Jump to content

Bad place to ask but... Car accident pay-off?


The Responda

Recommended Posts

Don't bother reading this unless you have knowledge of insurance, legal, or general car accident-type-shit and are in the mood to give your 2 cents on something unentertaining. Just a unc00l story otherwise. I appreciate any intelligent insight from those compelled to drop it.

 

I rear-ended a car on my way home from work yesterday. It was raining, I had 2-3 car lengths between, but apparently this chicks brakes were better than mine (hit her at maybe 15mph, no airbags deployed). We pulled off to the shoulder, got out, looked at both of our cars. My bumper had an approx four inch crack that left one side saigging down a tiny bit (not too bad). Her bumper appeared to have no more damage than a smudge of paint that she wiped off with her hand... I offered to pay her $200 there on the spot, if she that was suitable and was ok with leaving insurance out of it. She said that would be fine, but she wanted my number in case something more should be wrong when she took it to the body shop. We went to an atm, I paid her and had her sign a hand written statement saying that she had "accepted $200 as payment for any damage caused to her car from our collision on said date". She seemed sincere, but she had red hair and a blonde moustache and I'm starting to wonder about her after todays events.

 

This morning, she text messages me a long winded message saying that her trunk opened weirdly, she took the car to a shop, and they've appraised the repair costs at $1900. She said, that cost, plus "medpay" and car rental fees for the repair days would run her about $2500, and asked if i could pay that, as she "thought it seemed like i didn't want insurance getting involved". After consulting my dad who's worked in several legal-ish, related fields and knows his shit, my options seemed to be 1. to ask her for my $200 back and let her contact my insurance company, or 2. be a dick and say sorry, i paid you, and hope the note held up when her insurance came after me.

 

I decided to take route 1. I called her, made plans to meet with her later today, recieve my money back, and let her file an insurance claim. She said she was off work cause she's feeling "shaky" today. I was with her for 15 minutes yesterday and she showed no sign of being at all hurt or "shaken" and mentioned nothing to that end. My fear is that she may try to milk more out of this shit than is rightful (she may already be doing this), and that if I take the money back from her, I will no longer have that as any sort of legal crutch. I don't want to fuck her, but I'd rather do the fucking than recieve it (though I'm not sure my fucking of her is too guaranteed, resting on a janky handwritten agreement and all).

 

Any thoughts on what I should do ? What issues might i come up against once my insurance knows ? It seems like accidents with "injury" involved might increase insurance payments more than those without ? My current plan is just to meet her later, ask to see the damage to her car again (making sure she hasnt fucked with it since), take a photo (which i didn't before, sadly), take the money back from her, and tell her my insurance info. She can proceed from there and I'll take it as it comes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This forum is supported by the 12ozProphet Shop, so go buy a shirt and help support!
This forum is brought to you by the 12ozProphet Shop.
This forum is brought to you by the 12oz Shop.

Let insurance handle it. If anything tell her to use that 200 bucks for her deductible if you cant get it back from her, The insurance will usually setup a rental car if it has to go to the shop. The medical claim is probably nothin to worry about, claiming injury and having visible injury is a huge difference. Also the estimator for the insurance will do the inspection and be semi aware of whats possible at certain speeds.

Not sure of the legality of the note and pay out though good luck. Also if you happen to get questioned about the accident and they ask " how long did you have to respond to the vehicle stopping" Don't tell them too short of a time cuss it'll just make it look like its entirely your fault. Even though in rear end collision the person in back is just about aways the guilty one

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just let your insurance company handle it. You're not a fucking detective, and it's not like you're going to be able to prove anything in regards to her injury, regardless of if it's legitimate or not. Any way you slice it, your rates are going up. If it pays out bodily injury liability as well as the property damage, your rates will go up more significantly. Depending on what state you're in/what company you're with, they might non renew you if there is bodily injury liability paid out to her.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mmhmm, mmhmm. Thanks for the input, good to get some more opinions. Appreciated & propped.

My boss suggested that a male influence (boyfriend or father) probably got on her for accepting my payment and sparked the quick body shop visit and correspondence today (fully truthful or not). He's likely correct.

