Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with accident

Should I report an accident to my insurance company even if there was no harm done?

tipthepizzaguy — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:03:40 -0800

A little kid ran in front of my car in a parking lot and I hit him. He was not hurt and there was no damage to my car. The boy's mother apologized and told me everything was okay. We did not exchange any information. After I drove away she called the police and filed a bogus report. What to do? Thankfully there was a witness and his report to the police matches mine. I don't believe I'll be in any legal trouble. The officer I spoke to said the woman and her story were both "a little off."

What I am worried about is my insurance. Should I report this incident to my insurance company? Should I file a claim even though there was no damage? Is there anything else I need to do to cover my ass in case she sues or files her own insurance claim?

I broke my leg! Should I pursue compensation?

ImproviseOrDie — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:43:52 -0800

Personal injury filter: I broke my leg very badly--clean break of both tibia and fibula--while visiting my brother's apartment building in Brooklyn NY. I required surgery and a 5-day hospital stay. I will require months of PT and further ortho visits. I don't know yet if I'll lose any time from work beyond the week I was in the hospital, because my job is understanding and will let me work from home for at least a while. I cannot drive for at least a month, so I'm dependent on the kindness of my friends to bring me things, and as I live in a 3-story walkup (in Baltimore), I won't be going anywhere for a while. My question is about whether I should try to have the apartment building owner(s) contribute money toward what I expect to be quite a high amount. I'm not looking for damages--just for whatever my insurance won't cover. More details: I know that YANAL and YANML. I'm a 39 year-old woman, if that matters. My brother lives in a building where each apartment is owned; I'm not sure if they're condos or a co-op building. I fell on the stairs in the common area. I can't say for sure if I tripped or what, but I was not being reckless. All I know is that I was carrying my suitcase (carry-on size), landed wrong on my right foot, tried to use my left leg to stabilize and avoid falling, but my left leg simply snapped in two. (Yes, ouch. Worst pain of my life.)

In the hospital I had to wait 2 days with my bones unset while the swelling lessened enough to have surgery, during which they inserted titanium rods and pins into my leg. I had quick PT to learn how to negotiate with crutches and my cast, but once the cast comes off and I get a removable boot--probably in a few weeks--I'm going to need several weeks of PT to learn how to bear weight on that leg again, and how to drive with the boot, and I don't know what else. I may start with a walker with the boot and progress to a cane. I'm told I should expect to feel pain for about 6 months.

I'm currently unable to stand up for more than about 15 minutes because of swelling inside the cast and pain, so in addition to all the other drudgery outlined above, my daily activities are severely limited even while I'm trapped at home. This affects things like cooking, hygiene, pet care, and whatnot.

My brother, who rents in the building where the accident occurred, is encouraging me to pursue compensation from the building owner(s). (He's planning on moving soon, but this would be his advice even if he were staying.) Several nurses in the hospital also encouraged me in this same direction, and so has my mom.

I'm normally one of those who's apt to say "Shit happens. Get over it. It was an accident. Don't sue." But I'm worried about incurring medical debt I cannot pay for, and my worries are compounded by a looming threat of layoffs at my financial services company.

Once upon a time I was an ass and had very bad credit, and I've worked long and hard to become more responsible and to restore my good name and a decent credit score, and I'm very worried about a downward spiral with collections agencies and huge credit card bills if I were to get a bill for, say, more than 5k. Which I'm quite sure I will. On top of all this, I'm getting a divorce, so I'm trying to minimize any and all bills as I start my new life and save enough to buy another house.

Provided that my health insurance company, who I just started with on 9/1, allows all the charges on the claims, I'll still owe 20% of the entire bill. I figure that with some denied charges, I'll probably owe closer to 30-35% of the total.

If you're still reading after all that, thank you! My question is not necessarily "Should I sue?" but rather "Should I pursue compensation for the costs I'm sure I won't be able to afford?"

