Wife was rear-ended. What next?

[worldbound4now]

Yesterday my wife was rear-ended by an expedition when stopped at a stop sign here in town. She was hit hard enough to knock her across 3 lanes of traffic and onto the center median. Thankfully nobody t-boned her in the process as well. Her injuries are currently the typical whiplash neck strain issues with a little dizziness today. Saw a Urgent Care physician and was cleared to recooperate without further treatment.

The car that she was driving is our old '94 pontiac grand am. The trunk is buckled, left rear door is misaligned, left tail light assembly is broken, and the turn signals no longer work. American Family called today (the other driver's insurance) and they already stated they accept 100% liability. They are sending a bodily injury packet via mail to us. As far as car repairs go, I was given three options.

1. They send a CRP specialist to our home for examination of our car.... unsure of the outcome.

2. We send the car to a CRP shop preferred by american family and they guarantee the work for the life of the car as well as provide a rental car for us.

3. We get our own estimates and they cut us a check to have it repaired on our own.

Where is option number four... they decide that the damage to the car exceeds the value (KBB estimate of $2225) and they just cut us a check for the car?

What should I do?

 

[radman]

Go for 4, even though it wasn't offered. Get your own estimate anyway, so that you have a figure independent of theirs, it will, in either case, exceed the value of the car, which is totaled with the door or the trunk damage, much less both. If the car was in nice shape, make sure they figure that into the final cut-if junk, downplay that as much as possible. It probably wouldn't hurt to get an attorney involved to represent your case, even if a suit isn't contemplated, because you need someone on your side. And, as my smart ass side also has a say, consider the fact that they did you a favor (value unknown to me) as Grand Am's are awful cars, one less on the road is a good thing.....

Note, I did NOT take advantage of the wording in the first part of the thread title. I should get a gold star or sumpin, eh?

 

[madmike2]

DO NOT sign off on the bodily injury until your wife is cleared by YOUR physician. If she was hit hard enough to push the car that far....well, "Go home and recuperate." wouldn't cut it for my loved ones. I'm not saying run off to a lawyer and sue for everything there is to get. Absolutely have her checked out by your physician who should know her medical history and can evaluate better.

 

[zorkler]

like radman said get the real numbers then let them cut the check and by some stuff for th fjr. get a laywer as soon as possible it sounds like a soft body injuty . i was rearended and end up with the cash for the car and i check for 17 grand for my injury its called a soft tissue something or another . GET A LAWYER .

 

[Fencer]

And don' forget lost time at work or just duties around the house those are$$ too.

Reguardless of the final outcome on your car they owe you a rental until you get a replacement. Your insurance carrier may help you with the lawyer.

watch out for ambulance chasers

 

[wpbfjr]

don't know much bout ins stuff... butt....

dude, you were down at wfo, now the wife is down... was baby in the car? in a car seat?

other great minds will have better suggestions, butt you've paid your wreck dues for a lifetime, now...

hope the bride heals well...

dana

 

[FJRay]

+1 on what Mike said. With a cervical injury it can take a long time to show the extent of the damage. Not saying to go for the jugular right away but be real carefull how you proceed. The car can be kicked to the curb and be replaced but your ladys health is important.

 

[Randy]

I'm not a lawyer or insurance agent, but, I went through the same thing.

Do not accept/sign off anything from their insurance company. Be very cautious with what you tell them. When they ask how she is doing, simply tell them that you don't know as you're not a physician. Perhaps each state is different, but, when I went through the same thing, ALL issues (estimates, rental car, etc) surrounding the car were handled by MY insurance company. Make sure you speak with your insurance carrier for direction.

You don't need a lawyer right away, but, make sure you document EVERY conversation you have with ANYONE in the event you need to seek legal representation later.

The main thing is to get her better. Without seeking legal representation, you can attempt to go for a settlement somewhere in the neighborhood of 8x-10x the medical expenses outside of the settlement with the car (reimburse/total/etc). They will make lower offers. Simply tell them that you will take it into consideration and that you are documenting their offer in the event you need to seek legal representation.

Once she gets the clean bill of health (it will take a few months), fully determine what the medical costs were then use that as a basis for the previously mentioned 8x-10x figure. With certain insurers, the case manager assigned is authorized to go up to a predetermined figure. Just so happens that I knew a case manager for the insurance company of the vehicle that hit me and they advised me of this and it worked as described.

Just remember, if you get a lawyer, they're gonna take 30-40% of the settlement amount.

 

[radman]

I suggested an attorney only because I am a horseshit negotiator. I either fold early or shoot the ****, neither of which are in The Negotiators Handbook and Recipe Favorites©.

 

[donaldb]

Welp, this is what I do for a living.........liability claims manager...........been doing it now for some 23 years. A 94 Grand Am isn't going to bring big $. I would suggest you go to N.A.D.A.com or Kelly Blue Book.com and follow the directions. Calculate the mileage and options and general over all condition (be honest) and geographic location and those two sites should give you a reasonable idea of the book value. Also call a couple used car or dealerships (Pontiac--used car department) and talk w/the manager. Most are helpful as to giving you a reasonable selling price of a like kind quality car--at least what they would expect to sell one similar to yours if they had one on their lot. (dont forget sales tax--it should be added to the value along w/title fees. Also ck you local paper and see if thre are any for sell. All these things combined should give you some idea of a reasonable value of the car. Should the other insurance company low ball you on the value, you will have this info to "negotiate with". That way they will know you did your homework.

