Rear-ended, how much is fair to settle for?

Question

My custom 95' eclipse was rearended by a Ford F-150, my car was trashed, completely destroyed b/c the impact pushed my car against a rock wall. The F-150 only sustained minor damage to its bumper and a broken headlight. My wife (2months pregnant) and I both went to the ER via an ambulance, she had a broken nose, badly bruised eye, burns from the airbags deploying, and bruises all over her body. I only had a lacerated eyebrow and a badly bruised thumb, however the next day I returned to the ER due to extreme neck pain and muscle soreness, not to mention the pulsating pain on my bruised thumb. I was pescribed pain killers, muscle relaxers, and anti-inflamatory meds. The blue book value for my car is "$2,940" however, the add-on's are worth at least $3,000! Custom paint, 17"rims, spoiler (wing), body kit (front/rear bumper & sideskirts), high performance muffler. and underbody lighting kit. Point is, my car was NOT STOCK! It had MANY extras. Would I get compensated for the add-on's??

Answer 1

I was in a similar situation and was able to get more $$ by providing receipts for all my added accessories.
Be careful what you sign - most insurance companies will try to give you a low-ball settlement and have you agree to release them of any future claims.

Answer 2

Add-ons are worthless and will not increase the value of a car by one penney. In most cases custom additions actually deduct from the value of a vehicle due to the fact that it narrows the market to a very small margin. Here's another fact -- if you think your twelve year old Eclipse is worth $2,900.00 you are on too much pain medication. Don't attempt to bully the insurance company into tacking on more than your vehicle is worth through your injuries. The adjusters will see right through that and will spin your claim into a combative situation that you and your wife do not need to be dealing with right now. Just keep your cool, be polite and be FAIR and demand the same from them.
PS -- be warned: if you involve a lawyer he/she/it will take up to 40% of your settlement -- no matter HOW small. The truth is lawyers work only for themselves 100% of the time. You are nothing more than a cockroach and you will be treated that way. You will NOT have your day in court (lawyers settle 99% of ALL cases hours before a court case -- most often for little more that the original offer), lawyers CANNOT get you 100% more than an insurance company offers (insurance companies have dozens of lawyers and are not afraid of yours!).

Answer 3

Unfortunately, you are unlikely to be directly compensated for the $3000 is customizations for your car. You could tell the insurance people about the customizations to justify settling for a higher amount than the blue book value. However, it will probably not fully cover all the customizations you made to the car.

Provided you don't live in a no-fault state, you have the option to sue the other person for "pain and suffering." Both your pregnant wife and you suffered injuries as a result of this accident. From your description, you may (or may not) have long term medical problems from this accident. You could contact a personal injury lawyer to see if he/she thinks you have a case. If the lawyer thinks you have a case, it is possible to get enough money to cover medical bills, lost wages, and getting another car customized. Depending on the specifics of the case, people have been known to be awarded tens of thousand of dollars in such a case with just whiplash by a court. A lawyer would be able to provide advice, if you decide pursue this route.

Answer 4

MRI's should have been done. A neurological consultation should have been done. Your attorney is slacking and doesn't take your case seriously. My boyfriend was rear-ended, very minor property damage, but significant bodily injury. Herniated L4 and L5 with no previous history of back pain or injury, to such an extent that even I could see the damage to the discs on the MRI. Your case has very little to stand on without the MRI and neurological consult. Without this documentation, expect a maximum of whatever the other person's insurance claim limit is, and most people carry about 20,000$ maximum per claim. It may not affect her now, but it will. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe 5 years from now. Maybe 30 years from now. My father had herniated discs, L4 and L5, same as my boyfriend, that didn't bother him for many years, but he ended up requiring surgery on his back to remove the damaged discs to be able to walk later on down the road. I remember when I was very young, daddy dragging his left leg because he was in so much pain that he could not walk normally. This was some 10 years after the initial accident, and LUCKILY he had retained an attorney and received a settlement, and held onto that settlement in the event he needed surgery. Get an attorney. Now. You need an attorney to fight for your case to get you the best settlement possible in the event your wife needs surgery later on down the line. Back surgery is NOT cheap, and when she needs it, she'll need it so desperately that she will regret not getting an attorney involved to fight for her case.

Answer 5

Well you better go to see a couple of attorneys first. Check with a couple first before you decide who to go with first.

The insurance company will screw you the first chance they get. They might be "compassionate" and give you the extra $3000 and pay for the hospital bills of course. But then you will sign a paper releasing them of all further liability. In other words, you can not sue them after you find out that you could have got say $50,000 after lawyers cost. Don't be a SUCKER, get an attorney. Of course the insurance may only give you book value say $2.000 for the car, but then with the extra $50,000 you got with the attorney, who's counting? Right.
\
I would sue and worry about the wife too.

Answer 6

If you file with a claim with the other persons insurance they most likely will not pay for the add on's.. They will most likely only give you market value for the actual veh.. If they do pay you for the add on's they will take off what they call depriciation value, and that will lower your pay out to...

Answer 7

well if you have a bumper that is smashed into pieces i wouldnt give you $1 for it
sell your car individually to a chop shop AFTER REMOVING all your accesories, sell them on eBay or something.
paint on a wrecked car is useless so there is no point.

Answer 8

Talk to an attorney.

Answer 9

i dont beleive so