Since he lied, I'd find the most scumbag lawyer I could find and sue the crap out of him and his insurance. I'd claim an injury, the whole 9 yards. The older I get, the less tolerance I have for stupidity and human scum. With any luck, he'll get fired because of a law suit and never be hired again to drive on my roads.Just my $.02 worth.
I'm going to take this post as the "tongue in cheek" comment I hope that it was intended to be. But for the record, the original poster could sue the driver and the company he was driving for at the time of the incident, but not the insurance company. They're not the ones who "wronged" the original poster, they merely indemnify the driver and trucking company for their negligence (and stupidity). As for claiming a bodily injury when one didn't suffer an injury, well, that's just fraud, plain and simple. Goes on all the time, but that doesn't make it right. I'm sure as you point out there is a "scumbag" lawyer out there that would take that case and "sue the crap out of him". In fact I'm certain he wouldn't have to look far, there are many "scumbag" lawyers that are unethical and will sue even when they know that no bodily injury actually occurred. But that's part and parcel of the reason all of our insurance rates are so high.
As for the driver, he is a scumbag for lying - no two ways about it. He probably even deserves to be fired for his inexcusable actions. I'm just glad to know that the original poster came out alive, as this could have turned out much worse. As Pants said he learned from this incident and likely avoided a somewhat similar situation just from reading this thread. We should all do the same, as a reminder like this could save any one of our lives in the future. Thanks to the bhkfjr for sharing this unfortunate incident with us.
bhkfjr - I see that this original post was almost 10 days ago. By now. you may or may not have already reached an agreement with the trucking company's insurance company on your property damage claim. If you haven't and they are giving you grief, feel free to drop me a PM. I can likely help guide you through that, and although I am an attorney, I am not soliciting your business, just offering free advice and assistance to a fellow forum member if needed. If they don't treat you right, you may well have to find an attorney to "sue the crap out of them" for the damage to your bike, but again, it won't be the insurance company that you sue, it would be the driver and the company he was driving for at the time of the accident.
*** Quick edit to bhkfjr ***
Another option is filing a collision claim with your own insurance company and then comparing the two offers. If you chose to go with your carrier's offer, yes, you would have to pay your deductible. But, one, your carrier's offer may be higher that the at fault driver's carrier AND two, your carrier will pursue the at fault driver's carrier for reimbursement of monies they paid to you AND for reimbursement of your deductible. Just another option, never hurts to submit that claim to your own carrier, even when the other guy is at fault. It gives you options - plus, always feel free to negotiate with them for a higher payout, whether it be the other guy's insurance or your own - but have the documentation to support your higher demand, they'll certainly have the documentation to support their offer.
