Accident - now what?

[3loves 0]

Hi Wheestin ~ I am so sorry to hear about your husbands accident, although I'm glad to hear he is OK as well as the others involved. As others have stated, they are going to be very sore for awhile.

I was involved in an accident the day b4 Thanksgiving last year. It was a very snowy day & we were all going very slow on a 4 lane highway. Next thing I know, this man made a u-turn on the freeway and we slid right into him. To make matters worse, the spot was not even marked (like some of them have signs saying no u-turn) and was completely snow covered. My son was with me and I will always sing the praises of Britax car seats....they are the best....he didn't have one complaint...ever!! I ended up with deep bruising in my left shoulder from the seat belt. I took Flexeril (muscle relaxer) for a long time after my accident and also had physical therapy.

The officer on the scene said I was following too close and I argued with him saying I was way behind and was going very slow. He told me on the spot he was putting me as car #1, which meant for insurance purposes, I was at fault. I grabbed my camera out of the car and told him I was taking my own pics b/c I know there was nothing I could have done differently.

I was able to limp my van home after being pulled out of the ditch and immediately called State Farm. Within 20 min we had a claim number and approval for a rental. This was wonderful b/c we were all ready to travel home for the holiday.

I then rec'vd a call from the officer. He asked me a few more questions, then said after he talked with the other guy some more, he was changing him to car #1 b/c he was making an illegal u-turn.

I consulted an attorney free of charge to cover myself. He said this should be easily settled with State Farm and the other insurance company. Since we didn't have extensive injuries or major damage to our van, it wouldn't be worth it to pursue a claim. I agreed. He said State Farm is a giant and they are known to be "pit bulls" when pursing their interests. So far so good. I always get a check from State Farm for any expenses related to this within a few days after filing. They are great.

Didn't mean to rattle on. Anyway, from what I have learned from my experience, this is what I would do.

1. Contact your insurance company and get a claim number.

2. Get that number to the tow company (unless you paid on the scene) and the repair facility.

3. Document EVERY conversation with date, time, & person.

4. Consult an attorney. Most will do this for free. Let them advise you on future conversations regarding the accident.

5. You do NOT have to give a statement to the other insurance company. This is only a courtesy and you should NOT do it. Let your insurance company handle this or an attorney if you get one. Here's what I told them per my attorney when they wanted me to give a recorded statement:

"I haven't concluded medical treatment and I think in my best interest at this point to contact an attorney."

6. Have your husband seen by your PCP.

Have you tired contacting the officer on the scene instead of calling the dept? You can get a copy of the police report. I think I had to pay $5 and it was a couple of days later. There were tons of accidents that day.

Take care & I hope your husband will heal quickly!! Keep us posted.

[the best me 6]

Aw geez, what a mess. Sounds like you got all your bases covered Wheetsin. I'm really sorry. And I know you are so grateful everyone is okay. It could have been worse? Geez. How terrible.

The police report is a very important document. My guess is you'll get a copy of it in the mail from a lawyer before you'll get it from the police department! No kidding!

Kare is a better person to answer about the medical expenses of the passengers, but I think what happens is your insurance pays and sues his insurance for reimbursement. Let them work it out. It shouldn't cost you a dime, though. And no amount of money can pay you back for your "time and trouble" recovering in so many ways from an accident like this.

A good indicator that things are going well for you is when the driver-at- fault's insurance adjuster contacts you about settling. Start making your list now. You should get checks for the cell phone, the glasses, ANYthing damaged in the accident. A check for replacing the wedding gift...dig up that reciept, the protien drinks, even. Make your list. And start car-shopping now.

I'm not suit-happy. Lawyers getting involved make pay-outs jump sky high and the lawyer is the one who gets the windfall. If his insurance co is worth their salt, they will be contacting you and will be very happy to take care of all the details so you won't NEED a lawyer. You'll know quickly if you do need one. Chances are you'll be fine. Don't rush to settle. Make sure it's all covered before you sign off. And don't deposit ANY checks until you DO sign off. Sometimes depositing that check settles the claim, so be careful.

Aw Wheetsin. I'm sorry. What a pain. Take good care of hubby. He'll need a little TLC for a bit. OH! And they should reimburse all 3 fellas for time lost from work. They will have to use their sick pay, and that's worth money, too. Good luck.

[DevilMayKare 1]

Anyway, here are my questions. Is our insurance liable, or is the other driver's, for the injuries to DH's passengers? Also, do we have any chance of having "misc possessions" replaced by the other guy's insurance? (He has State Farm). For example, the airbag broke DH's glasses, some impact at some point broke his watch (Tag Heuer ) and a piece of metal from the engine was driven through his cell phone (and barely missed his leg!). Should we go ahead and replace those things, or should we wait for the other guy's insurance to?