As far as wifey's B/I it sounds like a soft tissue type injury. Take your time wait at least a couple months, keep records of the bills and ask for copies of the reports. Do you need a lawyer? that's a personal decision, depending on the extent of the injury and how difficult the insurance company is to deal with. Remember most atty's will get 1/3 plus expenses of anything over and above medical bills.

Good luck, hope wifey get's well soon! I'm out of here for a week, leaving in about 30 min for vacation, two days of red fishing in south LA then headed to the Dragon Saturday morning, will return to work next Wednesday.........lots of piccies to post after I return! :yahoo:

 

[worldbound4now]

Thank you all for the input. We are able to easily function with our other car and due for a short time without the old clunker. We've always had a second car "just in case", but I ride the FJR year-round.

Alright, here's the other issue. The Grand Am rear lights do not work properly. Instead of driving this car around without proper rear lighting, I think I'm going to have one of their people come out and see the car and make an offer. That will be taken as their first suggestion and I'll see what can be done from there.

I'm not out to stick it to their insurance company. My rates are high enough as it is in this town. Why be part of the problem and make rates worse. I just don't want this incident to cost me anything and want to be able to have a little cash reserve to buy a replacement car should I find that we need a second car.

WPBFJR... baby was not in the car. She was at home with me. I never would put our daughter in the Grand Am. Her seat stays in our newer car and that car stays with whoever is caring for her on any given day.

I find a lot of humor that a liability claims manager's avatar is a monkey with a gun. Hmmmmmmm.

 

[madmike2]

Just be slow to settle on the personal injury. Soft tissue "stuff" is not fun and as others have said, shows up "late". DO get your own physician involved.

Get a small day-planner type book and keep accurate records of their phone calls, etc. Trust me, they will be logging everything into their computer.

 

[worldbound4now]

Logging calls with names, stated phone numbers, phone number listed on caller ID, date, time, and general conversation.

We have never been in an accident that involved another driver hitting us. Only myself on the bike in a low-side and a couple of rear-enders that resulted in no damage.

I was not clear that the property settlement is separate from the bodily injury. So.... I just need to read the fine print before accepting the check for the car... was told today that they will total it out. I need to be sure that that offer is just a settlement for the property loss and not the personal injury... am I on the right track?

 

[Bounce]

Wife was rear-ended. What next?

a simple thank you would be a good start. after all, if she was that accommodating...

 

[motorgod]

The other guys insurance company and possibly even your own will try to get a tape recorded statement.

[SIZE=36pt]DO NOT GIVE IT TO THEM![/SIZE] They are sly in how they word their questions and you may say something that you regret later.

 

[worldbound4now]

Yeah, the contact in the claims department keeps asking my wife to give her a statement of bodily injury over the phone. She also said she sent a packet out for statement of bodily injury. I asked why she needed both and did not receive an answer, she just reiterated that she still "has yet to obtain a statement". I informed her that we will submit information as requested in their written "packet". When the packet comes, I may again be asking for advise as to how to properly word her injuries. Thanks for the help and, motorgod, thanks for the tig bitties. It went well with my cereal this morning.

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

Yesterday my wife was rear-ended by an expedition when stopped at a stop sign here in town. She was hit hard enough to knock her across 3 lanes of traffic and onto the center median. Thankfully nobody t-boned her in the process as well. Her injuries are currently the typical whiplash neck strain issues with a little dizziness today. Saw a Urgent Care physician and was cleared to recooperate without further treatment.
The car that she was driving is our old '94 pontiac grand am. The trunk is buckled, left rear door is misaligned, left tail light assembly is broken, and the turn signals no longer work. American Family called today (the other driver's insurance) and they already stated they accept 100% liability. They are sending a bodily injury packet via mail to us. As far as car repairs go, I was given three options.

1. They send a CRP specialist to our home for examination of our car.... unsure of the outcome.

2. We send the car to a CRP shop preferred by american family and they guarantee the work for the life of the car as well as provide a rental car for us.

3. We get our own estimates and they cut us a check to have it repaired on our own.

Where is option number four... they decide that the damage to the car exceeds the value (KBB estimate of $2225) and they just cut us a check for the car?

What should I do?

Isn't your Insurance company assisting you with this?

Have you discussed with an attorney?

Get a blood sucking lawyer, if you are unsure how to proceed.

I would make sure not to give them bodily injury details, until you consult some one about what happens if due to the collision there are more aliments that happen after you do.

 

[krashdragon]

Yeah, the contact in the claims department keeps asking my wife to give her a statement of bodily injury over the phone. She also said she sent a packet out for statement of bodily injury. I asked why she needed both and did not receive an answer, she just reiterated that she still "has yet to obtain a statement". I informed her that we will submit information as requested in their written "packet". When the packet comes, I may again be asking for advise as to how to properly word her injuries. Thanks for the help and, motorgod, thanks for the tig bitties. It went well with my cereal this morning.

If they want a statement of bodily injury, how does your wife know the extent of her injuries unless she goes to her doctor? Soft tissue stuff can take a long time... DON'T RUSH!

Dont' worry about taking the insurance comany for whatever... Just make sure that your wife is checked out, and then goes back... ESPECIALLY with any kind of neck injury....

That is not something to be easily dismissed....

The insurance comapnies are only in it to make money.... so take your time and dont' worry about them....

they dont' especially worry about you... Just how to get your claim settled very cheap...

Lots of good advice given in previous posts... and if you have a laywer, get him/her involved.... just trust me on this one.... The insurance companies treat lawyers way different that us poor folks that cant' afford one.

good luck.

Mary