Sucky Pedal Disengagement

bjrubble — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:23:33 -0800

I almost got run over this evening when my SPD clips didn't release. What can I do to be (and feel) safer? I switched from straps to clips about a month ago and have been pretty happy for the most part. Tonight, I pulled up to a slightly hasty stop and twisted my foot to release, and -- nothing. Frantically twisting and yanking, I simply toppled over -- into the lane of oncoming traffic. Fortunately, the next car was 20 yards away, but it really shook me. (Plus, I looked like a monumental idiot.)

I noticed afterward that my shoe was misaligned. I think the cleat shifted instead of releasing. Perhaps it wasn't tight enough, although I'd been riding for weeks without any perceptible movement up till then. I've tightened both cleats, but that hasn't alleviated my concern.

A substantial part of my worry is that, once they failed to release and I entered an emergency mode, I don't think I did anything right. I think I followed my instinct to pull back from the pedals (as I would with straps), which of course would do nothing useful with clips. This makes me concerned, not just for a situation like this, but in any emergency situation. I've been in enough of them that the idea of not being able to get my feet instantly off the bike just scares the crap out of me.

My thought right now is to just practice, practice, practice. (You fight like you train, as they say.) Is there anything else that can help me feel (and hopefully be) safer when I'm riding?

Car accident/insurance advice

rbellon — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:59:00 -0800

What should I do if I'm not sure someone's after the fact claim about a car accident is actually related to the accident? I recently rear-ended another vehicle in stop and go traffic during rush hour at less than 5mph. We pulled over, and looked at the cars. Both agreed no damage, but wanting to be a good doobie, I gave her my contact info in case something internal came up. I was foolish in that I didn't get her info, or even jot down her car's make/model or license plate number. I have a perfect driving record, and had never been involved in something like this, so it kind of took me by surprise and I wasn't sure what to do in the moment. No insurance information was exchanged and no police report was filed.

Several days later, she e-mailed to say that she had found damage, that she was away for the weekend but could send pics when she returned, and could I please send her my insurance information. I replied requesting that she send the photos, since we had both concluded there was no surface damage.

She subsequently sent two very dark photos of just the damaged area of a vehicle. I do recall that the other vehicle was a large SUV, and it's discernible in the photos that they depict a Ford Explorer. Here's the thing - the rear fender is knocked loose in the photos, and at a downward angle. I drive a small compact car that has absolutely no signs of any damage.

I showed the pics to a friend who works with cars and his take was that there was no way a collision at less than 5mph could have caused the damage in the photos, especially without sustaining serious damage to the front of my car. He also noted that based on the respective heights of the vehicles, her fender should have gone up and not down as the picture shows. Finally, he commented that the only way he could imagine the accident I described "causing" the damage was if it was already quite rusted (and there is some rust visible in the photos).

I found a Ford Explorer in a parking lot earlier this evening to just kind of compare heights, and what he says seems to be true. He suggested being back in touch with her and basically explaining the above, then seeing if she still wants to pursue.

What's the smartest thing for me to do at this point? Be back in touch with her? Call my insurance company? I'm kicking myself because I a) want to be responsible and take care of any damage that I caused, but b) just had a funny feeling when I got her e-mail and saw the pictures, which has only deepened since communicating with my friend. I don't want to be taken advantage of.

What is this plane?

basicchannel — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:38:56 -0800

Whilst backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, a friend of mine came across what appeared to be the detritus of an aircraft crash. He found a propeller and some aluminum skin and plastic (photos of the prop: here and here). The only other bit of information they could glean was the prop had "NOT FAA APPROVED" stamped on it.

