The fault rate 10-0 on rear-end accident, private settlement negotiated by myself! A professional on communication met at a free lawyer consultation

While I stopped at the red signal, a driver who was falling asleep at the wheel hit my car from the back. It could have been worse but luckily, no one was injured except my car, that was recognized as total economic loss and was taken out of service. The fault rate was 10-0. I was forced to negotiate with the perpetrator’s insurance company.

Oh, why do I have to negotiate by myself?

In case of fault rate 10-0, the victim is not able to ask his/her insurance company to do a settlement negotiation on his/her behalf. Because it is legally prohibited for insurance company who doesn’t have any damage to get earnings from the negotiation. 10-0 accident, insurance company cannot negotiate | Zurich Japan

I didn’t know that..

But, how can an amateur suddenly negotiate with an insurance company?

The free consultation by a bar association gave me a great help then. Just spoke for 30 minutes over the phone, the lawyer in charge analyzed my case matter-of-factly, and gave me specific advices. Moreover, the best part is that his advices all led to a satisfactory conclusion!

In fact, his communication skill was so professional. He was like a hero for me.. what kind of person do you think the lawyer was?

In a nutshell, he was like a comedian.

He was bubbly, loud and laughed a lot. He said something like “well, I don’t understand so much, either”. I thought at that time, “because this is free consultation, I cannot expect so much..” . But looking back later, I think it was his intentioned talk, in order to make me relax. I was so nervous to speak to the first lawyer in my life.

The below three are compensation of damages I claimed.

1. The market value of my car that has been scrapped due to economic loss.
2. The expenses related to purchase of a new car
3. The period of free supply for a loaner vehicle

Here are the lawyer’s advices in summary;

• In such cases, it’d be better to negotiate by yourself instead of using the lawyer special contract of your car insurance. Lawyers belong to the same industry as the insurance company, the negotiation sometimes ends up with moderate conclusion. If you like to make a strong case, you should negotiate by yourself.
• You did everything you could. Your decision to buy a new car was prompt. You have no fault
• They may discount the market value of your car, however you can submit similar level of used car price as a rational.
• There are many precedents on the related expenses of a new car purchase, you can check by Google and claim based on precedents.
• Actually, the maximum period for free supply of a loaner car is often set up to 30 days, however, if you have special circumstances, don’t hesitate to explain and negotiate.

Me : “But what should I do if the negotiation would fail to reach the agreement..”

The lawyer laughed cheerfully and said, “this is a negotiation, so until either party throws in the towel, it will continue. But you’d better contact to the insurance company often”.

Me : “Oh, OK.. <what does mean ‘throw in the towel’ during a negotiation..?>”

As I learned later, the negotiation is a discussion between two parties who both are not perfect, to find a compromised point. So, ‘throw in the towel’ means giving a definitive and emotional reply that the other party can not find the compromised points any more. Putting aside the victim’s emotion, it is important to be persistent and struck to seek for the understanding of the other party. Though tiring, that is a classic way for negotiation, I realized.

And at the end, I myself took a risk and demonstrated how serious I was. Damages cannot be claimed without expense. Even if I paid by myself in the worst case, I incurred the expense that was really necessary for me and claimed.

Actually, it was the citizen’s free consultation room for car accident operated by Yokohama city, who encouraged me to the lawyer’s free consultation. There, specialized counselors listen to me personally over the phone, without reservation. I called them several times when I was unsure and uncertain to make a decision. The counselors discussed about my case and gave me their agreed opinions. I felt “I was supported firmly” from the other side of the phone. Professionals on communication were also here!

Within the limited time, they conveyed well what necessary to their clients and encouraged them positive changes on their behavior and way of thinking. The professionals I met through the negotiation process, practiced such difficult task very naturally and produced results.

The professional work is tough!