Written by In the spring of 2006 I was driving with my family down Interstate 5 and a semi truck drove by us and hit the drivers side window and left sideview mirror with a broken tie down. It was the loudest sound you can imagine and I’m thankful that no one was hurt, but the mirror was smashed and I wanted the semi driver to have to pay for it.
We followed the trucker to a rest stop and told him what had happened (while he was fixing his tie downs!) and he said he didn’t do it. “You’re joking right? You hit my damn car with a tie down and broke a mirror” I said. He gets into his truck and calls his manager or dispatch person and we finally get the insurance information that we needed. What we didn’t do, and should have, is get the police to come down and check out the accident. We actually had them on the phone and told them we could take care of it.
A few days later the trucking companies insurance agent or claims person came by to took at the vehicle. She cited damage to side view mirror and a scratch on the drivers side window. Then when she was done examining the damage she wanted a deposition. She recorded me and my wife’s statement of the events and a week later we get a letter in the mail that said our claim was being denied! What!
I didn’t really know how to handle the issue any further because at that point I would have had to hire an attorney to pursue the claim, so I fixed the side view mirror at a cost of around $350 and let it go.
