YOU DO NOT NEED TO ACCEPT THE ESTIMATORS DOLLAR AMOUNT
It is a negotiation, not a decree. If you take it to an independent shop, they can get you a quality estimate for like $50 usually (if not free!). Use this. It is your sword and shield. Do NOT accept less than what will repair the car totally.
Also, many insurance companies will have preferred shops. They'll simply pay whatever the shop charges, this can be good and bad.
Good, because your car gets fixed no matter the cost. Bad, because if the shop sucks it gets fixed shitty. Just something to keep in mind.
I was actually rear ended a week ago. Did the same thing you did, except I got the information from him and he called his insurance while I was waiting to make a claim.
I called his insurance as soon as I got home, made an appointment with the estimator last week, got inspected (he gave me a check), I brought it to my body shop with the paperwork and the check, then brought the voucher I was given for a rental car to the place. They covered everything from the rental car, to any amount over the check amount. My insurance was not involved at all, only his.
Yeah, you have nothing to worry about as far as being at fault, when you're hit from behind it is 100% not your fault. Call your insurance company, not hers, tell them you were in an accident and not at fault. Did you at least get the police report #? If so, give it to them. If not, try and get ahold of the police report sooner, your insurance company will need it.
As for getting it repaired, the insurance company is going to send out an estimator. They'll come up with a dollar amount they're willing to pay to fix your car and you'll get a check in the mail (as long as you own the car, if it's leased, they'll directly pay the body shop usually), or total it and give you a check, usually for about 75% of its actual value unfortunately. You don't need to take it to a body shop to have an estimate done, your insurance company will recommend one of their approved shops and you basically just take it in and hand over the insurance estimate, and they do the work. Unless, of course, you own the car and you think there's a chance you can get it repaired for less than the insurance estimate in which case you can pocket the extra money. Just don't tell the body shop what your insurance company estimated it for. Let them do their own estimate and see which comes up cheaper. I had a fender bender a few years ago, had to have the grill, bumper, bumper cover and a few other parts replaced on my car, the insurance estimate was around $800, the body shop was around $500, I got to keep the extra $300.
Just to be clear, the orange part is insurance fraud, and while the odds of getting caught are extremely low, it could potentially result in your claim being voided and the insurance company suing you for fraud and damages.
Wrong. Most places you are completely within your rights to take a cash settlement of the estimated repairs in lieu of having the shop repair the damage, and you are free to do with that money what you please.
Also, that isn't insurance fraud. Its your money to do with as you please.
Yeah, the estimator even told me after giving me the check I could either keep it, get my car repaired with it and keep whatever is left over if there is any, or if it costs more than the check they would pay the rest.
The check is in my name and it's their own estimate. I could see how it might be fraud if the check was to the body shop and it wasn't their estimate, and I was splitting it 50/50 with the shop.
Turns out I have whiplash! Also my spine is twisted a bit in my lower back. So the two spots that I was having problems are the spots he pointed out are pretty messed up.
I did see a chiropractor and he did some adjustments and my neck feels so much better.
I also called my insurance and advised them of it. They're going to get someone out to look at my car to see what the damage is and determine if it is totaled or not. Should be today or Monday.
Ryadic on
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MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
Turns out I have whiplash! Also my spine is twisted a bit in my lower back. So the two spots that I was having problems are the spots he pointed out are pretty messed up.
I did see a chiropractor and he did some adjustments and my neck feels so much better.
I also called my insurance and advised them of it. They're going to get someone out to look at my car to see what the damage is and determine if it is totaled or not. Should be today or Monday.
To be completely above board, be sure to find out what injuries could have been caused by the accident and what you had before. I.e., "You hit me and gave me teh dyebeetus!"
Pink'd for concern. Your company is aware you're filing against her's, right? Make sure they're not thinking you want to use your deductables to pay for it.
Turns out I have whiplash! Also my spine is twisted a bit in my lower back. So the two spots that I was having problems are the spots he pointed out are pretty messed up.
