Got in a wreck, what to do?

[Mach1]

So I was rear ended yesterday on my way to work.
I have a couple of questions that some of you may have experience with.

I did not get the insurance info form the driver that hit me, the Grand Prairie police did, they just gave me a report number and said all of the info was on the report which I apparently have to pay for (bullshit), the report is still not ready so I have absolutely no info on the other driver.

First, my neck and back are in pain, I also have had a constant headache since the accident. I went to the ER yesterday, they basically gave me some pain meds and said come back if you still have problems after a few days. I had to use my personal insurance for this.

I went for a second opinion to a Chiropractor today, he took x-rays, did a few other things, I am going back tomorrow to find out what the x-rays say.
They are going to attempt to bill the other drivers insurance once I get the info.

My questions are:
1.How do I go about getting the other drivers insurance to pay for my ER visit
2.How do I get compensated for pain and suffering, do I need to contact an attorney?
3.My car appears to have frame damage, I have NO interest in getting it repaired at this point, will an attorney help with getting it totaled out, etc? What control or options do I have, the car will never be the same, I'm sure the value will be significantly lower with the kind of repairs that will be required.

[black2002ls]

The car should be handled by the insurance of the driver that the report finds at fault. If you were rear ended, it should be found that the other driver is at fault. At least that is how I always understood rear end collisions to be reported.

Once you get the other driver's information, contact them with all of the Dr. bills you have accumulated. If they refuse or give you shit, just turn it over to your insurance and let them handle it, that is one thing that you pay them for

[talisman]

Sorry to hear that Tyler. Your insurance should get the ball rolling with everything, and you should be reimbursed for any medical bills you've paid.

[Binky]

You arent going to be going after their insurance company, your insurance company should. If you dont think its getting handled correctly then lawyer up and let them deal with your company.

[Rick Modena]

My questions are:
1.How do I go about getting the other drivers insurance to pay for my ER visit
2.How do I get compensated for pain and suffering, do I need to contact an attorney?
3.My car appears to have frame damage, I have NO interest in getting it repaired at this point, will an attorney help with getting it totaled out, etc? What control or options do I have, the car will never be the same, I'm sure the value will be significantly lower with the kind of repairs that will be required.

Save all of your medical bills, they will reimburse you.
Yes you need to get an attorney, not nessasary, but you could score several thousand dollars for pain and suffering as well as time off from work.
The insurance company will determine if it is totaled, but I suggest taking to a dealership or Service King in Bedford because JohnLX works there and he is trustworthy.
Not really much you can do as far as if they total it or fix it.

Hope this helps...'Henry

[yellowstang]

Well, I just went thru this same thing, and let me tell you this.... Not all rear end accidents are considered the other persons fault! Even tho it is my word against an unlicensed, uninsured girl who had warrants, she claims I changed lanes in front of her and she could not avoid me, even tho she was speeding. So my police report (according to Allstate) says I am partially at fault for failure to maintane control of my vehicle! Even my Allstate rep said it was crap, and they are covering everything under Uninsured Motorist.

[black2002ls]

Well, I just went thru this same thing, and let me tell you this.... Not all rear end accidents are considered the other persons fault! Even tho it is my word against an unlicensed, uninsured girl who had warrants, she claims I changed lanes in front of her and she could not avoid me, even tho she was speeding. So my police report (according to Allstate) says I am partially at fault for failure to maintane control of my vehicle! Even my Allstate rep said it was crap, and they are covering everything under Uninsured Motorist.

You had the accident coming up on the booths at DF/W right? That sucks that was the outcome

[yellowstang]

You had the accident coming up on the booths at DF/W right? That sucks that was the outcome

Yup. Total bullshit. At least Allstate is taking care of everything nicely tho. They asked if I was injured at all, I told them no several times. They sent me a check for $125 for pain and suffering! We also used the Allstate case number when Lyn went to the Dr, so they are taking care of the bills, and nothing out of my pocket.

[wishitwasasvt]

1-800-lawyers.

[Baba Ganoush]

I havent filed a claim in over a decade, but I personally wouldn't even contact my insurance company. Im not sure if this is still true, but even an accident where the other party is at fault, will still be negative to your ins. company. I've heard its called a "zero claim" and only increases your risk level with your insurance. I could be totally wrong, but I've never devulged anything more than I was required, to my insurance company.

I'd call their insurance company, give them the police report number, and get myself and my car fixed asap.

Also, if you're injured, I'd call a lawyer.

That's what I would do, but I haven't had to in years so I could have a poor plan lol. Someone else could clarify.

[yellowstang]

I havent filed a claim in over a decade, but I personally wouldn't even contact my insurance company. Im not sure if this is still true, but even an accident where the other party is at fault, will still be negative to your ins. company. I've heard its called a "zero claim" and only increases your risk level with your insurance. I could be totally wrong, but I've never devulged anything more than I was required, to my insurance company.