Based on this (extremely limited) information, are there any reasonable assumptions as to the size of the aircraft and its purpose?

proper order of operations involving a minor accident.

swngnmonk — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:06:18 -0800

URGENT: Proper handling (e.g. legal/insurance) of the situation - my motorcycle was knocked over when parked, there are witnesses. Fun parking in NYC. I came out this morning to move my motorcycle (parking regulations), noticed fluid underneath. After moving it, I realized the fluid was because the radiator had been knocked off it's mount, totally smashed, and a number of secondary parts had been as well. Thank god for frame sliders, I think the tank is ok.

While looking at it, a woman came up to me, her husband witnessed the event, knows the car (someone else from the neighborhood). And they hit it *hard* - Hard enough to knock it over on the right, on an incline.

I want the bike fixed ASAP, but it's going to take days before I can straighten things out with the husband, find this guy, etc.

How do I handle things from a claim perspective? Should I just get the bike fixed now, and then go back with the invoice?

Thank you.

No ambulance to chase

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:23:00 -0800

My car was rearended hard today by someone who has no insurance. I'm physically fine so far. Assuming I stay that way, should I consider suing him? I am in Connecticut, which is also where the accident took place. I also understand that you are not and will never be my lawyer, and you're not giving me legal advice.

I myself have insurance. I'm out my $300 deductible and won't have my car back for at least a month, possibly longer -- my own policy does not include a rental for myself (yeah, I may rethink that for later...). I have not been told yet whether this accident will affect my premiums. While these expenses won't put me on the street, they will be felt.

I'm not sure it's relevant, but I'll mention it in case it is: The guy who hit me fled the scene, and was arrested about 20 minutes later. There were solid witnesses, and I've been told he will likely plead guilty to leaving the scene when charged.

I'm still pretty shaken up -- it was a scary scenario -- so if you're tempted to give me a hard time for pondering what I'm guessing would be a small claims case at best, please don't. Today has sucked enough already.

Thanks.

Medical suggestions for accident victim in India?

maya — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:40:33 -0800

Earlier this week I witnessed a pedestrian/car accident while traveling in Calcutta, India. A boy was pinned between two vehicles and his leg is badly injured. [warning] Here is a photo of his leg a few days later. His care is deficient as best and I am looking for advice and suggestions. Inside is an excerpt from my blog where you can find the full story, including known medications administered. His leg was stitched at the government hospital, under dire conditions. He has no broken bones. He has received an IV saline drip continuously except for the 4th day when he received 2x250ml of blood (about 1 pint). He never lost consciousness and responds to questions. He has no feeling around or below the wound (right calf, extending behind knee). There is obviously nerve damage, but I have no idea how extensive. His right foot seemed cold the first night but blood flow seems to have returned. He told me he can move/extend his right leg at the knew but it is extremely painful. He is very thin and his leg is somewhat swollen. Around the wound his skin is warmer.

Advice so far:
*try squeezing a toenail, it should blanche and then return to normal
*make sure he can move his foot
*Pus, if it is a white/thick substance is obviously a sign of infection and he needs stronger antibiotics. However, if it's blood and a more-or-less clear/yellowy liquid, that's normal as part of the healing process.
*the abrasion on the left of the photo should have a different bandage than the rest of the wound, and should be kept moist

As mentioned in my blog, I know advice without face-to-face consultation is inadequate. Anything stated will be taken as suggestion only, and I will consult a doctor that can see him before suggesting or administrating any changes in his care.

Do I Call The Cops, And Where Are We Towing This Thing?

The_Partridge_Family — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:51:13 -0800

AutoAccident101: a) Do you always call the police? Surely if you don't the other party could later deny involvement. b) If your car is undriveable, when the tow truck turns up and they ask you, "where would you like it towed to?", where the hell do you get it towed to? Sorry for the two-parter - they're just questions that I've never had to answer but would like to be prepared for.

On one hand it seems daft to call the police for every minor ding, but then if it was caused by someone else - perhaps whose vehicle was not damaged - and they say at the time they'll cover it, they could easily renage later, right?

And the towing thing? I don't know where I'd get my car towed to. It seems kinda stupid to tow it to my house where I can't do anything with it, and I don't carry an encyclopedic knowledge of body shops either in my area or in the area accident could occur.

