If I was struck by a car while crossing a road, should my insurer have to pay for my trip to the hospital and medical exam or should the driver’s insurer pay?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If I was struck by a car while crossing a road, should my insurer have to pay for my trip to the hospital and medical exam or should the driver’s insurer pay?
I was crossing after getting off a local bus to head to my apartment. When I was crossing, there was no cross traffic, and no one at the stop sign at the intersection I was crossing at. Halfway across the southbound lane, a car turned left onto the southbound lane and struck me. I was not using a visible crosswalk, but I was not crossing diagonally as it is cited on my citation. Does the citation serve as an indicator of fault for the accident?
Asked on July 21, 2011 Iowa
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
While a citation can be powerful evidence of fault, it does not itself establish that; that's because to be at fault in a civil action (e.g. a lawsuit) requires a finding that one was negligent or unreasonably careless. Violating an ordinance regarding crosswalks, crossing the street, etc. can help establish negligence, but there mere fact that you were cited for violating an ordinance does prove negligence automatically.
If you have your own insurance that would cover the trip and examination, it should probably pay, since the purpose of your own insurance is to provide indeminication or reimbursement you regardless of fault. To recover from the driver's insurance, you'd need to put a claim into them, and if they don't pay voluntarily, you'd need to sue and prove the driver's negligence.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.