Just a bump at the light? No real damage? No ticket?

Did the rigt thing getting checked out. I was hit at a stop by an suv going about 20-25 which doesn't seem like much but it sure feels like shit. I had back and neck pain for 6 months plus and had to make legitemet trips to the doc about once a week during that period. It doesn't take much..

 

Thanks John and Nick. If needed, it will look good to have all the facts typed up fresh with copies to be handed out instead of saying "I think" or "As I remember" like the rest will probably be doing. Even if it doesn't go to court, I think I'll hand the adjuster the whole story on paper and they can use it or copy as they choose.

If and when the adjuster gets around to calling.............

 

My car was new so I had no problems even when the body shop found MORE hidden damage. The initial $4000 estimate ran up to a $5000 final bill.

Don't throw any correspondence out. I mark the envelope with the date and what it contains. I have what is close to a 4" thick stack of letters, MRI reports, things I was paid for, etc.

I had to do a "to do" list of things to rememember to do, doctor appointments, insurance medical exams, things to submit to my lawyer.

Bob

 

I was hit at about 30 mph, high up too since it was an SUV that got pushed into me. I had some mild back pain at first which progressively got worse as time went on. The way it was explained to me, your body can't take all the pain at once, so it gets gradually released as the tissue swells. It took me about 2 weeks to get the full effect of my accident.

Bob

 

Yep Bob. Paperwork and the way it's presented is important. I have a nice business notebook that everything is going into and I've made copies of everything from the first sheet of information the officer handed me.

Stopped back to the medical center earlier today and when asked for my account #, I handed her a copy of the information they handed me on the way out on Sunday.

Anal? Maybe. Correct? Exactly.............

 

You will be dealing with paper-pushers, so having all your paperwork in good order will work for you in the long run. Sic 'em.

 

i got hit in my 66 charger by an old mercedes and there was a grassy island so i got out and laid on the ground and took the ride to the hospital that made sure i got a good police report similar damage to yout drivers seat laid back about 5 degrees bumper bent both rear fender bowed out about an inch engine wouldnt run because it hit the firewall enought to breake the dist cap later i found the dist shaft had bent
it was a one owner never hit car when i got it 6 years ago

 

I carry a copy of my no-fault case number and all the contacts in my wallet, have it scanned on my PC at work and carry one in my car. People gasp when I whip it out... the paperwork I mean. I can recite the case # off the top of my head.

Bob

 

I got creamed by a city-operated front end loader while driving my OT Plymouth Valiant.

The thing had an absolutely perfect body on it and the clueless loader driver ruined it. I remember sitting in the ER with my neck/back/shoulder killing me saying over and over to my wife, "I can't believe they killed my car".

 

I took pictures of EVERYTHING at the accident site, my lawyer was amazed. All the cars involved from various angles, where the cars were stopped even before we pulled onto the median. Views looking forward and back too.

Bob

 

Hey Jerry, sorry to hear that man. Thats an awful bummer with shows about to kick off but man I'm glad you're alright. If you need anything in any way man just let me know, and I'll do whatever I can.

 

Thanks Laid Back!

The girl that hit me took all kinds of pics, but I didn't have a camera. I know she's looking to minimize things as much as possible, but it's the estimates that matter. Don't guess my pictures since would help?

I got hit so square, the other side is identical. But the panel under the trunk lid is crushed and the trunk floor buckled and broke the weld around the spare wheel well........ Tedious crap to fix.....

 

Do not 'hand it out' to anyone who is not 100% in your corner (lawyer). Find out if you can refer to your notes in court where you are. Anything the opposition can use against you, they will!
They may require a deposition from you. Find out what that means, what your rights are and how to handle it BEFORE giving one!
I don't want to paint this as war, but it may turn into that and you had better be prepared for war, even if it turns out fine.
In that same vein, ask for all of her pictures thru the insurance adjuster ASAP!

 

I got a letter from my lawyer early on warning me not to be giving any sensitive information out to anyone. Since then, EVERYTHING is handled through the law office, that's how they earn their 33%.

Bob

 

Sounds to me like the cop didnt want to do his job. They are supposed to do an investigation and that consist of two sides of a story. She should have gotten a ticket regardless if the light was green or red. Some cops are just lazy lain abd simple. However he has to do a report with a diagram make sure you get a copy of it. Your insurance will fight it for you but you may have to stay on their ass.

 

Sir Whoosh, Man Im sorry to here this. Been a tough year for these 88s! if it helps , if you need any parts I'll try to help . Dont remember if your was a cpe or sedan.
take care of your self and get healed up.

 

Hey, SW;

Another thing you might do, is get a copy of the ladies' ph records, for say, maybe 20 min prior to the hit. It may be worth having the "talkee" suppeoned (sp?) as to the state-of-mind the lady was in. Or not. But in any case, would prove she wasn't paying attention, nor in control of her vehicle. Some states have a "no ph activity while moving in a car/truck" law. Is yours' one of them? Enforcement of it, is, of course, an entirely different matter.

& also, the record of her driving actions. Depending on the vehicle, it may be recorded in the computer. I suspect that may be gone (over-written) now, but it'd show erratic operation, at least.

As for the dick, your well kept/remembered/written notes would come in handy, should you decide it's necessary to go after the cops' bond, for not doing his duty, & as a result, causing you harm & damage.

I have been in a couple of similar accident/insurance situations before, & it wasn't funny, nor pretty. I wish I knew then, what I know now...

Hope things do go well for you.

Marcus...