Help my elbow.

fake — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:08:28 -0800

Recently, my bike picked a fight with a car and it ended up breaking my elbow. Now I'm trying to recover as quickly as possible. Do you have any physical therapy tricks or tips? I cracked my left olecranon, but it was held in place by soft tissue so pins/surgery were not necessary.

Five weeks after the accident, my bone is mostly fused but my tendons/tissues are still very sore and my elbow extremely stiff. I have been working my elbow back and forth and rotating my hand according to the doctor's instructions, but I am having trouble getting beyond the 90 degree angle, meaning it is impossible to reach and touch my face or reach above my shoulders.

My elbow doesn't feel "tight" but rather the tendons do. I've been using a combination of NSAIDS and repeated exercises to gain a few degrees of freedom. Do you have any more ideas?

How do you negotiate with insurance companies after an accident?

FlamingBore — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:31:04 -0800

How do we navigate auto insurance negotiation post accident? My partner was involved in a major auto accident this past week. We're now trying to figure out all the insurance craziness. Looks like all the other AskMeFi questions are dealing with someone else's insurance company and we're only dealing with hers. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated.

On Monday she was driven off the road on I-91 near Holyoke MA. The other driver did not stop and no one has come forward with his/her license plate details, etc. There were witnesses and the police report indicates she was not at fault. She is lucky to be alive and is thanking her lucky stars that her 15 year old Audi took the bullet for her.

The car is totaled (we're pretty sure, as are all parties who have seen it thus far) and we're just waiting to hear from the insurance company. How can she best navigate this situation to get the most from her insurance company to replace the car?

The car was a 93 Audi 90s with about 108k miles on it. She was paying for full coverage. She maintained it well and had recently put in about $1600 worth of work into it.

We've been told that she can negotiate with the insurance company. We've also been told that they are likely to offer her considerably less than the NADA book value, but she should push back on them saying that's the guide to go by.

Is there an insurance adjuster in the house? Any tips, suggestions or insider information to make this as non-excruciating as possible?

Where can I find an article about this French road sweeper versus cyclist accident?

kyten — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:35:42 -0800

Can anyone help me find an article published in the French newspaper La Nouvelle République des Pyrénées on June 23rd about a cyclist who was hit by a road sweeper a few days earlier? I've found the La Nouvelle République des Pyrénées website but it doesn't seem to be there. An online copy of the article or a scan of the printed page would be great. If you're feeling really generous, a translation into English would also be much appreciated. I'm told there's a photo of the responsible street sanitation vehicle in the article, which I'd really like to see if possible.

Failing that, I'd be grateful for pointers to any other articles about the same incident. I've searched Google News etc. but had no luck.

I'm too young for new knees!!

ForeverDcember — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:04:32 -0800

Is my knee screwed or just screwing with me? I had an accident on my Piaggio back in September of 2006 where I fell onto my knee directly on the kneecap. After many doctors visits, MRI's, X-rays, physical therapy and seeing an ortopedic doctor, I was told that it was bruising underneath the kneecap and that there really wasn't any point in surgury, since that isn't anything that can be repaired. There were no tears or rips in any muscle but I had a lot of pain and occasional swelling along with a "snapping/popping" of the knee when I would walk or turn a certain way. Any direct pressure on the knee would have me almost sobbing in pain.
Fast forward to today. I am very uncomforable when sitting a certain way for any legnth of time, especially with my legs crossed or just straight out. I drive and sit with my leg up in the seat with me, almost indian style, and that feels much better. I still get the "snapping/popping" pain occasionally and rarely does it swell. However, within the past few months I get this horrible pain which feels like my knee is about to give out. It gets tight (a lot like your finger feels right before you pop the joint), and has a stabbing and almost "hot" pain to it. I have not re-injured the knee and I have not changed anything in my lifestyle that may contribute to this. I had this happen last night and this morning... I also have a bruise on my knee today.
I do not have insurance until August, so I need to put off going to the doctor. My question is, is this just part of that pain that will "probably always be there" like the doctors have said or is something else possibly going on? What may be causing this? Thanks in advance for any insight.

