Ugh this totally sucks! First accident in my 6 years of driving..

So here's what happened.. I was in LA for my girlfriends friends graduation at LMU this weekend and we decided to get food afterwards.. I was just driving on Lincoln for those who are familiar with the area and we were almost to the plaza. I was in the far left lane slowing down and all of a sudden the car in front me (Nissan Altima) slams on its brakes for no reason making me do the same.. I managed to stop in time but the car behind me couldn't, she swerved to avoid me but clipped my passenger rear which pushed me into the car in front of me and I guess causing a chain reaction. There were about 7 cars involved, only minor damage compared to mine and the one that hit me.

I'm not sure if there was a reason for the Altima to brake so hard, but I think she caused the accident. The damage isn't too bad but it just sucks seeing my car like that..

My question is.. am I liable for that car in front of me? I mean.. I didn't hit her I got pushed into her and there is no damage to her car.. only some paint marks from my car. I know in CA it's basically if you're the person behind then it's you fault.. But from the pictures you can see if I actually did hit her then there would be far more damage..

Pictures:







Car that I "hit"

 

You are liable but, you could take it to court since you were pushed into the altima. Here's your problem. The altima is from FL. If he/she is from south FL, that person doesn't know how to drive. Only some of us could drive here in south FL. It's not your fault and I'm glad you didn't hit the car dead on. But, people in Miami can't drive. Ask anyone from over here.

 

i would guess your stuck with it. its usually blamed on the person behind since you didnt leave enough room between you and the car in front of you. or atleast thats how i understand the "law"

 

That, Altima I could fix for under 30$ as for your car it wont be too bad from what I see but should not go into the 4digits to fix.

I live right by where you crashed, that place sucks..

 

I had no chance to leave her room because she stopped so sudden.. :/

The Altima has pretty much no damage at all because I didn't really "hit" her like I said, she could probably just buff it out.

My car on the other hand probably has something bent under the hood, the latch is stuck and my headlights seem to aim a lot lower.. I think that bar that supports the headlights is bent. It'll probably need a new front + rear bumper.. Still waiting for insurance to come check it out.

 

That sucks yo. Hope everything works out and you win. The damage to your car does not look that bad. I on the other hand had a hit n run and I got stuck with the bill . And it all happend in front of my building. Frizz where u stay at? I stay by Robertson and Venice

 

Front spacing or not, it was the car behind you who is at fault. If it wasn't for the car behind you, your car wouldn't hit the altima wouldn't it? Anyways that sucks, your car's value just went down 30% from that accident.

 

Technically it is your fault for the altima. Sucks though. Maybe take it to court, but without fighting, it is definitely your fault.

 

Not to rip on FL drivers but seriously you guys are scary. I was in Orlando & Sarasota not too long ago and I was very scared. I saw 2 drivers pull onto the meridian (grass) and start driving the opposite direction and within the week and a half I was there I saw 4 accidents and a Viper messed up on a flatbed. /treadjack

 

It all depends, in some cases the person who caused the accident has to pay for everyone, usually the last person who hit from the rear. However, in most cases, you pay for who you hit regardless of the person in the rear pushing your car into another. This is because, as insurance companies and police see it, you had an unsafe following distance which would have avoided the accident altogether, even if the car in front of you did a panic stop; that's what the safe following distance is for.

 

This is the part that ____es me off the most about accidents. :/

 

I still haven't heard from the other insurance companies about the accident.. but my insurance came by to check out my car and just from a visual inspection it came out to a $3k+ estimate.. Didn't think it would be that much but they said it'll be more once they rip it apart to check out the frame damage.

Soo I'm car-less for like 9 days according to Toyota.. boy does it suck not having a car..

Anyone want to buy a semi damaged OEM rear lip? I'm also getting my front and rear bumpers back too

 

we need pics of your GF or it didnt happen. lol sorry about your accident.

 

Wouldnt be surprised if you were targeted. Insurance fraud rings are sort of big in LA, at least that is what I have heard

 

ohh no not a BRM!!! damn dude sorry to hear about ur accident. seeing that u have the same color and car i think of it as my car and its hurting looking at those pics =(. hope things get worked out.

 

a few weeks ago my wife was in a similar scenario...traveling on the highway: Some lady missed her exit and still tried to get over...but there was no room for her to exit, so she swerves back out onto the expressway and slams on her brakes! She gets rear ended by the semi behind her, my wife was behind the semi and slams our camry into it...the dude behind my wife (haha) stops in time to miss her, but he gets rear ended by the car behind him. We've heard all kinds of diffrent ways its gonna play out... my favorite is that my wife could be liable for the 2 cars infront of her because she could have pushed the semi into the lady that caused the whole mess...bwahahaha!

 

^ That made me giggle at work haha. Glad to see we can still get a laugh out of something bad

I hope your wife is okay from the accident and the truck driver doesn't say she pushed his semi into the other cars keke.

 

depends on how it goes.. some insurance companies will say you were too close to other person which is why you were pushed into them which makes it your fault others will say is the person who started the chain reaction is at fault G/L