Advice Needed...Car Accident!

[lizbaby007]

Always talk to your own insurance company as soon as you are in an accident. They will take your recorded statement while the details are fresh. Insurance company lawyers deal with this kind of stuff every day. It can drag on for a long time, so it's to your personal advantage to have your vehicle repaired by your insurance and then they will go after the other parties to get reimbursed.

Many people right after an accident think they are fine and just sore but then later that day or the next day begin to feel the pain of soft tissue injuries or worse. Then they go for medical treatment. Those records would be subpoenaed for any lawsuit.

The contingency fee to a lawyer might come in if you filed a civil lawsuit against any of the parties for your damages and present and future medical treatment. If the insurance company lawyer is in court representing your insurance on your behalf, their pay scale is different and the insurance company handles that.

Is there a reason you didn't call your own insurance company after the accident? It doesn't sound like you've done that at all. If not, that should be your first call.

Also ... what does the mechanic say about your car? Is it totaled or worth fixing? You say it was an old car, so you need to find a mechanic you trust and ask if the car will truly be drivable if it's just fixed as opposed to you buying a new (or new used) one. Just because it was a great car before doesn't necessarily mean it will "heal well".

Good luck!

We actually did call our own insurance agency the night of the accident once we got home. The agent we spoke to started to open a file (he gave us a number and we still have it) but determined the accident was not our fault and therefore closed the case. He is the one who told us we would be hearing from the other agents and why we have been dealing with them from the beginning. We are insured through a major insurance agency so I thought they would know what we should do. Again, never been in an accident before so I thought this was just the process It was not until about a week or so ago when everything got really confusing that we called our agency back to ask for advice. That is when we were told that we had the option of opening a claim on our end and paying a $500 deductible. This was never mentioned to us the night of the accident when my DH first spoke to them.

My question is is how the heck were they able to get the police to change their report? Is that even possible?

Yeah, I was surprised by this as well. We have a copy of the initial police report and then were mailed the amended report and it went from truck #1 failing to stop and starting accident to truck #1 was fully stopped and hit from behind. Again

 

[clutter]

I would report it to your insurance company and let them handle it. They should be going up to bat for you, that is what you are paying premiums for.

Call your insurance back and submit the claim. Yes, you will pay your deductible, but it should be reimbursed once the liability has been settled. Which sounds like it may take a while. There is no reason for you to get into the mess unless you are needed as a witness.

 

[mmackeymouse]

If you do your research, you can argue the cost of your car to be higher. We were offered $3000 for ours after a hit and run left it totaled. We argued that a comparable car would cost $8000 to buy and insurance gave us that amount. Be firm and don't accept ANY offers until you're satisfied!

Oh, well that's certainly good to know! Thanks!!

I am actually very surprised by that, as I have never seen or heard about things working out like that. Ever.

Usually, you will get the Blue Book value and that's it. I have seen on Peoples Court and Judge Judy many-a-time, people upset because it is clearly going to cost them more to replace the item at hand, be it car, television set, couch, whatever. And the answer is always that it is not the job of the responsible party or insurance to replace said item with the equivalent. It is to cover the loss.

I don't necessarily think that's a fair thing, but that's the legal thing.

For example, if you have a 5 year old TV, and someone takes a bat to it. The TV itself may only be worth $75-100, market value. But, it may cost you $800 to replace the TV with something similar. Technically, you are only entitled to the $75-100. I am pretty sure it is the same way with vehicles.

So, don't be surprised if the insurance company only values your care at $1500 and that's all you get.

By the way, if it ever gets resolved who the at-fault party is, you can take it to small claims to get your deductible (I think, don't quote me on that.) There are court fees involved, which are usually paid by the liable party, so you would probably be reimbursed those as well, and even if you lose, you would only be out the court costs.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I would proceed with caution. From my experience, it takes a lot for a vehicle to be deemed totaled. I would probably go along with it and take the money. You want a vehicle that is sound and safe.

As a pp mentioned, you can look up the value of your vehicle (Kelly Blue Book, etc.) with whatever extras you had. I also had our dealership write up an estimate for what our vehicle was worth. It helped a lot to have that knowledge and documentation during our negotiation with the insurance company.

The accident is bad enough. The second wave is dealing with the aftermath. Good luck with it all. I hope it is resolved to your satisfaction and that your injuries are taken care of and heal quickly.

 

[DVC-Don]

Call your insurance back and submit the claim. Yes, you will pay your deductible, but it should be reimbursed once the liability has been settled. Which sounds like it may take a while. There is no reason for you to get into the mess unless you are needed as a witness.

Excellent advice.