How to Give Comfort

Hildegarde — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:57:18 -0800

Has anyone ever had to comfort a person who's been responsible for an accident that caused someone's death? What can one say or do that helps? I'm asking for a friend who already used up her askme question this week. Her father ran into some people with his truck on a gravel road. No alcohol was involved. Any suggestions will be most appreciated.

Should we repair unclaimed damage before an inspection?

Anonymous — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:18:22 -0800

Ontario car insurance. My wife and I have insurance through PC financial. Over the last year, our cars have been damaged, but we haven't filed a claim. Now, they've requested an inspection of our cars. Is this just to ensure they don't pay for preexisting damage in the event of future claims, or can we expect them to get mad/raise rates for this? My wife's car was damaged when I was a blind idiot in a parking lot. I did about $800-1000 damage to my wife's car which we haven't gotten fixed, and about $900 in damage to a nice lady's car. We paid her cash (the quote to repair the damage came much lower than we were anticipating), and had her sign an agreement/receipt for the cash and that she had no further claims against us. 5+ months later and we haven't heard further from her. Neither party reported this to the police. This is a newer, but low sticker price car.

Someone tried unsuccessfully to break into my car. In the process of this, both door handles were popped partially out of the car. I had an estimate of $300 to fix. It's a mid-age low sticker price car. We had reported this to the police. We were told that there was a series of successful auto thefts in our area that night, to consider ourselves lucky that they failed with my car, and that they were unlikely to catch the culprits. This occured 6-12 months ago.

We have just enough money in savings to get these fixed if we need to. But we're alright with the unsightliness and would rather have the money for future emergencies that don't involve cosmetic damage to possessions.

Should we get the cars fixed ASAP and then bring them in for the inspection? Should we have notified the insurance company of damage to the cars that we weren't making claims for and then bring the cars in? Should we just bring the cars in and let them make notes and then go our merry way? Should we start budgeting for a rate increase?

Looking for traffic accident details

shortfuse — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:36:20 -0800

Is there a way to find out details about a particular traffic accident and death that occurred in New Jersey on May 11? The only additional info I have is the name of the deceased. I found out that someone I used to know has passed away due to a traffic accident of some sort. I had fun hanging out with him back in high school, and I'd like to attend the funeral or any remembrance events that might be taking place. Unfortunately I wasn't in touch with him and I don't have a way of contacting the family. I thought of trying to find any published info about the accident which might also contain further info. I didn't find much thru Google. Is there a news/government/community site or instituation that can help with such inquiries? Should I call the police - if so, which one, as I don't know the city where it happened? Thanks.

I was uninsured. But it's irrelevant to my point.

hulahulagirl — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:17:39 -0800

Ok, well, it turns out Dollar Rent A Car wants to take me to court for the $1000. (see: this question) I plan to file in small claims court before they can take me to court because I think that will give me a better chance of winning. However, I only want to discuss who is responsible for the $1000 and not whether or not I was insured at the time. Help! If you don't have time to read my previous question which gives the background info:
* I was driving a rental car from Portland, OR to Idaho when someone pulled out in front of me on the highway. She was cited, I was not. I have a copy of the police report.
* Her parents' insurance co. (SafeCo) paid the balance of the market value of the rental car minus the salvage sale price, to the tune of over $11,000. No bodily injuries for any parties involved, luckily.
* A little over $1000 of the bill remains, which SafeCo says it will not pay because it is for "excessive towing charges." SafeCo did not specify their cap for towing charges, only that in this case they were "excessive."
* The bill for towing the car back to Portland contains no identifying info on the car ----no VIN, no make/model, no date, no total # of miles it was towed, nada! It only has the towing co's name, and a total price. This is the legal reason I plan to present in court of why I am refusing to pay the outstanding amount.
* BUT, I was not insured at the time. I don't own a car so I didn't have a policy of my own (and I declined Dollar's addt'l coverage, which wouldn't have helped with excessive towing charges anyway). So, yes, I was stupid. Agreed.

