and got copy on the report and you could tell it look sketchy. Is there anything that I could do to prove it wasn’t my fault? There were people in the car with me who saw what happened. It’s been a year since this incident but it came to back to haunt. I have to pay because it was my fault and on top of the car that I was driving with no insurance. Is their anything that I can do?
Asked on May 25, 2017 under Accident Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
If you have already agreed in writing (e.g. in a settlement agreement) to pay, you will be held to it: that agreement is a contract.
If you have not already agreed to pay, you only have to pay if 1) you do agree to, or 2) they file a lawsuit, prove in court that you were at fault, and win, getting a judgment against you. If you have credible (believable) witnesses who will support your version of events, that it was not your fault, you may have a reasonable chance of winning if sued; therefore, if you feel confident in your witnesses and evidence, you can refuse to pay, let them sue you, and then defend yourself in court.
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