Other driver's insurance says we're both 50% at fault after they rear-ended me at a stoplight — help?

Oh man, this is almost exactly what happened to me two years ago. I was stopped at a school crossing and got rear-ended, and the other driver's insurance tried to say I 'stopped abruptly.' At a crossing guard. With kids crossing. 🙄 I ended up getting an independent estimate from a shop I trusted, kept every single receipt and photo, and eventually had to threaten to escalate before they backed down. Do NOT let them bully you into their network shop — that shop works for them, not you.

I worked in claims for years and I'll be straight with you: that 50/50 finding with a dashcam in play is almost certainly a negotiating position, not a genuine liability determination. Adjusters are under pressure to limit payouts. When they know evidence is strong against them, they'll manufacture a shared-fault narrative to split the cost.

My advice — send them a formal written demand letter referencing the footage and stating you dispute their liability finding. Put everything in writing from this point forward. Phone calls are easy to 'lose.'

A couple of practical things worth knowing: you're generally entitled to get your own independent repair estimate regardless of what their shop says — you don't have to use their network. Also, if you formally dispute the liability finding in writing and preserve that dashcam footage (back it up in multiple places NOW), you'll be in a much stronger position whether this goes to arbitration or small claims. Most states have a process where your insurer can fight the other carrier on your behalf even if you don't have collision coverage — worth asking your own insurance specifically about subrogation options.

Not legal advice, but: a rear-end collision where you have video showing you were stationary is about as clean a liability case as it gets. The 50% finding is not binding — it's just their internal position. If the repair costs are meaningful and they refuse to move, a free consultation with a PI attorney costs you nothing and might change the whole dynamic real fast. Carriers sometimes recalculate their math once they know there's representation involved.

Please don't forget about yourself in all of this. A rear-end impact hard enough to push you into an intersection can cause whiplash or soft tissue injuries that don't fully show up until days later. If your neck or back starts aching, go get checked out and document it — don't just push through it. The car stuff is stressful but your body matters more.

Three things: 1) Get your own estimate from a shop you choose, today. 2) Send the insurance company a written dispute of the liability split — email is fine, just make sure it's in writing. 3) Back up that dashcam footage right now to at least two places. The footage is your whole case. Don't lose it and don't hand it over without knowing exactly what you're doing.

What exactly did they say about your 'lane positioning'? Like did they give you any details or was it just vague? I'm wondering if there's something about the intersection setup — like maybe a merge lane or an unusual signal — that they're trying to exploit. Not saying you're wrong, your story sounds legit, I just want to understand what angle they're actually running.

This sounds absolutely exhausting and infuriating. I'm sorry you're dealing with this on top of the stress of the accident itself. Please don't just accept the 50/50 — it sounds completely wrong based on what you're describing. You deserve to have this handled fairly.