Car accident question, I'm not at fault?

Question

Hi-

I was involved in a car accident yesterday. A woman ran a red light and hit two cars, mine and another. I was in the passenger seat and her car hit me directly. Everyone involved except the driver of my car was taken by ambulance to the emergency room. I was lucky and ended up with only 12 stitches in my head and a lot of bruises.

She was arrested and is completely at fault-- we were not cited at all, nor was the other car who was hit by her.

I got the police report today and also filed the claim with her insurance company. I have not called my insurance company or anything yet.

I'm just wondering what to expect in terms of money, rental car, bills, etc. Should I hire a lawyer immediately? I do have health insurance, but will I get money for the hospital bills?

My car was 1998 VW Cabrio in excellent condition with very low miles (52,000).

Has anyone been throught this and have some sound adivce? My family and I are wondering the best way to proceed

Thanks for all the great answers thus far. I wanted to add that I am a female, it was my car, and the stitches are on my face and will leave a long, jagged scar.

I called the driver's insurance company today and filed a claim. Do I need to call my own company? I was told they would handle it themselves.

Thanks!

Answer 1

i have not been ivolved in any situation such as this but it would seem to me that the best approach is to contact your insurance immediately, They will take the appropriate course. If you have full coverage they should cover you after they assess the situation and will take it upon thier own legl team to recover the monies from her insurance providing she had it. Only your insurance company and you know what type of coverage you have. You may not have insurance for a rental car replacement. After you get some determination from your insurance and it does not cover your expenses for things directly related to the accident, you can always file suit against the person responsible and their assets should they have any. It is apparent that you had more than 500 in damages fromt he sounds of things so you are required to notify your insurance and the DMV anyhow. It does not stand to reason that you would not immediately notify your insurer...that is the whole point of having it in the first place even though we would hope to never have to use it.

They will determine the value of your vehicle and most likely in today's world, they choose to consider the car totalled meaning yo uwill receive a check for the vehicle and its determined value.

Answer 2

Knowing what state you are in would help get you more definitive answers, but I will throw out some general ones in the hopes that it will help.

For the car claim-

If you have collision coverage it comes down to 2 issues......... rental car and simple math. You didn't give complete details on the facts but if the other driver's insurance accepts 100% of the liability then it is best to collect from them as they will pay for ALL your damages and provide a rental car. Make sure to check with your company to see if you coverage to pay for a rental car.

If the other company doesn't accept 100% then it would be best to collect from your own company. There is a small possibility that the other company may not owe 100% of the damages. In many states all drivers can be held partially responsible for an accident. Just because the other driver ran a red light that does not automatically mean they are 100% at-fault. Even if you have the right-of-way entering an intersection you still have a duty to make sure it is safe to proceed through it.

Let's say the car damages are $5000 and the other company offers 85% of the car damages. That equals $4250.00 which means you are out $750.00. However if you collect from your company they will pay you the $5000.00 less your deductible....let's assume it $500. That way you get $4500 up front and you should also get 85% ($425.00) of your deductible back when the two companies settle. This way means in the long run you are out only $75 instead of $750.00.

RE the injury claim-

A lot of people are just telling you to get an attorney, but they aren't giving you any concrete reasons why should do that.

It' really not that simple.

Make sure to ask both insurance companies what the statute of limitations is for making an injury claim. That is the date you either have to settle or sue by.

Unless you have catastrophic injuries it is best to try to settle the claim yourself. If you can't settle it or don't like the offers then you can hire an attorney. However, please don't think that the attorney is always going to have your best interest at heart. Most, not all, lawyers are in it for the $. In order for an attorney to be of any value to you, they must be able to get the insurance company to settle your claim for 33% more than it's value. The 33% plus expenses is what they will charge you.

Your automobile Med Pay/PIP coverage or your health insurance should pay the med bills as they come due. Whoever pays them should get reimbursed by the at-fault parties insurance company when you settle the injury claim.

You have to give medical records and bills to the other company. Otherwise they have nothing to evaluate your claim on. It won't hurt your case at all to provide the records unless you have some old injuries that you weren't truthful about. Other than that it won't hurt. Depending on where the stitches are they may leave a visible scar. If that is the case visible scars on females can add significant value to the injury claim. Take pictures of the scar right now and then every two weeks until it is healed. Use a camera that dates the photos.

