Other driver forced me off the road — no contact — their insurance says not our problem??
Still kind of in disbelief this is even a thing that can happen legally.
So about three weeks ago I'm driving on a two-lane road and this pickup comes flying out of a side street and cuts directly into my lane. I had maybe a split second to react — I yanked the wheel hard to the right to avoid getting hit and clipped a concrete median barrier. Busted up my front bumper and cracked something in the wheel well. The pickup never actually touched my car.
The driver did pull over eventually (I basically had to flash my lights and pull up alongside him to get him to stop). We exchanged info, I took photos of both vehicles and the scene, got his plate.
Filed a claim with his insurance. Just heard back — denied. Their reasoning is basically: our vehicle made no physical contact with yours, therefore our insured bears no liability. Done, goodbye.
I'm sorry, WHAT? He literally forced me into a barrier. I have a dashcam and you can clearly see him cut into my lane before I swerve. Repair estimate is sitting around $800.
Do I just eat this? File through my own collision coverage and take the hit on my deductible? Is there any way to actually pursue this through his insurance or would I need to go to small claims?
I'm not trying to make a huge thing out of this but it genuinely doesn't feel right that he causes an accident and faces zero consequences just because there's no paint transfer. Anyone dealt with something like this?