At Fault Driver Lied to Insurance

Question

I was side swiped on the interstate. The driver dented my rear door and smashed their front light. When the state trooper arrived, they took statements from me and the other driver. I asked if our statements matched, and the trooper said they did. He went on to say that based on the matching information from both parties, the other driver made an improper merge and was solely liable. The next day, I called the other driver's insurance company and was told they'd inform me when they took their driver's statement. After not hearing from them for a while, I called to find out that the other driver had accused me (to their insurance) of improperly merging into them and being liable. The insurance company is now telling me I'm liable, and that the damages could have easily been caused by me (though for that to be true, my car would have had to slide perpendicular to my axis of motion, which is impossible given the conditions, and ludicrous). The state trooper has a record, remembers the incident, and maintains the other driver is liable. The insurance company has told me twice in the past two days that they have attempted to call the trooper on his cellphone (verified correct number) without any response. The trooper says he hasn't answered or missed any calls from the insurance company or unrecognized numbers.

So the other driver lied to their insurance after admitting liability to a state trooper. Their insurance is now lying to me about attempting to access the police report. What do I do to get them to pay for my car to be fixed? I can't afford to do it out of pocket. Is any of this fraud? What are the repercussions for the driver for falsely accusing me of liability after admitting fault to the police? What are the repercussions for the insurance company for fabricating evidence to cover their inaction in obtaining the police report?

Also, my insurance won't touch it because I only have liability coverage, not collision or comprehensive.

Answer 1

Your attorney can file a lawsuit against the other driver, and legal liability can be determined in court. Your want to let an attorney do this, because the one thing that keeps you from being (expensively) counter-sued for defamation is that you didn't name the driver and insurance company.

It is extremely unlikely that the other driver accused you of liability ("liable" is a legal conclusion, not a fact). Instead, there is a dispute over the facts. During the trial, both sides get to present their evidence and the judge will determine who is actually liable. If you are found liable, your insurance company may have to pay up. If the other guy is found liable, his company will have to pay up. Or, fault can be split 50-50 (in which case you will be out of luck because you don't have collision insurance to cover your losses).

If the insurance company believes that the facts support their client and that you will lose in court, they are not going to volunteer to pay your losses. If they believe that the facts support you, or are closer to 50-50 w.r.t. fault, they are unlikely to volunteer to give you money.

If the driver makes a material plainly false statement to his insurance company, they might have recourse against him. Lying under oath is perjury which is a criminal offense. But mis-remembering facts or having incorrect beliefs is not a crime and won't lead to any legal problems for the driver. The belief that you are not at fault is not a lie. If the facts are as cut and dried as you make them out to be, the matter will be easily sorted out in court.