Head on crash @ 30 mph, I'm still here to tell you

Just heard about it Gene, glad to hear you are ok, Dale (Rock Valley)

 

Glad you are ok! It's horrible to see a mopar take such a beating! hopefully you will get a good amount for the truck and can put it into a new project.

 

Those new little cars aren't as weak and dinky as people think...

I once saw a new VW bug almost go right through the middle of a new Ford Explorer and the girl driving the VW got out of the car untouched...

 

Man, glad you are ok, especially without any belts. Might have gotten away with it with that crash at about 30, but would have been a notably different story at 50 or more. probably would have been scrapping up off the road.

Besides that, pretty darn hard to see how you could miss that truck only 20' in front of you. Hope she pulls through with her insurance. Otherwise, I'd have a lawyer checking into her personal responsibility and how she is going to cover it. make sure you find out her full info. asap and stay on her. Don't let time slip assuming anything.

 

The cops were there right? If it was her fault and she had no insurance, the state should force her to pay restitution to you. If she does have insurance, they should be contacting you. Find some comps of your truck and get a value figured out. And maybe call a lawyer just in case.

 

Its a Dodge, no wonder you are OK!

 

Ouch! That sure brought back a memory. I walked away from mine with a big ole fat lip from pushing the steering wheel up against the dash. No seat belts to buckle.......... Mine went back on the road, but I didn't have the heart to rebuild it. I understand your feelings.

 

The 50 was mounted on an 80 Dodge 1/2 ton, short box, 4x4 chassis. The 48-53 sheet metal fits a lot better on a Dakota chassis then they do on a full sized truck frame. My cab was raised 4" so I didn't have to cut the firewall. The front fenders are modified from the 2 ton dump truck the cab came from. The box sides had to be custom made, the original sidewalls had the wheel well openings in the wrong location, and I was way too lazy to reposition the wheel wells. There was a lot of custom made parts on this truck, it was not a quick slam together truck. The truck has been my daily driver for the last 11 years, it was a great truck I could drive anywhere.

I did find out today the girl did have insurance, but I've never heard of the company, its something she bought online. The company is called Esurance. Anyone ever deal with them before? How long is acceptable before I hear from her company? Its been since Friday morning. I did contact my insurance Friday afternoon, they don't appear to be too helpful either, I suspect I'll be car insurance shopping at next renewal.
The tow company called this afternoon, they are sending the bill for towing my truck home, to me. I've been pretty mellow so far, but I beginning to loose my cool, something better happen pretty soon.

The only accident report I have is the one the Police gave me at the accident (actually at the ER) and at that time her insurance was not listed. I called the Police today to find out she did have insurance and got her insurance company name and policy #, they have nothing local, but a regional (state wide) 1-800 number. Should i call that number? Sounds like it is a policy holder access number. This whole deal sucks, at this point. Gene

 

sorry that happened to you

 

Gene,

If you have not heard from her insurance by now, I would call them.
Good Luck and glad you are ok.

 

NO do not call her insurance. Call a lawyer. Insurance co. are NOT in business to pay out money for medical bills or replacing vehicles. You will get screwed BIG TIME if you don't protect yourself. A lawyer is going to try and get everything they can for you because thats good business. Insurance Co. is going to try to give you as little as possible to make you go away because thats good business.

 

Mater is dead. Long live Mater.

Sorry for the loss.

 

I overheard a woman (in Hospital) describing how beat up she was in the lower torso from lap belt injuries. I prefer sash belts. I know all accidents are unique.
Glad your OK- that little blue truck did good by you.

 

I was in a 3 car collision last month with my OT 2012 Chevy, 100% one of the other driver's fault. I took a hard shot to the rear of the car, I have a neck and back injury, my wife was fine. I can't believe the amount of paperwork I've amassed since then.

Keep up on any injuries, if your state is a no-fault state, all of your bills will be covered. Since you've been to the ER and have been stitched up, I'd suggest getting a lawyer. I was getting harassed by the other insurance company to a point where I felt that I HAD to have a lawyer.

I hope you feel better enough soon to get another truck going. My car spent 31 days in the body shop, rental cars suck.

Bob

 

Gene,
I agree with VonKool13, contact a lawyer. Even if you did not go that route, they may be able to guide you with what to do. Remember the squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Andy

 

One more for getting a lawyer. My situation started two years ago and finaly was settled just a couple months ago. Not sure if it always works this way but with my situation the other drivers insurance company footed the bill for my lawyer. And I turned in my bills to my own insurance company and they faught the other drivers insurance company to get reimbursed. Ended up not having to pay any of the bills and ended up with a decent settlement.

 

Bummer bro, sure happens fast doesn'tit. Hope you can get another project rollin, gad you were not hurt worse. Buckle up. ~sololobo~

 

Gene---Sorry to see the truck so damaged. I am happy that you did not come out of with more serious injuries. You and that truck must both be pretty tough! I will echo the lawyer comments. Working for a law firm (not a lawyer) I can tell you that the right firm will work for you and make sure that you come out of this as you should. Also, check out the Illinois Department of Insurance on the net. Lots of good info there that may help you know where you stand and what to do if you need to file a complaint. Good luck with it all. lc

 

Holy Crap! I'm glad you're ok...

 

I got my lawyer from someone I work with. She was in an accident last year and had a facial cut that required plastic surgery. There is a slight scar, only if you know where to look for it. She only missed a few days from work and her net settlement was $16k.

According to the lawyer, you get a better settlement out of a tangible injury like cuts and broken bones, as unfortunate as that is.