I did see a chiropractor and he did some adjustments and my neck feels so much better.
I also called my insurance and advised them of it. They're going to get someone out to look at my car to see what the damage is and determine if it is totaled or not. Should be today or Monday.
To be completely above board, be sure to find out what injuries could have been caused by the accident and what you had before. I.e., "You hit me and gave me teh dyebeetus!"
Pink'd for concern. Your company is aware you're filing against her's, right? Make sure they're not thinking you want to use your deductables to pay for it.
He said that the manner in which I was hit definitely caused the whiplash and most likely caused the twisting of the spine. They mainly hit the driver's side of the back, and he said that would have caused me to twist a little. He did mention that I could have had back problems prior to this, but the rear ending definitely made it a lot worse.
I told them that it's completely the other person's fault. I'm filing through my insurance so I'll pay my deductible and then get reimbursed when the insurance gets reimbursed. I think that's the way most people are suggesting I do it. Easier to go through my insurance rather than the other parties.
A guy from State Farm (my insurance) came out and looked at my car to assess the damage. He doesn't have the final say, but he's pretty sure that it's totaled. I should find out either tomorrow or Wednesday the actual result.
So, all I need to do now is wait for the police report so that I can get the other person's insurance information and then go from there.
I was not in the medical side of the claims business, and I don't know how serious the injuries you have are, but for what its worth the way my company worked was once you started collecting any type of personal injury coverage from us the personal injury side of the house also took over the auto damage part of the claim, and often would just settle it advantageously for the customer, as to them no matter what amount of money you were talking about for the car was small potatoes compared to what they were going to be paying out for your injury. I know I saw a bunch of payouts on cases that to me seemed high, and when I asked the casualty (injury) guy about it he said something to the effect of "the guy only wanted another $1000, who cares I just gave it to him."
Haha to the "the guy only wanted another $1000". I'm hoping that I'm compensated decently for it and that this doesn't cause me financial issues. My main concern is another car payment and getting a comparable car. I just want a reliable car and not have to pay a lot per month, cause I'm trying to save up for a wedding. This shit that's going on does have me too confident that will happen. =\
Ryadic on
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MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
edited June 2010
Sorry to hear about the possible totaling (?).
I suppose in the long run that's better than driving a fixed up car; I'm still not sure mine is 100% after an accident two years ago.
Suggest looking at the car buying threads here and start doing some research now.
Be aware that your insurance company will try and low-ball you on the amount they will pay for your totaled car. You need to verify what they quote you with estimates from edmunds.com, kbb.com, and nada.com.
Remember the value they should be paying you is the amount you would pay on the used market for the same model with the same mileage. This should be the private party or retail value, not the trade-in value. It'll also depend on the area you live in.
Most people don't realize that this is a negotiation with your insurance company, and you don't need to take their first offer. Historically insurance companies have gotten away with paying out 70 cents on the dollar when totaling cars.
Be aware that your insurance company will try and low-ball you on the amount they will pay for your totaled car. You need to verify what they quote you with estimates from edmunds.com, kbb.com, and nada.com.
Remember the value they should be paying you is the amount you would pay on the used market for the same model with the same mileage. This should be the private party or retail value, not the trade-in value. It'll also depend on the area you live in.
Most people don't realize that this is a negotiation with your insurance company, and you don't need to take their first offer. Historically insurance companies have gotten away with paying out 70 cents on the dollar when totaling cars.
Alright. Adjuster came back to me with this information.
2004 Aveo with roughly 80,000 miles on it:
Base value for car is 5725.
Taxes = 480.75.
Title fee = 14
Actual value = 6219.75
Settlement = 5969.75 (minus 250 deductible)
Salvage value = 1332.21
I'm thinking that since the car is perfectly drivable, albeit shitty looking, that I salvage it and use the money to pay for our wedding.
As asinine as that sounds, I'm heavily considering that. I've been worried about how we're going to pay for our wedding and this will take care of it since our wedding is looking to cost roughly 6,000.
My other option is to get a new car, which will make paying for my wedding difficult because I'll likely end up with a car payment.