But help me to NOT make it worse by admitting in court that I was uninsured. Hopefully it won't even come up. (Of course if I am asked directly I will not lie.)

I wrote a letter to Dollar (after a phone consult with an atty) and told them I was not responsible for the above-named reasons, mostly that their towing receipt could be considered forged at worst and null at best. They countered with their standard response of "Your name is on the contract and you WILL pay! See you in court. Mwa haha!"

Cut to: small claims court----how do I frame my argument without mentioning that I was uninsured? I want to leave that piece of info out of the picture entirely if possible. According to a couple of quick searches, driving while unisured in OR means losing your license for a year. I don't know if this means being cited for no insurance (logical, right?) or if I could possibly incur the same penalty if it is brought up in small claims court even though it is not relevant to who pays the remaining $1000 and it's almost six months after the accident. I was not cited for being uninsured at the time of the accident.

If it does come up, is there anything I can say to help my position?

Also, if there's anything else in this puzzle I'm missing, feel free to address that, too. Thanks! I'm just trying to be prepared. My only other foray into small claims court was ruled in my favor because the other party didn't show up.

P.S. Am I right in thinking that if I win a judgment in small claims court, saying I am not responsible for the $1000, that it will apply to any future case they try to bring against me?

Should I take the unlicensed driver who destroyed my car to Chicago small claims court?

hypocritical ross — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:38:29 -0800

My car was just totaled by an unlicensed, uninsured 16-year-old driver in Chicago. I'm insured, but I have no collision coverage, so any/all expenses are strictly out-of-pocket. The teen responsible was found to be 100% liable on the police report. Can/should I take the family to small claims court? Related: Can anyone suggest a salvage guy that pays a fair price for junked cars and a decent lawyer to represent me in small claims court? Do I even need a lawyer in small claims court? Sorry - I'm new to this. Driving along to work this morning, when a car pulls out of nowhere right in front of me. Nobody was hurt luckily, but it was a hard crash... with way more damage to my car than to hers. She turned out to be uninsured, unlicensed, and was also cited for failing to yield at a stop sign.

Unfortunately I never sprung for collision insurance (bare minimum in Chicago is liability insurance), so I'm pretty much hung out to dry as far as paying for the repairs. The estimate is about $3800 - which just so happens to be the same as the blue book value of the car ('95 Honda Accord).

I'm thinking my best option is to trash the car, get what i can from a salvage guy for it, and put that towards a new hoopty off Craigslist just so I can get to work (my commute is roughly 20 miles - I live in the city but work in a suburb that isn't particularly accessible by public transportation). So I guess I have three questions:

1) Is this the best solution?

2) If so, do you know the name/number of a good salvage guy in Chicago that won't totally rip me off?

3) Can I take this to small claims court, if I can should I get a lawyer, and if so do you know one?

Rear-ended by a nun

any major dude — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:45:21 -0800

My wife was rear-ended today by a couple of nuns while stopped at a light. She didn't call the police to the scene and now she is feeling some stiffness in her neck. What should we do now? I'm not very concerned about the scratches to our bumper but I am a little worried about the health of my wife and child. The must have hit her car with some force because my wife said their front end was all pushed in. Something tells me that if either of them end up with whiplash in a week or two I'm going to have very little recourse without a police report. Do I need to file a police report or should I just report it to my insurance company even though there is very little damage to my car? What if the nuns file their own police report and change the story? What if they weren't even nuns at all just women who dress that way out of habit? ;) Basically I'm just looking to cover us financially just in case this ends up being more than what I hope it ends up being, just an unfortunate fender bender.