I'd call their insurance company, give them the police report number, and get myself and my car fixed asap.

Also, if you're injured, I'd call a lawyer.

That's what I would do, but I haven't had to in years so I could have a poor plan lol. Someone else could clarify.

Not true, at least now. I had a wreck a couple years ago where a 15 year old stole her Gma's car and hit me. No license, no insurance. Allstate totaled my car out, no change to my rates at all. Even with this one, if it is under uninsured motorist, it is not counted against you as your insurance tries to collect from the responsible party. most times they get nothing however.

Oh yeah, and a lawyer will only collect the big bucks if you break a bone!

[92calypso]

The other insurance is going to try and jerk you around.. Your insurance company has lawyers for this type of situation. File a report under your own insurance and let them deal with getting the money. I see it all the time when some other insurance company wants to put some junk yard shit on the other persons car. As far as getting the most out of your car, I would recommend taking your car to a reputable body shop. Get them to disassemble the car and produce an accurate estimate on the car. Once you have the estimate, call the insurance company and get them to issue the check to you (and lien holder). Once you get the check call prestige auto brokers and get a salvage bid on the vehicle. Keep the insurance check and sell the car. There will be some fees involved with the shop for disassembly, but you should come out with a pocket full of $$$.

[Randy]

Call Jim Adler the Texas Hammer?

Sorry had to. In all seriousness though sorry to hear you got in a wreck, and your insurance should be the ones taking care of everything if im not mistaken.

[STRONGNUFF]

My .02. If you don't have major injuries, don't get a lawyer, they will take a large cut of your pain/suffering (30-40%). Without a major injury, their insurance will pay your medical and maybe $400-800 to you, then the lawyer gets their cut of that, without a lawyer, its all yours. Like I said, just my .02

[GE]

My questions are:
1.How do I go about getting the other drivers insurance to pay for my ER visit
2.How do I get compensated for pain and suffering, do I need to contact an attorney?
3.My car appears to have frame damage, I have NO interest in getting it repaired at this point, will an attorney help with getting it totaled out, etc? What control or options do I have, the car will never be the same, I'm sure the value will be significantly lower with the kind of repairs that will be required.

Do you have any info on the car that hit you?
1 & 2. Get an itemized bill as well as the medical records from the hospital. Do not go to any of those chiros that you see on TV/billboards, i.e. Accident & Injury, etc. Barring any broken bones, or radiating pain/tingling, soft tissue injuries generally heal on their own in 6-8 weeks. Save all the bills and records from chiros as well. If you're hurt, you're hurt, go see a dr/chiro. Once you're past 6-8 weeks, you should be healed. If not, there needs to be some sort of medical documentation as to the necessity of treatment. If you're still hurting by then, the dr might consider alternative diagnostic tests such as an MRI, CT scan, etc. to determine wtf is wrong. People start having problems when they send bills to an insurance company because of overly aggressive/not necessary treatment early on. They also have probs when they treat for 4+ months with no signs of improvement, and no documentation as to why they keep seeing a chiro, etc. To me, it's just common sense.
Save your bills and records, compare them along with the amount of damage to both vehicles, and any other aggravating factors from the accident, i.e. someone DWI, gross negligence, etc. Then it's anyone's guess as to how much P&S should be awarded. Ages ago, people would just assume 3 times your medical bills would be your P&S amount. Avoid this. If you treat for 6 months, with no reason for treating that long, and rack up $10,000 in medical bills with minor property damage, the average person (read: juror) will not think highly of this. If you have your own insurance, you might also have Personal Injury Protection or Medical Payments Coverage benefits (PIP or Med Pay, usually in increments of $2,500, $5,000, $10,000) that covers bills, etc. but it does NOT cover P&S.
3. Just because your car has frame damage doesn't mean that it should be a total loss. Let's say your car is Actual Cash Value (ACV) is $30,000. Let's say you have $10,000 in damage, including frame damage. The bottom line is that your car, according to industry standards, is repairable and you aren't owed a total loss. This really starts to suck on $50k+ cars with tons of damage. Your only recourse would be to file a diminished value claim. You cannot file this on your own insurance policy, however you can file it on someone else's policy as a 3rd party claimant. This varies carrier to carrier. 10 years ago, every carrier would have laughed at you and told you to pound sand. Generally speaking, most carriers are at least open to the idea nowadays.

Getting an attorney doesn't really effect the value of your overall compensation. Most all of the time, they will get 1/3rd of your settlement. Period. This is money that would be owed to you. Get all your bills/records together and send them to the other person's insurance, outlining the total cost of the bills, and attach a P&S amount that you think is fair. There is no right or wrong answer, in the end, only a jury can really decide this.

I don't mean to belittle at all, just kind of saying how it is. Feel free to PM me and we can discuss over the phone or whatnot. Hope things work out for you.