The amount they're offering is more than KBB and Edmunds. I didn't even check the third.
So, I don't know if I should pursue more or not with the guy, but I definitely am not feeling ripped off.
The guy was a pretty nice guy and definitely didn't seem like your every day business person. So I doubt it would be like talking to a customer service robot.
Yea in general the vehicles people wanna keep as salvage are things like classic/rare vehicles or utility/work type vehicles. Most likely to get your vehicle back to road legal you'd need to get the repairs needed done and have the vehicle inspected to be deemed legal to be insured and even then it's not likely you could get a policy with coverage other than liability.
Only buy the vehicle back as salvage if you get, ironclad in writing from a body shop, that it can be repaired for what's left of the cash you get out of the settlement which in this case is around $4400 it seems. If you buy it back through the insurance company the title will stay clean, though, unless the company itself marks the title as salvage, in which case you'd have to have it repaired and the title cleared before you could legally drive it.
In my state once a vehicle has an estimate that flags it as a total the state is notified. It's an automated process. (is it becoming obvious where I may work..)
[note: I'm in Texas] Several work colleagues' cars got totalled and they're driving them as salvage titled vehicles (a camry, a sienna, and an accord). The insurers will only insure those vehilces for liability, nothing else. If the damage is mainly cosmetic then driving around a salvage vehicle ain't that big a deal, though the damage may cause you to be eyed more by cops and might make passing inspection more difficult.
I'd mainly be worried that in a major collision such as yours the vehicle is just not going to be as safe in another major collision.
This sounds a lot like when I was rear ended in a very similar situation nearly 2 years ago. I did not catch what state you lived in, but in mine, my insurance covered the medical costs(and probably billed the idiot that hit me).
As for the totalling settlement, I was given both a check from insurance and the salvage company that it was sold to by them. As for repairing your car, there may be damage to the frame that you can't see that if you get into another accident could make it much, much worse. Seriously consider the settlement for a new(er) car. Might I recommand Honda.
And for the recent work, call the mechanic and ask for an invoice of the work done. Depending on the recentness you may be able to get the total settlement to cover some of the costs. I was able to get an extra $300 out of mine thanks to recent axle work.
DragonPup on
"I was there, I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor." -Cpt Garviel Loken
That settlment offer you posted sounds very reasonable to me.
In my year as a claims adjuster I never had a situation where one of my customers going down the "drive as salvage" route turned out to be a good idea for them. Not saying it is never a good idea, but at least in the states I covered the regulatory and logistical hurdles were way higher than the benefit the customer was going to get.
I'm sure company policies vary on this but in mine we would not cover a vehicle we had declared as totaled for legal reasons.
Getting a car back as a salvage and being able to successfully register it are two very different things. Make sure you know how much is needed to get it back to par.
Also, for the record, I think taking it back as a salvage is a bad idea. Buy a cheap beater for like $1000.
Why're you worried about anything else when you've got whiplash and a twisted back? I thought those were like the auto accident lottery or something where you'll probably end up getting a substantial injury settlement cuz your back'll be messed up for years or possibly the rest of your life.
I'm not sure if it's an option available from many U.S. insurers, but a lot of Australian insurers will insure you for an 'agreed value' on your car - that being the value that your insurance premium is calculated from, but also being the amount guaranteed to you if the car is a write-off.
With market value you have the risk that you pay premiums that aren't in line with your payout, so it's a good idea to get an assessor to look at your car before you insure to make sure that the premiums are calculated on a realistic valuation of the car.
Not going to help you in this situation, but it's something to bear in mind when looking at insurance for your replacement vehicle.
Take the settlement, from what I've read Aveos are the crowning achievement of Chevy's turd+engine+4wheels=car engineering philosophy. You should be able to get a better replacement for $6000.
Yeah. I thought it over and this money really should be a down payment for a car. I went looking yesterday for a car and there are a lot of good options out there. I just doubt that the one I really wanted ('02 Accord with 100k miles on it for 8K) will still be there when I get my check.