Okay--please remember Missouri may be different than CA on some things. I'm only licensed and only know CA insurance, so don't take anything I say as gospel. With that in mind...

It sounds like you're in good shape as far as fault. Bummer about your payoff value. Not much can be done about that. I'm sure you already know Volvos have one of the highest safetly ratings so that was a good car to be in. Maybe it's not a total tho. State Farm is a good company to have hit you tho. I doubt they will give you any trouble paying med bills, etc. In CA this would be under the driver who hit you's Bodily Injury coverage. But you can go thru your own insurance and they will subrogate. Injury liability can work out a little different than property liability. Best to do whatever your adjuster recommends.

The misc items... I don't think those will be covered. Large items (like a camera) would be under your homeowner's policy but are probably under the deductible. BUT since there was injury-- State Farm will probably be approaching you about "settling" and that may be for more than just the doctor bills (this is where "pain & suffering" come in--generally you do NOT have to have a lawyer to get a small settlement). Don't think I want to get into anymore detail than that because it gets into some legal-schmegal stuff that may vary also with the state.

[3loves 0]

BTW, I rec'vd a check from State Farm for $249 to replace my car seat. I think car seats are different than things like glasses and cell phones, but I would think they would pay for them. Maybe if State Farm admits to responsibility, they could pay your stuff along the way without a final settlement. We haven't gotten a final settlement, but our insurance company (State Farm) is paying us then going after them.

Oh my, pain and suffering is a huge part of an accident. I bet you were so glad to just hug your husband and know he was going to be OK!!

[DevilMayKare 1]

5. You do NOT have to give a statement to the other insurance company. This is only a courtesy and you should NOT do it. Let your insurance company handle this or an attorney if you get one. Here's what I told them per my attorney when they wanted me to give a recorded statement:

"I haven't concluded medical treatment and I think in my best interest at this point to contact an attorney."

I don't really see why you shouldn't give a statement to the other company. I didn't have any problem giving them a statement and telling me how their covered vehicle hit me.

Remember once you hire an attorney THEY are your representative and you are pretty much out of the loop. AND you have to give them a % of any settlement you get.

If you feel you NEED an attorney, that's up to you; but just because you are being represented by one does not mean you would get more than you would have gotten anyway.

I may be biased in this area for many reasons. My experience w/ lawyers and auto claims is limited since I'm an agent and not an adjuster. I do have some experience w/ attorneys and divorce tho. My divorce proceding went better once I got rid of my lawyer and represented myself.

[3loves 0]

DevilMayKare ~ I do understand your point of view and I would probably feel the same way in your shoes. However, I was advised this by the attorney I visited and so was my mother in another accident in another state (she had a different attny). Since it is not the law to do so, I thought it was b/c we may or could say something that could be used against us. What does it benefit us to talk to the other company? I know they record the conversation and I would think they would only do this for their benefit not mine.

It's my nature to be protective of myself and family. So knowing how some people are screwed by what they innocently say, I think it's best to protect your own interest and not that of an insurance company. We all know how sneaky some of these people can be, but I'm sure not all of them are like that. If my case ever goes to court, they do not have anything to use against me and only have a police report to go on. That's exactly the position I would want to be in going into court. Like the attorney said, he won't have anything to "undo".

Again, this is my personal view and I hope you don't take it in a personal manner against yourself or your insurance company. I do appreciate where your coming from. I'm sure we could take a poll and find many different opinions on this. Hope this helps to explain why I said what I did.

[FunnyDuddies 6]

Oh wheetsin!! I will keep your DH and his passengers in my thoughts. I am so sorry this happened! But thank goodness they are allright! Even the guy who is at fault! I really do hope that DH and the rest are able to recover from this, and that they won't consider your car totalled. If they do decide to repair instead of write off the car, one thing i can suggest is that you have THEM (the ins company) handle the repair and the payment. This way there is no haggling about the cost of the repair. I would definitely go to the other guy's insurance and have them cover as much as possible. And state up front that you are wanting a settlment amount above and beyond the repair bills, rental car, and everything else covered to take care of the pain and suffering, as well as to replace some of the items destroyed in the accident. And contact your home owners insurance if you want to claim the expensive gift and the watch. I think they typically handle items in the car that you own.

Oh I do hope you are alright too. It is stressful to deal with, you feel helpless, like you have said. make sure to focus on DH, but set yourself some time too!! Take care hon!!

