Patent ID: 7885829

Claim:
A computer-based method comprising the steps of: implementing one or more program controlled data processors to categorize a loss into an accident type based on preliminary information about said loss, said preliminary information comprising data relating to at least one of the following inputs: traffic light involvement, stop sign involvement, location with respect to the road of claimant's vehicle and/or other vehicles involved, direction of travel of claimant's vehicle with respect to other vehicles involved, and actions of the claimant's vehicle and/or other vehicles involved, including: turning left, turning right, traveling straight, merging, and/or backing up; retrieving and presenting, via said one or more processors, a plurality of questions based on said accident type; receiving responses to said plurality of questions from a claimant and an insured, wherein said claimant is a different party than said insured; determining, via said one or more processors, if there is a discrepancy between said responses received from said claimant and said insured, and if there is such a discrepancy, resolving said discrepancy with information contained in a vehicle appraisal regarding said loss; determining, via said one or more processors, degree of comparative negligence of said claimant from said responses; using the determined comparative negligence to diminish the claimant's damages; and wherein the step of implementing a data processor further comprises the step of applying a set of preliminary rules to said preliminary information to determine said accident type.