I think the suspension is also shot on the car, cause I feel like I'm driving off road sometimes. So, I think I'm going to look into renting a car. How does that work when it comes to insurance? I really don't want to pay anything out of pocket at all. Do I call my insurance company, tell them I'm going to get a rental, get some type of "confirmation number", go to the rental place and give them that number and have them work it out with the insurance company?
So, I think I'm going to look into renting a car. How does that work when it comes to insurance? I really don't want to pay anything out of pocket at all. Do I call my insurance company, tell them I'm going to get a rental, get some type of "confirmation number", go to the rental place and give them that number and have them work it out with the insurance company?
Most insurance companies work with at least one of the major rental companies frequently and they clear give you a number that you bring to them and the rental company looks it up on their system.
Also, since you sustained actual injuries, have you consulted an attorney?
DragonPup on
"I was there, I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor." -Cpt Garviel Loken
So, I think I'm going to look into renting a car. How does that work when it comes to insurance? I really don't want to pay anything out of pocket at all. Do I call my insurance company, tell them I'm going to get a rental, get some type of "confirmation number", go to the rental place and give them that number and have them work it out with the insurance company?
Most insurance companies work with at least one of the major rental companies frequently and they clear give you a number that you bring to them and the rental company looks it up on their system.
Also, since you sustained actual injuries, have you consulted an attorney?
No... I want to, but I don't think I can afford it. I been meaning to ask about that as well.
Also been forgetting to mention my state, I'm in Tennessee. The accident happened in Tennessee as well.
So my injuries I have, according to the chiropractor I saw that did the x-rays, are whiplash and twisted spine in my lower back. He said that in manner in which I was hit would cause my to jerk in a way that would twist my spine.
Also, I've been having some pretty annoying back pains. Nothing serious where I can't do anything, but sitting for long periods of time (and I sit at a computer and take calls for my job all day) causes great discomfort and soreness. Mainly in my back where my spine is twisted, and sometimes in my neck.
No... I want to, but I don't think I can afford it. I been meaning to ask about that as well.
The vast majority of lawyers who do accident work are contingency. What that means is that instead of you paying them, they take a cut of the payment you get for your pain and suffering. Usual rate is 30-35%. My accident got about $3000 for the injuries to me after my medical bills, so my lawyer got $1000, and I got $2000. Start researching attorneys over there.
Edit: A lawyer will very likely tell you this as well, but write down the pain and medication you are taking on a regular basis.
DragonPup on
"I was there, I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor." -Cpt Garviel Loken
No... I want to, but I don't think I can afford it. I been meaning to ask about that as well.
The vast majority of lawyers who do accident work are contingency. What that means is that instead of you paying them, they take a cut of the payment you get for your pain and suffering. Usual rate is 30-35%. My accident got about $3000 for the injuries to me after my medical bills, so my lawyer got $1000, and I got $2000. Start researching attorneys over there.
Edit: A lawyer will very likely tell you this as well, but write down the pain and medication you are taking on a regular basis.
Not taking any medication.
Also, what if I don't get money for my "pain and suffering"? Do I pay the lawyer OOP or is he SOL for not winning the case?
No... I want to, but I don't think I can afford it. I been meaning to ask about that as well.
The vast majority of lawyers who do accident work are contingency. What that means is that instead of you paying them, they take a cut of the payment you get for your pain and suffering. Usual rate is 30-35%. My accident got about $3000 for the injuries to me after my medical bills, so my lawyer got $1000, and I got $2000. Start researching attorneys over there.
Edit: A lawyer will very likely tell you this as well, but write down the pain and medication you are taking on a regular basis.
Not taking any medication.
Also, what if I don't get money for my "pain and suffering"? Do I pay the lawyer OOP or is he SOL for not winning the case?
It is my unprofessional opinion that you should sue.
It's what a real American would do.
ChillyWilly on
PAFC Top 10 Finisher in Seasons 1 and 3. 2nd in Seasons 4 and 5. Final 4 in Season 6.
