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Car Accident OMG FREAK OUT!
Waffles or whatever
Previously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered User regular
Previously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered User regular
A few days ago I was on my way to buy a new pair of fast movers. (Running Shoes) While driving there I stopped at a stop sign. As I was about to turn a last minute car swooshed into my lane preventing me from going. Seconds later BOOM. I get rear ended by a guy from the rear who wasn't paying attention. The first thing that goes off is my car's On Star with a person saying "We detected that you were in an accident. The Police are on the way and are you okay?" I told the guy I was fine and I was going to see if the guy that hit me was okay. I get out of my car, and check with this guy. He appears to be fine, hes just shaken up. I do the normal, "Are you okay". He nods and says to me "OH, I thought you already turned!" (He just claimed he was at fault, thanks bro) and that he'd give me his insurance info, he was driving a rental from Avis, and that there was no need to call the cops. I told him the cops were already on there way.. At this point I write into my phone's memo his license plate number because I was already suspicious about this guy. While waiting in his car hes looking around nervously as if hes about to drive off and what not, but he didn't. Eventually a single cop cruiser shows up.
The cop basically shows up, asks what happened and the guy basically admits fault. The cop asks for driver's ID and insurance. He takes our info, writes the report, and gives the guy the ticket as well as telling him he was at fault for the accident. The guy then drives off. The cop gets to me last and gives me a copy of the report as well as information for my insurance company. I ask him "It says hes self insured. What does that mean?" The Cop tells me "I dunno, ask your insurance Company" I also ask about a Paramedic and he basically looks at my vehicles DoD Sticker (It says Great Lakes) and he says "If your hurt just go to your hospital devil dog" (I'm not a Marine
) and he leaves. I ended up calling home and asking parents what to do next. They advised I go to my insurance company. On the way there the adrenaline and red bull is wearing off and I started feeling mild back pain in my lower back, but I shrugged it off at the time. Insurance Company basically looks at it and says in summary "Don't worry hero, we'll square you away" and sent me off to get an estimate on the bumper damage. The estimate turned out to be a whopping $1036 and some change.
A few days later (today) the insurance company calls me and tells me the guy has no insurance (No surprise) and that the guy's FATHER was the one that answered the phone to tell the insurance company the new news. A realization occurred to me (Not sure if its accurate), but the report says the guy was 59 (Didn't have a shred of gray hair on his dreadlocks). I told my agent my hunch and she basically told me to stand fast. At this point I'm expecting the worst. I just got hit by a guy who had no driver's license, was in a rental, and had no insurance. A buddy of mine whose in JAG has already started putting ideas into my head telling me that I should "lawyer up, get my back assessed, and sue AVIS because the guy that hit me has no money".
Before jumping to conclusions I figure I ask the internetz for advice. At this point what should I do? I'm not interested in a get rich quick scheme. However, I'm also worried that my back might get worse and I don't want a back injury ruining my military career before it gets started (I'm set to Commission Fall 2012).
The cop basically shows up, asks what happened and the guy basically admits fault. The cop asks for driver's ID and insurance. He takes our info, writes the report, and gives the guy the ticket as well as telling him he was at fault for the accident. The guy then drives off. The cop gets to me last and gives me a copy of the report as well as information for my insurance company. I ask him "It says hes self insured. What does that mean?" The Cop tells me "I dunno, ask your insurance Company" I also ask about a Paramedic and he basically looks at my vehicles DoD Sticker (It says Great Lakes) and he says "If your hurt just go to your hospital devil dog" (I'm not a Marine
) and he leaves. I ended up calling home and asking parents what to do next. They advised I go to my insurance company. On the way there the adrenaline and red bull is wearing off and I started feeling mild back pain in my lower back, but I shrugged it off at the time. Insurance Company basically looks at it and says in summary "Don't worry hero, we'll square you away" and sent me off to get an estimate on the bumper damage. The estimate turned out to be a whopping $1036 and some change.A few days later (today) the insurance company calls me and tells me the guy has no insurance (No surprise) and that the guy's FATHER was the one that answered the phone to tell the insurance company the new news. A realization occurred to me (Not sure if its accurate), but the report says the guy was 59 (Didn't have a shred of gray hair on his dreadlocks). I told my agent my hunch and she basically told me to stand fast. At this point I'm expecting the worst. I just got hit by a guy who had no driver's license, was in a rental, and had no insurance. A buddy of mine whose in JAG has already started putting ideas into my head telling me that I should "lawyer up, get my back assessed, and sue AVIS because the guy that hit me has no money".