 

I'm just get my money back and let her and the insurance deal with it. Shit is bitch but oh well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

she's a bitch 'cause YOU rear-ended her?

 

 

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: your whole generation :rolleyes: :rolleyes: k:rolleyes:

 

 

 

no. i was very apologetic and friendly to her initially. she's a bitch if she's lying about that shit, which i think she is. it sounded like acting to me. and metronomes point. too "shaky" (from a low speed accident that barely marked her bumper) to go to work, but not to go into the shop.

 

and it's strange, i just tried look up the winery she said she worked at and it seems to be non-existent as far as the internet's concerned. maybe i'm just paranoid and untrusting. generational thing i guess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

no. i was very apologetic and friendly to her initially. she's a bitch if she's lying about that shit, which i think she is.

 

she's not. she's just dumb. she thinks she will be able to get more money from this accident, obvi!

 

but, she won't. everyone thinks they have a better chance of milking a situation for more then it's worth. it won't happen. let your insurance handle it, like everyone said. pay your deductible to get your bumper fixed, pay a higher premium on your car insurance, and next time, don't follow too closely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have insurance. Use it. No further contact with her is necessary. Giving someone money on the roadside after you rear ended them, while having full insurance, is just dumb.

 

Sorry. But it is.

 

:D The idea was to avoid paying hundreds of extra dollars to my insurance company for the next three years by spending 200 on the spot. It didn't work out that easily, yes. I'm no expert, but is it not a relatively common way to go in instances when the damage appears to be worth less than the insurance increases would cost over time? It is. Rhetorical question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

first of all, your insurance will pay out her damage and you wont get anything from her insurance. this is called no fault. secondly she has to prove her injuries to collect extra. you are at fault because you were both driving in the same direction and you hit her. if a car would have hit you from behind , you can collect damage for your rear end. as an example, if you were parked and out of the car, and a car hit yours, you will be paid out full, but if your car hits another car, your resposible for that damage. now if you have full coverage your damages will be covered as well as hers. as for a hike in your insurance premium, it is not necessarily true your rates will go up, unless your a reckless driver (multiple accidents). even if it does go up a defensive driver course should balance out any increase.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

same thing happened to me with my old school caddy. it didnt have ABS and even tho i was a few car lenghts behind him, my brakes locked up, and i skid'ed right into him.

 

he was alright, didn't complain bout pain, but as soon as i told him that the police wouldn't show up unless there was city damage, or injury, he immediatly said his neck hurt, so i told the 911 operator

"that he's not hurt but wants the police here so he's saying his back is in pain"

 

i dont know where you're from but in CA if you rear-end someone, you're automaticaly at fault.

 

currently i'm being sue'd by his insurance company for $11k saying his car is a total loss. (his car looked like a bent accordian)

 

this is my car before,

 

DSC02682.jpg

 

this is after i crashed into him

 

SatFeb13075432AmericaLos_Angeles201.jpg

 

 

 

im guessing that she talked to someone that told her to milk you for your $$

 

but if you got some paper signed by her saying that she's willing to accept x ammount of $$ to avoid the insurance company, im guessing it'll hold up in court. she pretty much voided her rights.

 

but if you have at least liability then let your insurance handle it.

 

it'll be better than facing an $11k lawsuit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since there wasn't too much visual damage, you could have simply asked her if she was okay. If she said yes, leave.

 

Because a police report wasn't filed, it's technically her word against yours. You decided to have your insurance take care of everything, so you might as well move on with your life. Like kapitan said, depending on your driving record and where you reside will ultimately determine what will happen to your insurance premium.

 

Whether or not she is being truthful about her alleged injuries, a(n honest) chiropractor will be able to determine that. The lady can be all the bitch she can be when talking to the insurance companies so use this to your advantage and be calm to the adjusters and customer service.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:D The idea was to avoid paying hundreds of extra dollars to my insurance company for the next three years by spending 200 on the spot. It didn't work out that easily, yes. I'm no expert, but is it not a relatively common way to go in instances when the damage appears to be worth less than the insurance increases would cost over time? It is. Rhetorical question.

 

No.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...