No... I want to, but I don't think I can afford it. I been meaning to ask about that as well.
The vast majority of lawyers who do accident work are contingency. What that means is that instead of you paying them, they take a cut of the payment you get for your pain and suffering. Usual rate is 30-35%. My accident got about $3000 for the injuries to me after my medical bills, so my lawyer got $1000, and I got $2000. Start researching attorneys over there.
Edit: A lawyer will very likely tell you this as well, but write down the pain and medication you are taking on a regular basis.
Not taking any medication.
Also, what if I don't get money for my "pain and suffering"? Do I pay the lawyer OOP or is he SOL for not winning the case?
It is my unprofessional opinion that you should sue.
It's what a real American would do.
There's practically no chance that Ryadic will ever set foot in a court room. Its pretty much all done out of court. As for the 'unprofessional' part. Some dumbgoose wrecked his car and fucked up his back. He deserves a bit more than just the value of his totaled car for the pain, and having to buy a new car.
DragonPup on
"I was there, I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor." -Cpt Garviel Loken
I wanted to jump in here and say that it looks like you did everything correctly for your first time in an accident with insurance, Ryadic. You should be proud of yourself.
Take this to time to learn some lessons. First, it's worthwhile to have a good insurance company. I also have State Farm and have had several claims with them in the last year on my 2009 Toyota Matrix. A pavement company knocked a basketball hoop into my rear windshield shattering it, someone hit my car while I was in Wal-Mart and never left a note, etc.
Every time, you deal with your insurance company alone. You call them, you tell them what happened and you file a claim. They pay up and then go after the the other company to get their own reimbursement back. Don't EVER EVER EVER talk to the other insurance agency directly, that's why you have your own insurance. Talking to the other insurance agent or the other party only puts you at greater risk for saying something / agreeing to something that will hurt you later on.
When I was in high school a girl nailed my car while I was inside with some friends havng dinner. She hit the side of my car (which was parked legally within the lines in a parking lot) so hard she actually pushed my car into the space next to which I had parked. That night I got a call from some random Geico representative trying to get me to agree to take it to a 'Geico approved rate'. I told him to talk to MY State Farm guy because I wasn't agreeing to anything until my own insurance agent told me it was okay.
It turns out that Geico's offer would have removed their liability to provide me with a rental because the car was 'in repairs' or something.
Anyway, kudos Ryadic, I think you handled things pretty well.
Oh, and don't salvage the car. It's totaled for a reason. You don't know what hidden stress / fractures there are to the frame of your car, to say nothing of the suspension which already sounds shoddy. Get a new car that will be safe for you to drive.
You'll get reimbursed for all of your medical fees as well and honestly, I'd sue the other guy too. Not only did the other party injure you, but they've kind of fucked up your life and depending on how the whiplash progresses, you might have to take time off of work. Find a lawyer that works on contingency with a good reputation and see how much of a hassle it would be - most likely you'll not have to actually do anything.
Posts
YOU DO NOT NEED TO ACCEPT THE ESTIMATORS DOLLAR AMOUNT
It is a negotiation, not a decree. If you take it to an independent shop, they can get you a quality estimate for like $50 usually (if not free!). Use this. It is your sword and shield. Do NOT accept less than what will repair the car totally.
Also, many insurance companies will have preferred shops. They'll simply pay whatever the shop charges, this can be good and bad.
Good, because your car gets fixed no matter the cost. Bad, because if the shop sucks it gets fixed shitty. Just something to keep in mind.
I called his insurance as soon as I got home, made an appointment with the estimator last week, got inspected (he gave me a check), I brought it to my body shop with the paperwork and the check, then brought the voucher I was given for a rental car to the place. They covered everything from the rental car, to any amount over the check amount. My insurance was not involved at all, only his.
He had Nationwide and took full responsibility.
Also, that isn't insurance fraud. Its your money to do with as you please.
The check is in my name and it's their own estimate. I could see how it might be fraud if the check was to the body shop and it wasn't their estimate, and I was splitting it 50/50 with the shop.