When the company makes you a settlement offer your instinct will tell you if it is reasonable or not. Keep in mind that you have the right to make counter offers to the company. Try to keep any emotions out of it. Yelling, crying or screaming etc will get you stonewalled real fast and may get your offer reduced. If you think the offer stinks then hire an attorney.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It is important to know what the police report says--what the police officers at the scene say in the report, what the other driver says happened, and what you stated to the officer and what he subsequently put in his report. Also it is important to consider whether or not the other driver was cited (i.e., got a ticket) for completely blowing that light like an asshole. If he got a ticket, he will be what we call in the law "negligent per se", which means he's negligent and his negligent caused the damage. No need to prove it with witnesses. Are there any witnesses at all? You really would only need one. If possible, gather all your info before proceeding to another lawyer. As you know, many personal injury lawyers work on contingency, which means they get nothing unless they get a judgment for you--so they are motivated to work hard. Maybe the lawyer you talked to was just lazy because it's not an open-and-shut case and it will take some leg work. Even if a lawyer will not take your case, your insurance company will work their butts off to get their money back from his insurance company, because it was his fault. So don't forget to stay connected with your insurance company. but to answer your question, NO, if you proceeded through the green light like a law abiding citizen, and he blew the light to get his bratty kid to school on time, then you broke no laws and if justice prevails, should be fairly compensated for your car, your pain, suffering, and lost wages.

Answer 4

This happened to me several years ago. A driver blew a stop sign & broadsided me on the passenger side.

The first thing you need to do is contact your insurance company! They can help to coordinate what you are going to need. The person that hit me had the minimum insurance, so your insurance company may be covering a lot of this, depending on how much insurance the other driver had. Your insurance agent can tell you who to contact regarding car rental, etc., since they will know what you may or may not get covered. Re: a lawyer - I didn't get one, but my vehicle wasn't totaled, either. The combination of her insurance and mine paid the medical bills (about $50k), and then (beleive it or not) MY insurance company paid "pain & stress" compensation since she didn't have enough insurance. I was off work for about 3 months, but I have disability coverage at work. It took almost a year, but I DID get a brand new vehicle out of it using the p&s compensation.

Except for your car, it sounds like you were lucky! I already gave you the best advice I can - contact your insurance agent. They will have your best interests at heart, especially if you have a good one. Let's face it, they want to keep you as a customer!

BTW - I'm NOT an insurance agent by a long shot; I just remember what happened to me.

Good luck!

Answer 5

You won't "get" anything for hospital bills. Your health insurance is primary and the at-fault driver's insurance company will reimburse your health insurance company, assuming that you're not in a no-fault state. Unless you or a family member were the owner of the vehicle that you were riding in, your own auto insurance won't be involved at all.

Normally you would file any claims with the insurance company of the owner of the vehicle you were in and let the companies sort it all out. If you own the vehicle yourself, you should deal ONLY with your own insurance company on any claim, especially a serious one with extensive personal injury claims.

Unless it was your car that you were a passenger in, you won't get anything for rental car coverage, though the owner of the vehicle probably would.

As far as pain and suffering are concerned, that's on a case-by-case basis. The lawyers would have you believe that they can get you more money than the insurance company will offer. That may be true in some cases, but you may wait for years for a settlement and the lawyer will take 33% - 40% of the total payout, plus "costs". Those costs can eat up another 25% or more of the total, often leaving you with less in your pocket even though the payout is higher.

Answer 6

I work for an attorney. First thing you'd probably want to do is ask questions with an attorney, not to hire him quite yet, but to ask him .... I know in NY if 2 cars are in an accident....it's called "NO FAULT" meaning both people get the higher payments on insurance and yada yada....it really is quite bullshit if you ask me. I hope you are feeling better....

If you can take pictures of the totaled(if it is totaled) car....pictures of your bruises, stitches, etc....where the accident site was...for proof. Its good to have as much documented information for proof.

Save medical bills as well (obviously)....but see if there were even maybe cameras around (like how they sometimes have in the street lights) .....

I would talk to an attorney about the full aspects. Obviously some laws differ due to which state.... I know insurance will definitely go up and depending on your insurance company ... you might have a deductable for the car's damage to pay but they could pay the rest for damage....call your insurance company and speak with them but AFTER you speak to an attorney.


Good luck! Feel Better!

Answer 7

Get an attorney. make sure the attorney is on a contingent basis, that way you won't have to pay the attorney until the case is settled. Post settlement, the attorney will receive payment from the settlement.
Ask up front what the fee is, it's a percentage and compare among those rates.
I wish you a complete and rapid recovery.

Answer 8

Because of the police reports and the injuries the lawyers will seek you out. You should get a lawyer, the insurance company is hers and they will not have your best interests in mind. Good luck.

Answer 9

I'd get a lawyer--insurance companies will try to pay out as little as possible.

Answer 10

Contact a lawyer.