Before jumping to conclusions I figure I ask the internetz for advice. At this point what should I do? I'm not interested in a get rich quick scheme. However, I'm also worried that my back might get worse and I don't want a back injury ruining my military career before it gets started (I'm set to Commission Fall 2012).
Waffles or whatever on
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Suing Avis probably isn't the best route, you (and your insurance company) have contact info for Mr. Atfault or at least his parents (or whomever). Avis shouldn't waaaaaaiitt
How did he get a rental car without insurance? That's kinda mandatory. They will have information on file as well for the "NAMED INSURED" on the rental policy
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Self-insured means he's got no insurance*; he handles everything out of pocket (or through fraud apparently).
*Edit: Which I'm guessing he lied about since I think it's mandatory for rentals like Spudge said, or maybe he wasn't supposed to be driving the vehicle.
The insurance company lawyer only has the insurance company interests in mind, not Waffen's. They'll cover the lowest amount possible, and may even try to punt off the medical costs, too.
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
Exactly. When I got into an accident on my Vespa, a lawyer that I hired got me three times what the insurance company was offering to me. Plus all my medical taken care of.
EDIT: Without going to any sort of court. A lawyer's letterhead will get you a lot of places.
Sit tight for a while, and if nothing is happening.. talk to a lawyer. After that it should be obvious what to do next (lawyers are pretty good with the law, apparently).
I don't have legal experience but when my friend's car got totaled and the frame ruined, she lost the guy to the wind. Verify your contact information with this guy and make sure he can't run from you. Close family will be a way to track him down.
Also, figure out your breaking point in terms of court costs and time so that you don't spend months chasing down a payment from someone or a company that won't make up for the time and money you spent to get them.
Also, stay safe and glad to see you are alright.
That being said:
Do you have UIM (un-/under-insured motorist) coverage on your car? This is going to be the most important thing you need to know.
Also, how well do you know your insurance agent? Have you had to do anything through him before? What insurance company do you use?
Generally speaking, most insurance companies have a one-year suit limitation clause. Take a look at your policy to figure out what yours says. What this "suit limitation clause" means is that you have a certain amount of time in which to sue them (like I said, it's usually a year). And if you're going to sue someone, it's probably going to be your insurance company, unless you have reason to suspect that this guy has a bunch of money in spite of being uninsured.
You should definitely seek treatment for your back. Talk to an honest-to-god doctor rather than a chiropractor.
Your insurance company will try to get back whatever they pay out from the responsible party. If he has no insurance, that basically means going after the driver himself, which is a way bigger headache than going after his insurance, if he had any. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and you won't incur huge medical bills or have to miss work, and your insurance company will take care of most of this stuff for you. It will likely be a giant pain in the ass to have to sue this individual, and if he was too broke or cheap to buy insurance on a rental car, I doubt he has a lot of assets.
We've been with our insurance agent with State Farm for over a decade now. Nothing has happened since they aren't open on the weekends (I'll find out more tomorrow evening). Overall, the last I heard was that they told me we'd have to use our deductible, and the insurance agency would cover the rest. They told us that since the Police Report has the guy's name, address, and phone number they'll end up chasing after him for debt repayment.
Also, back felt better yesterday and today I don't even notice any back pain. That scare is over now.
You misinterpreted. Friend was trying to convince me to sue Avis, the car rental company of the guy who rear ended me. I don't plan on suing anyone at the moment. I just want my damn bumper repaired.
Well, glad you are not injured, that should make this much more tidy.
Even if the guy didn't shell out $20 for insurance, don't they pay, and then bill the dude who rented the car?
