Monday, July 14, 2008

Thanks, but no thanks, lady.

I got a letter from State Farm today, from their auto claims subrogation department. To understand the significance of this paper (or lack thereof) let me start from the beginning.

Two years ago I was in a low-speed car accident on my way home from work. I was driving in the middle turn lane, getting ready to make a left hand turn at the light. Next thing I know, there is a crappy car smashed into the front of my car. Luckily the airbags didn't go off. If you've ever been hit in the face with one of those, you'd fear it too. The chemicals burning your throat, the split skin on your face from the impact, the smell. Yuck. Anyway, so of course I look to see who was in the other vehicle: two Mexican fellows sitting up front. I called my mom before I did anything else. I made her call 911 because I was too shaken up and had already started to cry. I know, I'm a baby.
The police and firetruck show up, and we start filling out the driver's info exchange papers. The officer was a little suspicious of the other guy, considering it took him waaaay longer than me to fill out his form. The cop even called the phone number the other driver listed for his insurance contact to make sure it was valid. The officer said it was. I come to learn this Gavino character was driving someone else's car without a valid license. All he could offer was his Mexican ID. He didn't even have a green card. If I had been the one driving without any form of ID, they would have taken me and my car away in a heartbeat. But because this guy was here illegally, there was nothing the officer could do. Because I guess illegals don't have to play by the same rules as law-abiding, tax-paying citizens. So Gavino gets a ticket, one that he probably still hasn't paid, and got to DRIVE AWAY from the accident, all of us knowing he didn't have a license to legally do so.
I make a claim with my insurance company and United, still feeling pretty okay that everything will be taken care of, because hey, at least the vehicle was insured. A few weeks later, I learn my claim with United was denied because they had determined the policy on the other car wasn't valid, as the owner lied on the online application. However, United was still collecting a monthly premium from them. They had no trouble taking this guy's money, but denied my claim because they didn't bother to make sure the information he provided was correct and true. Convenient little loophole, huh? All United would offer me was the option of taking the case to court myself and going after Gavino. I asked the lady, "How do you propose I go about taking an illegal to court? You can't honestly tell me you believe he'll actually show up for the hearing." And she was just like, "Well you never know." Uh, thanks but no thanks, lady. The claim ended up going through State Farm (my insurance) and I had the joy of footing the $500 deductible. State Farm turned my claim in to their subrogation department, where they go after uninsured motorists etc. to try and recover money the innocent party was forced to pay out. I knew I'd never see my money from sweet little Gavino. How do you collect from someone who isn't even a legal resident? So years later, after I've pretty much forgotten about this whole lame situation, I get this letter from State Farm. Stating they are officially closing my claim, as all their attempts to collect from DoucheBag have failed. No surprise. The sick thing is, I actually felt a little bit of hope when I saw that envelope in the mail today. Silly, silly me. And yes, I am comforted in knowing an illegal has more rights than myself.

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