How can I help you through this?

MayNicholas — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:43:57 -0800

What kind of support do you offer to a family member who accidently hit someone with thier car? My teenage cousin accidently hit a pedestrian with thier car. The victim is in serious condition. My cousin was not injured. Alchohol was not a factor. According to the family the sun got in my cousin's eyes and they didn't see the pedestrian. Which I can empathize with because these are small winding back roads with no sidewalk, and the victim would have had to been walking in the street. I can not imagine what they are going through (either family really). I want to offer my support, but I don't know what to say other than that they are in my thoughts.

What does a teenager going through this need right now? They are honestly a good kid who has never been in trouble before. What can I do for them being many, many states away?

How can I get enough money to replace my car?

Alison — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:19:12 -0800

How do I get a fair settlement for my totaled car in Pennsylvania? The insurance adjuster insists that I am not owed the replacement value of my car and refuses to budge. My neighbor hit a patch of black ice a few weeks ago and struck my unoccupied, parked 1996 Mazda Protege. A few days ago the insurance adjuster (Traveler's insurance) came back with a settlement of about $3300 based on the NADA book value.

I looked around and the Kelley Blue Book value for my car starts at about $3500 and goes up to $4300, with my low mileage car (~49,000 miles) in the upper range. Even cars with twice the miles are retailing at $4000. I've been collecting sales ads for replacement cars due to the good advice in this thread.

The adjuster refuses to budge and insists that I am only owed the NADA value of my car and nothing more in the State of Pennsylvania, even if a replacement vehicle would cost much more. They won't even consider retail prices for equivalent vehicles and were very short with me when I brought up the option.

My insurance (Geico) has been absolutely no help and has left me to take care of this on my own. I'm considering retaining legal counsel, but I don't know how to sort through all of the ambulance chasers. I'm not even sure if it will be worth it for less than $1000 difference.

I've contacted the state insurance bureau, but it will take them a few days to answer my question.

So, how does this work for Pennsylvania? Am I not entitled to the cost of a replacement car? Is the insurance adjuster even telling me the truth about PA law? They're taking the rental car back on Friday so I'd like to have a course of action planned by then.

Sorry baby, I had to crash that Prius.

hulahulagirl — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:36:11 -0800

Do I have to pay $1000+ the insurance co. won't cover? CarAccidentFilter: Last Thanksgiving we rented a Prius from Dollar Rent A Car to drive from Portland, OR to Idaho. In Walla Walla, WA someone pulled out in front of us on the highway and we crashed. The other driver (18 yr old girl) was cited and I was not. The car was towed to a wrecking yard in Walla Walla (and we rented another car and finished the trip). Luckily no one was hurt.

The other party's insurance co. (Safeco) paid the balance of the cost of the car minus what Dollar RAC received after they sold the Prius as salvage. However, they refuse to pay about $1000 in towing charges because they feel that Dollar was unreasonable in requiring the car to be returned to PDX for assessment after the accident. Safeco told me that Dollar could have had it towed to any number of closer yards where a "field agent" could deem the car a total loss. Dollar tells me that they don't have field agents and they needed to tow the car to PDX because that's where it came from/that's where their office is. Dollar wants me to pay the $1000+ that Safeco won't pay although it sounds like Dollar is correct in requiring the car to be returned to PDX and I think Safeco should be ponying up the rest of the cash. They've already paid over $11,000 and they're sticking me with $1000 in towing charges.

So, my question is, am I on the hook for this? I don't want to fight it too much and incur a bunch of atty fees and interest, but I really don't feel it's my responsibility. I know, YANAL, etc. (unless you are and that would be awesome).