Bob

 

Glad that you are okay. This is the time of year that everyone is looking to sell their projects. Find a suitable donor vehicle and transfer all of the intact parts.

Good luck

 

Man, sorry to hear about the truck, but you are blessed to be ok.

 

I hate seeing stories like this.....a really cool truck buggered up like that.....darn..
However, the main thing is that you are OK, and can look back at this with all your facilities in tact.
Good luck on what you decide to do, and keep us in the loop..
Cheers..........

 

Wow, I am so glad you are ok! That is one of my fears, that someone is doing something that makes them hit my old car. Hence, I am installing shoulder belts in the '59...

 

I've had 5 accidents in OT cars since 1990, all were people running into ME, 3 were when I was stopped at a light. I've been injured in 3 or them, I really have to say that the shoulder belt did limit my injuries and I'll be installling them in my next ride.

Bob

 

Damn, Gene. Sure hate to hear it but glad you survived with minimal damage. I had a similar experience 3 years back when my sweet little Porsche 356 that I had lovingly restored got rear ended. I sustained a bump on the head but the car was totaled. It just broke my heart.

It's hard to explain it to someone but it's one thing to sell a vehicle you built but entirely different to see it destroyed. Hopefully, you'll get the energy and desire to build you another one. Also, I hope you had it insured with someone like hagerty who will pay you what it's worth. Esurance damn sure won't. Fortunately, I did have Hagerty. After haggling with Nationwide for 3 weeks, I let Hagerty pay me and then they surrogated with Nationwide.

Rock

 

I didn't even think of getting an attorney as I have handled my own stuff in the past.
However, my fiance' had an accident a couple of years ago and ended up having to get an atty. to get it handled. Take VonKools advice and talk to an atty.

 

My Dad used to say "You can get a new house, You can get a new car, but you can't buy a new butt!" I am glad for you and your family that you are OK!

 

Got an update for anyone interested.

After was was a slow start, things have worked out fairly well. Her company, Esurance, sent an independent adjuster. He was an old car guy, and a Mopar guy. He looked the truck over well, took several pictures and evaluated the truck. He make several comments about how good of condition the truck was before the accident. He was submitting the report to the company that the truck was a custom built truck in very good condition before the accident. He asked me what I thought it would take to make me happy. I told him $5,000 plus keeping the truck so I could rebuild it. He thought that was not out of line, stating the truck needed the frame straightened or replaced and replacement front sheet metal.

A couple days later I received a all from the company claims division. The claim would be handled in two separate claims, the 1st one would be involving the vehicle, and the second would be the medical. The Vehicle claim would be the 1st area to settle.
The lady informed me the truck was going to be totaled and she understood I wanted to keep the truck. They would establish a value for the truck and would then deduct the by back amount. I was also informed they would pay me $25/day from the date of the accident until the date of the claim settlement. They were also sending me a check for the towing bill I received. She went on to say she was having a difficult time establishing a value for my truck because of its age. Her next comment set me off. She said the truck was just an old truck, and not a classic because there was rust showing in some of the pictures. Before she said another word, I informed her that old truck had a new motor and had several thousand dollars invested in it 3 or 4 years ago. It was a mechanically sound truck. She asked me if I could produce receipts for the work conducted. I informed her it would take me a few days, but I could produce most of the receipts and I would begin collecting those receipts as soon as I hung up. (which I can do) She told me she would consult with her superviser and see what we would need to do, before I went through the process of collecting the receipts. Then she asked me what I thought it would take to make me happy. I told her it would take $5,000 plus keeping the truck.
After about an hour, after I cooled off a little, I called her back. I appoliged for becoming upset earlier. I told her the purpose the truck was originally built was to plow my driveway in the winter. When the truck was rebuilt 3 years ago, it was rebuilt with the idea of plowing my driveway for many years into the future. The truck was snow plowing ready and could have been ready to plow snow in 15 minutes, which it can't do now. The second use for the truck was to advertise my business. It was very effective for that because everyone the sees the truck knows it was me. As such, the outward appearance of the truck was more important then the interior or under the hood. The 3rd use of the truck was my daily transportation, which it was before the accident. I told her she could locate for me a plow ready Dodge truck with 20K miles on it and I would that that or the value of it. She would let me know.
The next day (somewhere around 17 days after the accident) I got a call from the insurance. She thought I would be happy because they have arrived at a value of my truck close to what I wanted. They placed a value on my truck of more then I would accept, the buy back was $219. After subtracting the buy back, they were cutting my a check for more then I wanted, plus $500 for loss of use of my truck for 20 days, plus a check for the towing bill I have. All the medical is separate. I received the last check for the vehicle part of the claim Thursday, 27 days after the accident. Maybe I'll get my extra without use of truck money ($175) from them through the medical, or maybe I'll forget about it, I still got more then what i said I would be happy with.
The medical part of the claim will pay all the medical bills, plus a sum for visible scaring on my head, plus loss production time and for pain & suffering involving my right hand, plus any farther medical attention I feel I need for my head, neck, or hand. This will all be paid when I feel I'm healed from the accident.

At this point, I'm pretty happy with my experience with Esurance, all without hiring a Lawyer and giving him 20% of my money.

For the record, I have bought a 93 Dodge Dakota 4x4 to replace the 50. I will make a decision about the 50 in the spring. I can't do anything with it until then anyway, it doesn't fit in my garage. Some of the funding will be used to finish my 48 Plymouth business coupe. Gene

 

good to hear they treated you fairly,and your satisfied. be greatful