The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

[05MGT]

Today at 11:37 I was coming home early from work and got in an accident. I was driving dow the road with a Chevy Tracker in front of me going about 45. I look down to get my CD case and BAM! Next thing I know I'm looking at a deployed airbag and that chemical dust smell. After I collected myself I jumped out and checked on the other car. I ask her if she's ok and she shoved her cell phone in my face saying "call my husband." I said you should do that, but she put her hand on her head and started swaying, and groaning about how her neck hurt. I was thinking oh this is friggin' great. Within only two minutes her husband was on the scene (that was fast). He was called after 911 but got here first. I find out from witnesses that some guy in a Grand Am slammed on his breakes in front of her probably looking for the road he needed to turn on. He kept going, never stopped. Anyways, the EMTs took the lady away on a stretcher because they cant take any chances (this wasnt shaping out good). After all the mess was taken care of I get a $118 Careless Driving Ticket. It technically was my fault since I did the rearending. State Farm hasnt said yet (the Adjuster needs to see the car) but it'll get totaled. I'm not sure how they work it, but thank God my car is paid off and I hope that lady doesnt decide "Hey, I can get money off this guy."

The Good: I was driving my 03 Civic at the time
The Bad: The lady could end up to be an immoral bitch and sue
The Ugly: My Civic was paid off just 2 months ago.

 

[Spdfreak]

You're screwed. Sorry to hear about it.

 

[bigcat]

shouldnt it be a following too close (tailgating) ticket? i dont see this as careless driving

 

[FLY2kGT]

It was careless because the reason for the accident was that he wasn't paying attention and not how close he was following the other vehicle prior to the collision. Hope you had good insurance because if you rear ended her hard enough to total your car, a lawsuit is almost certain. Hopefully it doesn't come to that though.

 

[05MGT]

A lawsiut for this is not necessary. My insurnace will cover her car, and medical bills she might rack up and my car. The only reason she would have to sue would just be to make extra money off of this which is COMPLETELY IMMORAL and UNETHICAL. If my insurance didnt pay her medical bill or her car then yeah I could understand. but it's all covered. I guess we'll see what kind of people they turn out to be.

 

[Spdfreak]

A lawsiut for this is not necessary. My insurnace will cover her car, and medical bills she might rack up and my car. The only reason she would have to sue would just be to make extra money off of this which is COMPLETELY IMMORAL and UNETHICAL. If my insurance didnt pay her medical bill or her car then yeah I could understand. but it's all covered. I guess we'll see what kind of people they turn out to be.

Oh, she'll sue alright.

 

[merlinsteele]

Sorry to hear about your accident. I had a similar thing happen to me while I was in my truck. Was headed towards a left turn with a green arrow, and with a few people in front of me, we were all cruising thru the light, and I was probably going just a little too fast. I looked up at the light, and looked down and everyone was stopped in front of me, due to a truck from the opposite side trying to do a real wide sweeping turn. It had freaked out the woman in front, and the guy behind her had to stop. I braked hard, and ended up slamming into him. Lucky for me, most of the damage was done to my truck, and his truck looked fine (older model with a real metal bumper).

Anyway, I had just looked up at the light for a split second, and sometimes that's all it takes. I think it can happen to the best of us, and I hope this isn't turned into that big of a deal. Good luck!

 

[05MGT]

Update

A little update for you. I talked to my claims adjuster and the damn lady is sueing. Not, me but the insurance company. Of course her attorney is asking for the max (my coverage is up to $50,000 so he's asking $50,000). My adjuster assured me that I wont have to worry about anything that he'll take care of it and probably knock it down to less that half of that all of which my insurance company will take care of. What really pisses me off is she only suffered soft tissue injuries which her Personal Injury Protection covered AND her medical insurance will cover so it's not like she's sueing because she cant afford the bills, she just wants the money so she can buy an effing BMW. If my adjuster doesnt give any money because she was covered she could take this to litigation and get my family involved. I was pissed that this could happen but he said he's dealt with crazies like her and will knock the demands down enough where after any extra medical fees are paid and her attorney gets his cut, she'll be lucky if she can buy a Happy Meal from it all. I can't stand how immoral and unethical people are.

 

[firestang70]

05MGT she will get some money out of it, it's the insurance game. Its one of the many reasons are premiums can be so high. What I am suprised is she doing this already. I think they have up to 2 years to file suit. 90% it settled out of court. That is what happened to me about 15 years ago(2 years after accident I was 20 driving a Ford Festiva she was 40's driving a Mercedes, it was her fault guess who was cited and then later sued!) She even claimed she couldn't even fulfil her wifely duties! Good luck! I'm sure they will settle out of court. Its just a lousy thing in life. Hope you are OK.

 

[05MGT]

Oh, the adjuster told me she was on the phone with her laywer while she got checked out in the hospital. She knew she wanted to sue as soon as she got hit. She was released the same day so there arent any real injuries. I'm not one for judging people, but she saw this as an easy way to get money. From what I saw of her car, her husbands car and how they presented themselves they probably arent well off and need a quick buck.

 

[Spdfreak]

Yep, same thing happened to me about 10 years ago. She used the tired whiplash excuse, and ended getting about 100k from my insurance company.

 

[FLY2kGT]

Bummer, but like I said you it was almost certain she would sue under the circumstances. The main thing is that you had ample coverage and it won't affect you as much as if you might have been under-insured. Still hope everything works out okay for you and thanks for keeping us updated.

 

[Roni]

I have to say that sometimes it doesnt take much to get an injury in an accident as you get older. But if you fake more than you have (injuries) I HOPE YOU GET YOURS!!! If you are just worried that the injuries may get worse later on down the road I believe there is a time limit for this *****

 

[05MGT]

There is a statute of limitations and its 3 years!!! I cant believe its that long.

 

[merlinsteele]

I Hate sue-happy people.

Kind of reminds me of some people I've run into here lately. One kid came to work for awhile, as a temp, and he seemed like a good kid, but he kept talking about some money that he had 'coming' from this accident. He said some chick (he acted like he didn't even know) that was in the same car had gotten 'her' money, and he should have had his by then. And he's sitting there looking as if he's had no injuries. This system is messed up!
It sure doesn't say much about people's ethics these days!

 

[Mach1Run]

something similar happened to me in college. The lady waited almost 2 years to the day to sue me just as I was getting ready to get married.

 

[Mr_K_Code65]

Oh BTW she is suing YOU, your insurance company is just hiring the lawyer to defend you and pay damages. Your liablity coverage is wholly inadequate at 50K - be glad you didn't kill someone or they'd not only ask for the 50K, but ask for more directly from you (meaning all your assets in many cases - including part of your paycheck for years to come). Best advice after all this is to get higher liability limits (at least 300K) - including an umbrella policy to a million (umbrella coverage is relatively cheap). Suing for general damages (meaning pain and suffering) is status quo in today's world. Hopefully St Farm will defend you aggressively.

 

[wannarun]

They can garnish 25% of your wages for your entire life. I was just talking to my insurance lady about upping my coverages. I never really thought about it until I started making money and aquiring assets. It doesn't cost very much at all to up your coverages, but it might save your ass in the future.