I never thought that was right , that the car that was behind you was responsible for the damage to your car
If he was hit from behind, the guy that caused it should pay for everyone that he pushed his car into and caused the chain reaction , why ther hell should I have a claim against me ?

Because you shouldn't be stopped 1 inch, for example, from the bumper of the car in front of you. Whether moving or stopped you must maintain a safe distance between you and the car in front.

That said, if you are 25 feet, for example, off the bumper of the car in front of you and you are rear-ended with enough impact to hit the car in front, a police investigation with exonerate you.

Just supplying the facts as they are here in MD...

Here in Florida if you hit a car from the rear for any reason you are automatically at fault.
The wife rear ended a car several years ago because traffic stopped short and she slid on a large patch of sand from on-going road construction. We tried to fight it but the charge of "failure to maintain control of vehicle" stuck.

In Michigan we have no fault insurance, regardless of who caused the accident each drivers insurance company is responsible for the damage to their own vehicle.

Sometimes good and sometimes bad.

Very sorry to hear this, Dock. That sucks! :mad:
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The same goes for Florida; this is a no-fault state.

However! That doesn't mean that your own insurance is necessarily responsible for your vehicle.

I was once involved in a wreck that was not my fault. The other driver involved ran a stop sign with no intention of stopping. I slammed the crap out of his car, but that's another story.

His insurance paid for everything: My vehicle repairs, rental car, missed work, etc. with no hassle.

In my case it was the initiator that was at fault. It was a bs decision as I know the accident was caused by the guy behind me cutting into traffic.

Several years ago, I was again rear ended and was pushed into the car in front of me. The initiator again paid for the damages to both vehicles.

A couple of years after that, I was again rear ended. This one was pretty severe. I got pushed off a 40' enbankment. The car went through a cedar tree, took out a fence and hit a construction trailer pushing it into a semi. The initiator again paid for all of the damages.

I believe Michigan is the same way. If fault is assigned to one particular driver the insurance companies will go after each other to determine who is going to pay. For the most part the drivers are not involved other than giving their statements on what happened. I was in the same situation you just described and my insurance company ended up not having to pay a dime.

Cord, let us know if your driving through michigan so we can stay on the water.

oshore...trust me...that's only half of my traffic "incidents". I've also had one that was on the water...and in Michigan. :D My recommendation is to stay indoors because even when I'm on the water, the sidewalk isn't safe! :D