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As my girlfriend and I were coming back from the mall this lady cuts her off. My gf didn't see the car to the left of her and slammed right into it to avoid getting hit by the lady on the right. She pulls over and I do the same. (I was behind her in a separate car). She was in complete shock and couldn't drive. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt. We then exchanged info with the car she hit and headed home after she calmed down a bit.

From this, a few questions popped in my head. One being wouldn't the lady that cut her off also be responsible? Even though she didn't make contact with any of the cars? Is there going to be a problem that both cars were insured by the same company(AAA)? Will the accident cause her to get a point on her license? And if yes, can she go to traffic school for this? Sorry for all the questions but ive never been in an accident (knocks on wood) and just wanted to gain some knowledge from this. Thanks in advance.

Uh, you probably should have reported it to the Police Department.

I'm pretty sure I've heard of some insurance companies have a hard time giving you money to repair your vehicle if you don't have some kind of legal document pertaining to what happened. I could be wrong, though.

Most PD's won't respond or report on a non-injury accident, unless you beg them. But then, it's low priority, so they take thier time.

Insurance companies won't deny a claim unless you get shady, but, what they will do, is drop you right after they pay out.

Your girl will be fine, you will pay your deductable, get the car back in perfect shape, and go on with your life.

Just don't let the insurance company "steer" you, thats where they tell you that you have to take your car to thier "approved" shop for repairs, it's BS, and illegal. They do it because thier "approved" shops give them a fat discount for steering people in.

If it is your girls first accident, even if it is "at fault", the courts, and insurance will take it easy on her. In CA, you can't go to traffic school for accidents.

I obviously made this sound worst then it was. Sorry about that. All the cars did were exchange paint if that makes sense. Nobody was hurt at all. The biggest damage that occured was a baseball-like dent at the bottom of the passenger's door of the other parties car. From then on its all paint related. Should it still be reported to the authorities?

It might be easier to leave the insurance companies and the authorities out of it. Exchange some cash. Call it good enough and move on.

Yes, the person who cut you off is responsible simply because they cut you off, but there is no way you can ever hold that person accountable without their info and some proof or additional witnesses.

Best of luck. Accidents suck for all parties involved. It will pass.