I did see a chiropractor and he did some adjustments and my neck feels so much better.
I also called my insurance and advised them of it. They're going to get someone out to look at my car to see what the damage is and determine if it is totaled or not. Should be today or Monday.
To be completely above board, be sure to find out what injuries could have been caused by the accident and what you had before. I.e., "You hit me and gave me teh dyebeetus!"
Pink'd for concern. Your company is aware you're filing against her's, right? Make sure they're not thinking you want to use your deductables to pay for it.
He said that the manner in which I was hit definitely caused the whiplash and most likely caused the twisting of the spine. They mainly hit the driver's side of the back, and he said that would have caused me to twist a little. He did mention that I could have had back problems prior to this, but the rear ending definitely made it a lot worse.
I told them that it's completely the other person's fault. I'm filing through my insurance so I'll pay my deductible and then get reimbursed when the insurance gets reimbursed. I think that's the way most people are suggesting I do it. Easier to go through my insurance rather than the other parties.
A guy from State Farm (my insurance) came out and looked at my car to assess the damage. He doesn't have the final say, but he's pretty sure that it's totaled. I should find out either tomorrow or Wednesday the actual result.
So, all I need to do now is wait for the police report so that I can get the other person's insurance information and then go from there.
I suppose in the long run that's better than driving a fixed up car; I'm still not sure mine is 100% after an accident two years ago.
Suggest looking at the car buying threads here and start doing some research now.
Remember the value they should be paying you is the amount you would pay on the used market for the same model with the same mileage. This should be the private party or retail value, not the trade-in value. It'll also depend on the area you live in.
Most people don't realize that this is a negotiation with your insurance company, and you don't need to take their first offer. Historically insurance companies have gotten away with paying out 70 cents on the dollar when totaling cars.
Edit: Check out this article: http://www.edmunds.com/advice/insurance/articles/161707/article.html
2004 Aveo with roughly 80,000 miles on it:
Base value for car is 5725.
Taxes = 480.75.
Title fee = 14
Actual value = 6219.75
Settlement = 5969.75 (minus 250 deductible)
Salvage value = 1332.21
I'm thinking that since the car is perfectly drivable, albeit shitty looking, that I salvage it and use the money to pay for our wedding.
As asinine as that sounds, I'm heavily considering that. I've been worried about how we're going to pay for our wedding and this will take care of it since our wedding is looking to cost roughly 6,000.
My other option is to get a new car, which will make paying for my wedding difficult because I'll likely end up with a car payment.
The amount they're offering is more than KBB and Edmunds. I didn't even check the third.
So, I don't know if I should pursue more or not with the guy, but I definitely am not feeling ripped off.
The guy was a pretty nice guy and definitely didn't seem like your every day business person. So I doubt it would be like talking to a customer service robot.
Also note the settlement if you choose to retain the salvage will be less that value as well.
I'd mainly be worried that in a major collision such as yours the vehicle is just not going to be as safe in another major collision.
As for the totalling settlement, I was given both a check from insurance and the salvage company that it was sold to by them. As for repairing your car, there may be damage to the frame that you can't see that if you get into another accident could make it much, much worse. Seriously consider the settlement for a new(er) car. Might I recommand Honda.
And for the recent work, call the mechanic and ask for an invoice of the work done. Depending on the recentness you may be able to get the total settlement to cover some of the costs. I was able to get an extra $300 out of mine thanks to recent axle work.
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
In my year as a claims adjuster I never had a situation where one of my customers going down the "drive as salvage" route turned out to be a good idea for them. Not saying it is never a good idea, but at least in the states I covered the regulatory and logistical hurdles were way higher than the benefit the customer was going to get.
I'm sure company policies vary on this but in mine we would not cover a vehicle we had declared as totaled for legal reasons.
Also, for the record, I think taking it back as a salvage is a bad idea. Buy a cheap beater for like $1000.
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
With market value you have the risk that you pay premiums that aren't in line with your payout, so it's a good idea to get an assessor to look at your car before you insure to make sure that the premiums are calculated on a realistic valuation of the car.