 

I just heard a very good suggestion on one of the court tv shows. Carry a disposable camera in your glove compartment and take pictures immediately at the scene. Lots of times the other guy will claim he "didn't do all that damage" you must have wrecked it later on again. I guess it would be a good idea of having pictures (dated) of how your car looks normally, so you can give the judge before and after pictures. Maybe hold up a newpaper showing the date you took the pictures, and every 6 months or so redoing the pictures so you have current ones available.


Don

 

I had the almost, same, exact thing happen to me back in June of 2010 in my '50 Shoebox on the same street I live on, less than an 1/8 mile away from my house!
I was stopped at a stop sign for quite some time, and some,disgusting,obese, poor english speaking female in a Dodge Ram literally rammed me!

Of course the bumper of the Ram cleared my rear bumper and went right into my trunk, I could not believe she hit me

Not even taking into consideration I could of been hurt, I jump out and look at the damage, she wouldn't get out of her truck at first. As you could imagine at that point my patience was running thin with her. She started to get scared and refused to exchange her insurance info with me and told me that she's calling the cops because she felt "threatened" by me

Lazy cops show up, tell me to move my car, don't ask if I was ok and simply take pictures of both our licenses, registrations and insurance with their phones and said the police report would be ready in 7-10 business days. They refused to give me her information at first because they said it would be on the report. I told them I'm not going to wait 7-10 business days to open a claim and see a doctor and it was my right to have it.. So, one of the cops goes back up to the thing driving the Ram and writes her name and insurance policy # on a piece of paper and says "Here, this is all I'm going to give you".

I asked if they were going to ticket her and they said "We don't have to!"

But you bet if she rammed into one of their cruisers they WOULD ticket her at the least.

I was totally disgusted at that point and know why people lose faith in humanity.

I filed a complaint against the department,and the lieutenant calls me and tries to interrogate me into dropping the report and said that his officers handled everything like they should have, what a joke!

Luckily I had my digital camera with me and took a few pics. I got an attorney just in case and went through my own AAA collector car policy to get compensated for the damages and let them go after her insurance... I still get pissed when I think about it.

Here's a few pics..

 

Who doesn't have a cell phone camera these days? At my accident I shot 12 high quality pictures of the cars involved and the scene itself, with the cars where they were minutes after the accident. A disposable camera is a good idea though.

Bob

 

No ticket?
she should have at least gotten failure to yeld..or some type of moving violation.

I know you can fix the damage, really sucks when a car thats never had any damage gets hit..makes your heart hurt.

 

In most cases, the cop has to see the voilation in order to write the ticket or there has to be something really obvious or witnesses that come forward.

Bob

 

I am by no means an insurance expert, but it seems since the advent of so called "no-fault" insurance states, the cops are often reluctant to charge drivers, even if it's obvious who is at fault. They seem to want to take the easy way out and put the onus on the insurance companies (read that lawyers) to sort it all out. This puts the innocent party at a real disadvantage especially if there are no unbiased witnesses to the incident. Perhaps we all need to rethink the possibilities of carrying cameras with us anytime we have our cars out for a cruise. Sad that it's come to this point, and once again, sorry, Jerry, that you're having to deal with all of this...........Don.

 

The cops are definitely pushing the easy button. In a case where the blame is not obvious, you are largely on your own. In an obvious case, you still have to get the cop's ear right away and clearly state your case.

Bob

 

If you know the time time of the accident, you can have her phone bill checked- the erratic driving before she hit you sounds like "texting while driving" to me. If she was texting, it'll help your case even more

And there is NO argument- she hit you, plain and simple.

 

With new cars having computers in them, I wonder if it was possible to extract the speed at the time of impact. I'd like to know what the computer in my car may have picked up in my accident. I have all the Onstar crap, no airbags in my car went off and I guess it wasn't enough of a shot to have them call me.

Bob

 

Man, I hope you get your car fixed, and any medical isssues taken care of.

It's not just individuals that screw up and don't care. Last year an AT&T truck rolled, as in lost it and rolled OVER, thru our fence..the front bumber was on my deck. The police report I saw showed that the truck in question was in the left lane, tried to turn RIGHT thru the right hand lane, got clipped in the right lane in the turn, lost it, rolled, went thru our fence. Our neighbor and her 6 year old were walking near the corner, she had to push her son out of the way and move out of the way herself.
ATT claims people say "they are not responsible" and "not our (ATT's) fault". They claim it's the 17 year old in the right lane who caused the accident.
Anyway, I went ahead and paid my deductible, let my homeowners handle it. They took it over, told me they were going to try to get my deductible back. Gota letter from an attorney's office a few months later saying they were handling the case, I've heard nothing since.
I'm starting to have a deep distrust of most corporations...

 

I had a digital camera with me when I got hit by Rwandan immigrants in a toyota around 2002. Their ins co (AIG) tried all sorts of bullshit on the compensation, I faxed them 14 pages of receipts and stuff, I even negotiated the salvage value of the 94 Jimmy I was driving that they smooshed. Their insurance company tried to play games, I owned them. They deserved it, it was AIG. Imagine the irony.

The cell phone camera is wonderful for this stuff now.

 

Several mentioned that the cop could have done better in this incident, but there's usually a reason.

1. The young girl (attractive) who hit me was all over the deputy and I'm sure his natural male instincts had him not wanting to do anymore against her than he had to.

2. It was just ahead of Noon and I'm sure he was heading in to end his shift. (Need I say anymore?)

 

The cop I had somewhat botched my report, but I had enough people around to attest to mine and my wife's injuries at the time.

Bob