Intersection crash while on my permit — other driver denying fault. Do I have a shot?
So I'm still on my learner's permit and was out practicing with my dad in the passenger seat when this happened. We were going straight through an intersection on a green light when a pickup rolled through a stop sign on the cross street and clipped us hard on the driver's side. Spun us partially into the curb.
The other driver is now telling his insurance that I pulled out in front of him, which is just completely backwards from what happened. There's no traffic cam at that corner and the dashcam we have only faces forward — it caught some of the impact but the angle isn't perfect.
Here's what we do have going for us: a woman walking her dog on the sidewalk saw the whole thing and gave us her number at the scene. She confirmed to us that the pickup ran the stop sign. We also have photos of the final resting positions of both vehicles and the skid marks.
I guess my main anxiety is this: because I'm a learner, will the insurance companies or anyone else automatically assume I did something wrong? I feel like there's a bias against new drivers and I don't want that to sink an otherwise clear-cut case.
Has anyone dealt with a he-said/she-said situation like this and come out okay? Especially curious if a witness statement really carries weight when there's no video. My dad is pretty shaken up too and keeps saying we should just talk to a lawyer but I don't even know where to start.