Is it ever okay to directly contact the other participant involved in an accident?

monkeystronghold — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:22:35 -0800

Is it ever okay to directly contact the other participant involved in an auto accident? I was involved in a pretty nasty car v. bike auto accident recently, and I’m having a difficult time coping with the outcome. His people are now talking to my people. There will likely be an insurance settlement that will hopefully cover medical expenses and other damages, and I’m in the process of healing. But I think my problem is primarily emotional closure.

The last time I saw this guy, I was strapped to a board and being wheeled into an ambulance. Now, he’s probably had his dents repaired and the only impact he feels will be slightly higher insurance premiums on his car insurance. I’m not even sure he was cited, as police don’t seem to have any idea how to deal with bike-related accidents. I can't imagine how it feels to hit a human being and watch their body fly up over your car. I'll recover, but his bad driving (I was struck from behind by a car going very fast) has now had a giant impact on my life, and I feel like he should know about it.

When the legal stuff is all done, is it okay (legally? morally?) to contact the driver, in either a letter or phone call, and say “Hi there. You’ve ruined a pretty substantial chunk of time for me. I just thought you should know about it.”?

Is that something people do? Should I? Or should I just let it go?

I was run over, should I take legal action? If so, how?

flaneuse — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:38:44 -0800

So I was crossing the street right after work in the crosswalk, on a green walk sign. A cab was making a left turn, ran into me, knocked me down, and then ran over my foot! The worst part was that he stopped ON TOP OF MY FOOT, wth?! So he gets out of the car to check on me and i'm on the ground screaming bloody murder- BACK THE F OFF MY FOOT- pretty funny when i re-tell it now since miraculously (doctor's words) I was spared from any major injury! I had my Kaiser health insurance card on me and the ambulance took me to the ER at Kaiser (I am in California) where I had several x-rays, was given pain meds and crutches, and had my leg wrapped in a splint. I haven't gotten any hospital or ambulence bills from them yet, but did not pay the ER co-payment on my plan because I told the admin there that this was a third party's liability and that I would send their bills to the cab company's insurance provider.

This was over a month ago, and the cabbie's insurance company just sent me a "Report of Accident" form. It assumes that my car, not my person, was hit by the cab, which I plan to clarify. I also plan on ordering the police report that identifies eye witnesses who confirm that it was my right of way when I was hit.

I looked at past questions posted here, but they all involved car accidents and reccommended liasing through one's own car insurance company. Should I do the same with my health insurance? Should I sue the cab driver personally? The cab company? Call the cab's insurance company? I am not looking for an exorbitant sum of money but would like to see a small settlement for the emotional distress I've been through. Thoughts on how to proceed?

crash Fortunately, we all had insurance. Which one of the three companies gets the claim?

truenorth — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:10:31 -0800

Out of state rental car driver who paid for the Loss Damage Waiver backed in to us. We have his insurance information and claim number, and also reported the incident to our insurance company, which offered to cover damages to the car. We think we'd like to have repairs covered under the rental company's LDW. Do we have the right to choose who should foot the bill? And is this a good choice? The damage: back door and back fender panel, which is a pretty sizable piece of metal.
Rental Car company: Enterprise
His insurance: USAA
Ours: Allstate, with good driver discount and a promise of no rate increase even if we make a claim.

Other driver totally at fault - we were in a crowded parking structure, blocked front and back, and he backed in to us despite our honking. No injuries, but it caused a surprising amount of (cosmetic) damage for such a low impact collision. We would rather not bill our insurance, because we filed a damage claim last year.

My preference would be to somehow bill Enterprise, since the other driver paid for the LDW, and I have an idea that this would not increase his USAA rates. Unfortunately, the only information I have about it is the driver's name and the rental car license plate number. USAA called two days after the accident with a claim number, Allstate has called to ask if we'll be filing the claim with them, and we haven't had an adjuster take a look at the car pending this decision, but will probably set up an appointment tomorrow.

I know nobody's my lawyer and I won't treat any advice as legal counsel.
Thanks for any information you can offer, Reader.