[leatha_g 4]

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[Guest ASPHALT ANGEL]

Oh how terrible!!! I am glad no one was seriously injured. It sounds like you are getting some really good advice from Kare so just sit back and be patient and let your Ins. Adjuster do his work. And tell hubby to get better soon..oh I bet he is sore...been there done that a couple of times...not fun. Hot baths and a good muscle cream works wonders. take care.

[DevilMayKare 1]

DevilMayKare ~

Again, this is my personal view and I hope you don't take it in a personal manner against yourself or your insurance company. I do appreciate where your coming from. I'm sure we could take a poll and find many different opinions on this. Hope this helps to explain why I said what I did.

No, I don't take it personally at all. I don't have any personal investment in Mercury other than the fact that I wouldn't represent them if I didn't think they were a good company. (Not perfect.) Most of my bad experience w/ lawyers come from divorce and DATING. :guess

However I do know once someone has hired an attorney I can't talk to them about their claim. And I have seen attorneys screw people--just like any profession, but it can be a pretty expensive screwing.

When the semitruck hit me I didn't hire an attorney because I just didn't want the event to take up any more of my life than it had to. I settled for $200 over my chiropractic bills (which were $400) because that's what felt fair to me financially (based on taking a couple of days off to soak) but no doubt could have gotten thousands more.

I understand insurance companies sometimes treat people unfairly and certainly people treat each other unfairly, but I do not think it is the RULE and while I'm assertive I do give people (& companies) the chance to be fair.

On another note, the last accident I had (three weeks ago) was entirely my fault. I didn't slow down fast enough during one of those fast/slow times on the fwy and ended up rearending a guy in a truck. His dmg was minimal... mine was $5,200. He was really nice about it and I appreciated that he didn't try to claim he was hurt. He didn't even want me to report the accident since he was uninsured (illegal in CA). He is really broke and didn't have the downpayment to start an insurance policy so I ended up writing him up and paying for the first month's premium. He was very surprised that I did that, but I just can't tell you how thankful I was that my mistake didn't hurt him!

I doubt the man in Wheetsin's accident MEANT to run the red light. He got out of the car and asked if everyone was allright. He doesn't sound like a jerk. It's really horrible to be hit in a car accident-- but it's also really horrible to be the CAUSE of an accident.

[3loves 0]

I agree with you that it's not always the best route to get an attny. I didn't get an attorney, only consulted one. I have no intention of going further with this claim even though they were at fault. I got out of my car and went to them after I checked my son. It broke my heart to see them and even be in an accident. It's so emotional. :phanvan

You are such a wonderful person to do what you did for the man without insurance!! I bet he will pass along a good deed one day as well....we need more people like you. :clap2:

I think we share perspective on a lot of these issues and have given Wheestin some things to think about. Thanks for bringing this topic to light.

[Wheetsin 714]

I have mixed feelings. First and foremost I'm glad DH is OK. Second I'm glad that his passengers are OK. I know the other driver didn't *want* to cause a collision, but on the other hand, if my car has to be totalled (REALLY hoping it doesn't) there's no way I can replace it for what I'd anticipate getting, so because of his poor driving I go from no car payment to having a car payment again, or having a lot less car (and more to the point, not having *my* car that I ordered straight from the manufacturer to my specs). It's hard not seeing this as me getting the short end of the stick b/c of his mistake, and that pretty much keeps any empathy at bay. :tired

[Nana~ 4]

I feel for you accidents are terrible things. Were still in court over ours from 2 years ago! Man ran red light T boned us with a cop driving right behind us. Cop said he was going 50+ and even after he hit us never hit the brakes! It was the concrete wall that stoped him. We we t boned spun hit brige wall (we were on a over pass) spun some more and landed in a ditch. My hubby has 3 herniated disks and the seat up under our sons butt was all folded in up under him. I really believe if we werent in a Exployer ford We would have lost our son it was that folded up.

Write down everything while its fresh in your head because who knows you may be like us still talking to lawyers two years later they ask us something and were like I dunno it was 2 years ago!

[PhotoNut 7]

Heyas Wheetsin, Geesh I'm sure sorry to hear the bad news! Being involved in an accident, or just having a loved one involved, can be very upsetting. The loss of your car just sucks. I sure hope everything turns out in your favor with all of this. Tell your husband that we are all grateful that he and his friends weren't injured any more than they were.

*hugs*

[kimalicious 5]

I am so sorry about this, but so happy there was no more injury, your husband was very lucky. I would get an atty, especially if the truck that hit you was a company truck. My aunt did this and got over 90K in damages because she started having problems after the fact with vertigo and had to have inner ear surgery. Please at least talk to an atty to see what they think and make sure your husband pays attention to any differences in his health.