Also, shouldn't they be responsible if he rented it with a fake ID? Also shouldn't this guy be in jail?
You've got the guys address from the police report right? You can take the guy to civil court for the damages if he won't flat out pay, but there's no guarantee you'll see that money any time soon.
When I had my Xray done they found a worn disc in my neck, they say that it "could" become arthritic years down the road, which is scary to me. It is result from an old whip lash injury left untreated. Which is true, about 12 years ago i was t-boned (in a parking lot) and never really stuck with my therapy. Just food for thought! Don't wait.
Good luck!
I wouldn't worry about suing Avis or anyone for that matter. Your insurance company should handle all the getting the money stuff for you, it just might take some time to get all the paperwork done.
Rigorous Scholarship
So, totally belaboring the point, but just cause it doesn't hurt now doesn't mean you haven't injured yourself in this accident. Often with back injuries you quickly learn to adapt (you change your breathing and posture so as to be most comfortable) and the pain seems to go away. Then a few months down the line you get issues, and that's when you get the CTL film, and your doctor says your back's all out of whack, and you say nothing's happened, except that accident a couple months ago, and then you're fucked with respect to it being covered under your or his auto insurance. Get checked out.
If you're trying to extract as much value out of this situation then you'll want legal representation. In some states it's apparently OK to essentially "double dip" w/r/to personal injury (PIP) in accidents. However, if your insurance finds out they are entitled to seek compensation from you (for whatever payouts they made to service your personal injury claims) from any settlement you get. Personally I've never gone this route, but have friends/colleagues who have (I'm in Texas).
Insurance. The guy now outright refuses to pay for my bumper. Insurance agent told me that basically the guy said on the phone "Rich cracker got money. He can pay for it" end quote. My insurance agent told me at this point the only thing I can do now to fix the car is to use the $500 deductible and go from there. State Farm will pursue the guy in the legal system which can take several years to get any money from him.
At this point, what else can I do?
best of luck with everything
I think this is where the whole lawsuit stuff kicks in. However, our legal system moves at a turtle's pace because its backed up with so much retarded stuff that it'll be years before we're in front of a judge.
As for the matter of restitution, if he was driving with someone else's license and lied about being self insured then that's a criminal matter that you should report to the police if State Farm hasn't done so already.
I'd ask for a copy of the phone call if they're willing to give it to you. The person that rear ended you is obviously liable, and you (well, State Farm) will take him to civil court over this.
However, it's not an overnight victory, even if they win, there's always the chance the man won't pay, in which case they can look at wage garnishment, which with State Farm will probably be a two year process and it doesn't sound like this guy is too concerned with his credit score.
Basically though, if he's unwilling to pay, balls in your court unfortunately. You're going to shell out $500 to get your car fixed, but you need to be clear that the insurance company doesn't hike up your rates over this.
So the long and short is (in my opinion only, obviously not an expert) is that
1) You're gonna pay $500, and hopefully see that money again in a few months to a few years (unlikely)
2) You (or State Farm, but probably you) should file charges against the guy if he was driving with false identification and lied to the officer on duty)
3) Make sure your insurance doesn't go up.
That sucks man, sorry it happened to you. I hope it gets worked out.
Definitely keep an eye out on your premiums, my company tried to jack my rates up for a no fault accident and i promptly dropped them like a sack of dirt. If you've been a customer in good standing for so long, i doubt they will pull that for such a small accident, but you never know.
Personally, I would pursue it out of principle. If you aren't interested, than I would just drop it and let your insurance handle it, but if next year you are having any kind of issue attibuted to this accident, you are SOL and you might be wishing you had pursued it. Contacting the police to let them know that this guy broke the law doesn't mean that you HAVE to sue him, but if you DO sue him down the road, it would be good to have as much on your side as you can, such as illegal/criminal/negligent activities on the record...just saying. Your car insurance probaly wouldn't pay for something like Physical therapy if you needed it down the road.
I just like keeping my options open just in case.
that's bad news for your blind side justice. A below the table transaction is happening and it's so obvious in terms like this.