Question about Fault and Deductible on auto accident

[savedbygrace94]

A friend's mother was driving on an arterial road, which were the 2 lanes turned into 1 lane in each direction. She was in the left lane that didn't end. Unbeknownst to her, there was a car to her right in her blind spot, which tried to unsuccessfully overtake her before the lane ended. She was able to stop as soon as she saw & felt the collision start due to low speed. Damage was to front quarter panel, front right tire and door panel. The insurance company is saying she's at fault and charging her the deductible.

It seems like an obvious mistake, but please tell me what I'm missing. TIA

 

[savedbygrace94]

@savedbygrace94 Thanks for the comments!
Province is Alberta.

She was in her own lane the entire time but no dashcam or witnesses.

The accident has shaken her confidence so the deductible issue is more serious than just the money.

 

[pinetowntree]

@savedbygrace94 Is she 100% at fault or 50%? From the description it sounds like she bumped into the other car when it was trying to pass? That’s why she’s at fault, she was behind him and hit him when she should have stopped. Logically the other driver shouldn’t have been trying to pass her. She is entitled to have an outside adjuster look and make a second opinion.

 

[sovereignone]

@savedbygrace94 The province would help here, as insurers are generally obligated to follow the Fault Determination Rules laid out by the province in which the accident occurs.

That said, the fault determination rules would usually handle most accidents similarly. Take Ontario, for example.

https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/900668

We would want to look, I think, at 10 (4) - "If the incident occurs when automobile “B” is changing lanes, the driver of automobile “A” is not at fault and the driver of automobile “B” is 100 per cent at fault for the incident."

This would generally put your friend's mother not at fault BUT you have to consider a few other things; were there witnesses? Did either vehicle have a dashcam? Were police called to the scene? These things would help to establish that your friend's mom was in her own lane, remained in her own lane, and the other driver had crossed into her lane at the moment of contact. Without that it becomes a matter of he-said-she-said and striking someone on their driverside door generally looks bad.