Not going to help you in this situation, but it's something to bear in mind when looking at insurance for your replacement vehicle.
Play with me on Steam
I think the suspension is also shot on the car, cause I feel like I'm driving off road sometimes. So, I think I'm going to look into renting a car. How does that work when it comes to insurance? I really don't want to pay anything out of pocket at all. Do I call my insurance company, tell them I'm going to get a rental, get some type of "confirmation number", go to the rental place and give them that number and have them work it out with the insurance company?
Most insurance companies work with at least one of the major rental companies frequently and they clear give you a number that you bring to them and the rental company looks it up on their system.
Also, since you sustained actual injuries, have you consulted an attorney?
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
No... I want to, but I don't think I can afford it. I been meaning to ask about that as well.
Also been forgetting to mention my state, I'm in Tennessee. The accident happened in Tennessee as well.
So my injuries I have, according to the chiropractor I saw that did the x-rays, are whiplash and twisted spine in my lower back. He said that in manner in which I was hit would cause my to jerk in a way that would twist my spine.
Also, I've been having some pretty annoying back pains. Nothing serious where I can't do anything, but sitting for long periods of time (and I sit at a computer and take calls for my job all day) causes great discomfort and soreness. Mainly in my back where my spine is twisted, and sometimes in my neck.
The vast majority of lawyers who do accident work are contingency. What that means is that instead of you paying them, they take a cut of the payment you get for your pain and suffering. Usual rate is 30-35%. My accident got about $3000 for the injuries to me after my medical bills, so my lawyer got $1000, and I got $2000. Start researching attorneys over there.
Edit: A lawyer will very likely tell you this as well, but write down the pain and medication you are taking on a regular basis.
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
Not taking any medication.
Also, what if I don't get money for my "pain and suffering"? Do I pay the lawyer OOP or is he SOL for not winning the case?
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
It is my unprofessional opinion that you should sue.
It's what a real American would do.
There's practically no chance that Ryadic will ever set foot in a court room. Its pretty much all done out of court. As for the 'unprofessional' part. Some dumbgoose wrecked his car and fucked up his back. He deserves a bit more than just the value of his totaled car for the pain, and having to buy a new car.
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
Take this to time to learn some lessons. First, it's worthwhile to have a good insurance company. I also have State Farm and have had several claims with them in the last year on my 2009 Toyota Matrix. A pavement company knocked a basketball hoop into my rear windshield shattering it, someone hit my car while I was in Wal-Mart and never left a note, etc.
Every time, you deal with your insurance company alone. You call them, you tell them what happened and you file a claim. They pay up and then go after the the other company to get their own reimbursement back. Don't EVER EVER EVER talk to the other insurance agency directly, that's why you have your own insurance. Talking to the other insurance agent or the other party only puts you at greater risk for saying something / agreeing to something that will hurt you later on.
When I was in high school a girl nailed my car while I was inside with some friends havng dinner. She hit the side of my car (which was parked legally within the lines in a parking lot) so hard she actually pushed my car into the space next to which I had parked. That night I got a call from some random Geico representative trying to get me to agree to take it to a 'Geico approved rate'. I told him to talk to MY State Farm guy because I wasn't agreeing to anything until my own insurance agent told me it was okay.
It turns out that Geico's offer would have removed their liability to provide me with a rental because the car was 'in repairs' or something.
Anyway, kudos Ryadic, I think you handled things pretty well.
Oh, and don't salvage the car. It's totaled for a reason. You don't know what hidden stress / fractures there are to the frame of your car, to say nothing of the suspension which already sounds shoddy. Get a new car that will be safe for you to drive.
You'll get reimbursed for all of your medical fees as well and honestly, I'd sue the other guy too. Not only did the other party injure you, but they've kind of fucked up your life and depending on how the whiplash progresses, you might have to take time off of work. Find a lawyer that works on contingency with a good reputation and see how much of a hassle it would be - most likely you'll not have to actually do anything.