 

[tvguy]

Call your insurance back and submit the claim. Yes, you will pay your deductible, but it should be reimbursed once the liability has been settled. Which sounds like it may take a while. There is no reason for you to get into the mess unless you are needed as a witness.

Although, I don't think any deductable would be due, since, best I can tell, OP is the only person would could NOT be blamed for causing the accident. At least that is the way Allstate handled that when a drunk driver hit my car and did $800 damager...... I carry a $1,000 deductable. The guy had a current proof of insurance card, but apparently hadn't paid his monthly insurance installment in months. Farmers balked at paying the claim, my insurance, Allstate wanted it settled within 7 days of the accident. They paid, and they waited for Farmers to sort out their mess with their client.

 

[powellrj]

You should have an adjuster assigned from your insurance company. If not, insist on one. Yes you may have to pay your deductable now, but it will be refunded once this gets taken care of. Stop talking to the other insurance companies. That is what your adjuster needs to do for you. That is what your premiums are for that you pay every month.

Good luck, we have been dealing with an accident since January and there is no sign of it getting taken care of. My insurance has paid what they will pay towards the claim, but its not even beginning to cover my hospital bills, so now I have no job, no car and major hospital bills that I am paying. The other car hit me head-on and accepted responsibility but thats as far as we have gotten at this point.

 

[seashoreCM]

You should press for retail value on the car especially if the other side makes an offer based on Kelley's Blue Book or NADA or other similar source.

You have the right to sue the other drivers and vehicle owners directly as opposed to going through their insurance companies. But in some states, if you refer it to your own insurance company then you give up (give exclusively to your insurance company) the right to sue that way.

Always report any accident, no matter how slight, to your own insurance company. If you feel at first that it is not your fault, mark each page of your report "information only" at the top.

 

[DebbieB]

Although, I don't think any deductable would be due, since, best I can tell, OP is the only person would could NOT be blamed for causing the accident. At least that is the way Allstate handled that when a drunk driver hit my car and did $800 damager...... I carry a $1,000 deductable. The guy had a current proof of insurance card, but apparently hadn't paid his monthly insurance installment in months. Farmers balked at paying the claim, my insurance, Allstate wanted it settled within 7 days of the accident. They paid, and they waited for Farmers to sort out their mess with their client.

My car was hit in the parking garage at work. The guy took off thinking he would get away with it. Unfortunately for him, someone saw it and took down his license # and gave it to the garage office. I called my insurance and they tracked him down and he admitted it. My company paid the total bill after his company accepted liability and then got the money back from his company. In this case, the company may not want to pay the deductible until another company accepts liability.

 

[Minerva Mouse]

"(turns out I tore a muscle in my neck and herniated two discs in my lower back during the impact)."

Hold the phone here Liz, you were injured? A herniated disk is nothing to shake a stick at, this could cause major issues later in life. I'm not a sue happy person either, but, in this case you are entitled to compensation. You were minding your own business, and did nothing wrong, the effects of this accident are still unknown, and will remain unknown for several years.

Let your insurance company handle the repairs to your car, but please talk to someone about your injuries, a typical settlement is two or three times MORE than your doctor bills, and you don't have to sue to get it. If your hospital bills / doctor bills total $3000 you should be compensated between $6 and $9000 for your injuries and time!

 

[StephMK]

Good luck! That sounds like a huge mess and definitely something to let your insurance carrier deal with. The deductible will be a small price to pay for not working with multiple carriers.

 

[ilovemk76]

I do not want to make the wrong decision and get screwed, ending up out of pocket or in the hole. Has anyone ever dealt with a major accident like this?? What did you do or learn from it?? THANKS!!

No insurance company will repair a car of the age you are describing. They will always total it. In general, you are always going to be short of with an accident.

I was in an accident like you described. I was car number two. Vehicles one, two and three were stopped. Vehicle four plowed into them. My first call was to the police, luckily we got the State Troopers, who did a great job. My second call was to vehicle four's insurance and my third call was to my insurance company. My insurance did all the leg work for me and made sure the police report was not changed to help the other insurance company change the facts.

I did all of the above within the first few hours after the accident.

I told insurance company #4 to deliver a rental car to me as I was on my way home. They did and also paid me for my lost pay for the next day, as the car was delivered the next day.

You need to contact your insurance company ASAP and let them lead.

 

[Denise W]

I have been a claims adjuster for about 35 years and am also an Inter company arbitration panelist, so hear these cases often. Since you were the first vehicle you *should* recover all of your deductible, provided all the cars behind you are insured. If they are all Arbitration members, even better. The company I work for would pay your deductible up front in this situation, if the other companies were all Arbitration members. I think you should collect through your own coverage and let them subrogate. You should recover your deductible in full, even if it takes a while.

Good luck.

Denise