I second that!  Also, insurance companies are smarter than
you seem to think - and they deal with this sort of claim
and counter-claim all the time.

If he knows there were no witnesses (or none that you can easily find) he's
probably doing this for the same reason you need witnesses.

Well, you still have the option of shooting yourself, but I wouldn't
recommend taking it, and would be very unhappy to learn that you did.

I wouldn't bother with the signs, I would just ask around.

I would expect that anyone who has been an arbitrator for any length of time
has probably learned to detect when someone is lying. So if it's only your
word against the doer's, I wouldn't be as pessimistic as you seem to be.

Stop fuming. It won't do you any good and will have negative effects on your
health and peace of mind.

Whoever seems more credible to them at arbitration.

I haven't been through exactly the same kind of thing but I can tell you
about a similar incident from my own life and how it turned out.

I was stopped in traffic on an expressway due to construction ahead. There
were cars ahead, behind, and on both sides. Everyone was stopped. The car
behind me was the last in the stopped line/lane that I was in. I was at the
wheel of a tiny compact car. The vehicle in front of me was a large pickup
truck, and in back was a full-size sedan.

Someone travelling in my lane apparently didn't notice that traffic ahead
was halted, and plowed into the car behind me, which forthwith plowed into
mine, which then plowed into the truck ahead. It was a forceful enough hit
from behind that even though I had the car in neutral and the hand brake
engaged, my car moved forward hard and fast enough to not only jar the truck
in front of me but also jar me so hard that I was hurt, almost badly enough
to be taken to a hospital in an ambulance. As it happens I was turned around
in the driver's seat and facing backwards, in the process of digging either
a book or a snack (I forget which) out of a bag on the back seat, when the
blow hit my car, and as I turned back around I felt major pain in my back
near the waist.

The car behind mine took most of the force so it wasn't as bad as it could
have been, but still.... Police arrived and took a report and offered to
call for medical help for me. I told them to wait a few minutes until I
calmed down and could gauge how bad I really felt, and I ended up turning
down the ambulance because I was in a rush to get home, almost there and
could seek medical attention there if I felt it was necessary (which I did).

The only damage to my car was a scrape on the front bumper from hitting the
truck. The truck was not damaged. My rear bumper was just slightly pushed
in. I did not file any claim for the car damage, but on my doctor's advice I
sought legal help to file one for the bodily injury, which ended up costing
me quite a bit (it was a large amount to me, anyway) to get fixed and out of
pain.

The outcome was I could not find a lawyer who wanted to take the case
because (1) none of the ones I consulted believed that any judge or jury
would believe that in an accident that did so little damage to the car they
were in at the time anyone could be hurt, especially if they refused an
offer of an ambulance ride, and (b) the amount of the claim was too small to
make it worth any lawyer's time.

I hope you have a better outcome.

I got a call today from the insurance company for the guy who backed
up into my car with his truck. The f*****g b*st*rd is claiming that I
rear-ended him!!! I can hardly believe it - I'm really upset. I'm
going to end up with a bad driving record, and my premiums are going
to go way up.

He had no damage to his truck. I had thousands of dollars worth of
damage. Clearly, he wants to get off scott-free, and he probably
will. I will not get my deductible back, but far worse, this will be
on my record and I will be known as a dangerous driver.

No, I did not call the police at the time. I would like to shoot
myself for that omission. But I didn't, and I am now stuck dealing
with this situation as it is. Unfortunately!

There were no witnesses that I can recall. Although I'm thinking of
ringing a couple of doorbells just to see if anyone did see it, but
didn't happen to come over to talk to us. This happened right in my
neighborhood, so I don't feel too weird doing that. Or maybe I could
put up some signs. Does anyone think that's a good idea?

The adjuster who works for my insurance company is off today, so I
have to wait until Monday to talk to her. She said that if they
denied it, they would go to arbitration, but I don't have much hope.

Does anyone have any *other* ideas of what I might do about this?

I didn't get the guy's phone number (got everything else from him!)
so I can't call him and ask how he could do this to me. This was not
an accident with any grey areas. You know how sometimes in an
accident, it's hard to tell who's at fault, because it's not clear
exactly what happened. In that situation, I would understand if the
other person claimed it was my fault. They might honestly believe it
was.

However, THIS WAS NOT THAT KIND OF ACCIDENT. It was very obvious to
both of us what happened. I was sitting still, and he put his truck
in reverse and backed right into me. He even said, "I put the truck
in reverse by mistake." He admitted he was at fault. Now it's his
word against mine. And he's going to win it, because rear-ending
accidents are extremely common, whereas people don't usually back up
into a car behind them! So who are they going to believe?

Purrs would be lovely, but if anyone has been through this and who
knows what my rights are - if I have any - or has any suggestions of
how I might prevent myself from being a victim in THIS situation (I
know how to do it in the future, ie, GET WITNESSES - but I need help
NOW), I am all ears!

Tearful Joyce