Car accident today

mrs oz · #61 04/29/12, 04:16 PM

Several years ago I was in the same type of accident, except I was the car in the middle. My Jeep, which I was also very fond of, was totalled. The whole back in was completely twisted.....the driver hit me going at a pretty good clip and never slowed down. My knees hit the dash and I still have trouble with them. The elderly woman in front of me was fine physically, but very shaken up. The guy who hit me hit his windshield and had to be rushed to the hospital. There was blood everywhere. Was I upset about my car, yes......but in the end it's just a car and I was fortunate that the car was worth quite a bit more than I owed on it and all ended fine. I was never out of pocket any money.....certainly didn't have to pay my deductible. His insurance company paid it all. This was in SC. All we had to do was take a copy of the police report to our agent and they handled everything. Yes, I had to get a rental car, but my insurance also covered that. Speak with your agent again and I think things will work out. Take care.

debbydoo1966 · #62 04/29/12, 04:21 PM

I'm not going to debate lifes' troubles and bad times with you. We ALL have them.
She was just venting, blowing off steam, with a bunch of strangers. What is wrong with that? It's just talk on an internet board. Sheesh!!!!!

Alice In TX/MO · #63 04/29/12, 04:54 PM

Debby, we understand that. Just as she has a right to vent, we have a right to say our experience and life lessons. Just as you have a right to Sheesh.

jamala · #64 04/29/12, 04:58 PM

First of all, I am thankful you are both ok. That is the most important thing, cars can be fixed, sometimes people cannot be. I agree you will "catch more flies with sugar" as the saying goes. Being irate with the company will not get you anywhere. I know people who work in the business and they deal with hot tempered folks everyday, but the ones who treat them with kindness and respect get much better service. The person on the other end of the phone didn't make the rules, didn't cause her to hit you, and is only doing his/her job by taking the calls and filling out paperwork.
Yes, people should not talk on the phone while driving but I know people who have hit others while adjusting the radio, or changing the air condition or just looking in the mirror to check on the kids in the backseat and in that split second something happens. There are lots of distractions. If you have never talked on the phone while driving or had any other distraction while driving then more power to you.

Bearfootfarm · #65 04/29/12, 05:58 PM

She SHOULD have gotten a ticket and HER insurance should be responsible for all damages.

I'd be calling the PD and finding out why it was left to the Officer's discretion

OUVickie · #66 04/29/12, 06:25 PM

I'm glad no one was seriously hurt!

Legally: If you hire an attorney you can name her, her insurance & the policeman - who failed to give her a ticket for inattentive driving - in the lawsuit.
I would be angry for being out the money too, don't just let it go at what they say though, get legal help!

Ohio dreamer · #67 04/29/12, 07:12 PM

WOW, hope I am never in an accident in VA.

When I got rear ended I paid nothing. I called the "at fault" person's insurance and told them who I was and who hit me (he had already filed his claim and the police report had been requested.....this was about a hour after the accident). I told them who my local dealer was and they told me which rental company to call for a car and told me who the dealer & rental company were to send a bills to (the insurance company also contacted the rental agency and dealer and set up payment, so I didn't need to do anything). My insurance company paid nothing, my rates didn't change and no one cent came out of my pocket. Within 3 days my van was back in my hands and I went on my way.

Bearfootfarm · #68 04/29/12, 08:24 PM

Quote:

WOW, hope I am never in an accident in VA.

Quote:

the accident occurred in North Carolina not in Virginia the woman that hit us was from Durham.

My wife and another woman backed into each other in the parking lot at Sam's.
They had both started backing at about the same time, and were parked opposite each other.

There was a video of it, and because my wife started backing a FRACTION of a second before the other woman, she got a ticket and WE were responsible for the damages to her car as well as ours

The woman in the BMW SHOULD have gotten a ticket, and should have to pay all damages

Danaus29 · #69 04/29/12, 08:34 PM

Gee, in Ohio the police won't even issue a ticket on private property and most won't even respond to an accident on private property.

Melissa · #70 04/30/12, 08:10 AM

I think this is one of those cases where a person has the right to be GLAD (everyone is OK!) and MAD at the same time (careless people on cell phones are dangerous...) But at least this is just inconvenient and not a tragedy. For that I am very thankful...

kara_leigh · #71 04/30/12, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Chickpea

<sigh> Stop kvetching and GET AN ATTORNEY. Yeesh.

This type of situation is why you NEVER sign anything, you never SAY anything, you NEVER trust your insurance to do the right thing. You go to an attorney, you lay it out, and you stiff the ones who would otherwise stiff you.

-editing to add:

Take note folks. This is the way the real world works. YOUR insurance company is not YOURS. It wants to keep costs down. If it can cover its costs by going after another driver, it will. It will ALSO raise your rates for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You MUST get someone on your side who has a financial interest in making you win. BTDT.

It isn't about you, it isn't about your baby or car or whatever. It is capitalism at its finest. The weakest person or the one with the weakest case and lawyers loses. If you get hit, you get injured, you HAVE to go into tiger mode immediately.

You NEVER should accept an insurance company first offer. Never allow subrogation and someone speaking for you AND some other entity.

We learned this the hard way. I was stopped in the left hand lane, 3rd in line waiting for a car to turn. A lady in an Escalade hit me from behind doing 55mph, never stepped on the breaks. All three of us sitting there were involved in the accident. Both our car and the one in front of me were totalled. She was also talking on her phone. Back then (10 years ago) there wasn't a rule against it.

We couldn't afford to get a lawyer, and "our" agent was out of town and no one could get ahold of him, so we had no one to stand up for us and be on our side. We got screwed. It was a 6 month old fully loaded Dodge Caravan Sport. We only got enough money from her insurance company to replace it with a Dodge Stratus instead. There have been so many times since then that we could have used those extra seats.

wogglebug · #72 05/01/12, 05:04 AM

You are swimming in shark-infested waters. You've been feeding your very own flotilla of sharks, and guess where they're going to look for the easiest entrees? That's right, your insurance company - you thought you had them on a string? Well, string runs both ways, baby. What You NEED, in a legal situation, is your very own dedicated attack-trained shark. Your own insurance company will snip you for nickels and dimes wherever it's easier to find you and deduct from your money they hold, than it is to get a judgement against the other party. All they want, once it's gone sour on them, is the money in their own hands, for their own profit, and then write-off the policy and say sayonara. Your very own attack-trained lawyer will go for every penny they can get, and charge the damage to the other parties. It may not be worth this hassle for three hundred dollars, but if it's a guarantee against future damages as well...