Totalled my driver. Pics

[Fun_in_my_z]

Just got a call from their insurance company.

They tried to quesstion me over the phone. It is against the law hear to question a minor without the presents of a perent or lawyer.

They dont want to pay up becouse they say i was out past city curfue. That should hold up real well conway dosent have one!

[Fun_in_my_z]

Ok, should i sue for enough to buy a new car or for the whole damn company, They are really trying to give me the ole run around

[nwcubsman]

#1, glad you weren't hurt.

#2, glad it wasn't your Z.

#3, be as obstinent as they are. Play hardball if that is what they want to play.

I had my company car, a few years ago, hit by a garbage truck, I was in their shop at the time. It's forks sliced open the sheetmetal from just behind the headlight down both doors and onto the rear quarter. That company understood what insurance was for and were very helpful. In fact the drover came into the shop to find who's car it was. They were very honorable.

[EScanlon]

Just got a call from their insurance company.

They tried to quesstion me over the phone. It is against the law hear to question a minor without the presents of a perent or lawyer.

They dont want to pay up becouse they say i was out past city curfue. That should hold up real well conway dosent have one!

Careful Bill, you can't play both cards. Either you ARE a minor and cannot be questioned, or you are NOT and you aren't limited by a curfew.

But you are right in that they don't want to pay. That's their ideal main objective, anything less than that ($0 paid out) is your gain and their loss.

Whether he saw you or not is, in my opinion, irrelevant.

Your description of how it happened needs clarification, but using WAGs....

It appears that he clipped the corner of a 4-way stop junction and got you in the nip. In this case, as long as your front end did not extend past the white stop line then he's at fault for infringing into your lane of traffic.

Then again, if he's coming from a side street onto a 4 lane road with no stop sign and he was jumping out because the truck to your right was turning right onto his street and he decided to go, then it's his mistake all the way. He assumed that the road was clear.

Your speed may or may not play into this, but I'll bet that the biggest thing that they are concerned with is their Safety Bond. That's the one that they have to have to ensure that the materials they are handling (Oxygen) are in fact being handled safely. It might surprise people to find out that Oxygen can be a hazardous substance IAW DOT.

So, inform the insurance company that you do not want to haggle. Your car was damaged to the point of being totalled. You are now having to rent a car to ensure that you can get to school and work, and that they will be forced to pay for it. You understand that the car wasn't a 2006 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, but ..... it ran and it got you to school and work just fine. They can either replace it, or repair it or pay you to effect the replacement or repair as YOU see fit.

They do NOT get to dictate to you the terms by which you will settle. There may be legal limitations that are plain old common sense (you can't get a Rolls Royce for your Saturn, nor a new Saturn for your 200k mile old one), but the fact of the matter is simply this....their insured is the one that caused you to be in this situation.

But the plain old simple fact is this.....their insured party is the one that caused this accident....period. Whatever you decide after that is negotiations.

If it gets sticky, then just refer them to your lawyer in this manner: "Well, since you insist that I was out past "curfew" then I'll just have to have my lawyer and my parent's lawyer look into this matter."

or

"Since you insist on haggling / denying my claim, I'll just have to see what my lawyer says about attaching your Hazardous Material Bond AND Insurance. We'll see you in court."

And then stand firm. You've seen this thread repeated several times over the last few years. You know that this is what we've all advised each other to do and it has paid off for those members who have heeded the advice. It's your turn now.

E

[Fun_in_my_z]

"Then again, if he's coming from a side street onto a 4 lane road with no stop sign and he was jumping out because the truck to your right was turning right onto his street and he decided to go, then it's his mistake all the way. He assumed that the road was clear."

This is what happened exactly.

The Van did not have a hazard sticker on it anywhere, i dont know if that means anything.

They have contacted my lawyer and agreed to pay the wrecker and impound fee. Not bad for 3 days work.

Im taking your advice and ill see what happens. Worst comes to worse im out the car.

I hate that but it was a old car....

[EScanlon]

..The Van did not have a hazard sticker on it anywhere, i dont know if that means anything.

They have contacted my lawyer and agreed to pay the wrecker and impound fee. Not bad for 3 days work.

Im taking your advice and ill see what happens. Worst comes to worse im out the car.

I hate that but it was a old car....

Nope, you'll make a hairy nuisance of yourself before they send you off. Quite simply you'll rant and rave and remind them that in Small Claims Court you can sue them for the monetary loss of the vehicle (up to $5K if I recall), and you'll remind them that since the air bags went off, that you need a physical check up by a doctor who may in fact recommend a complete MRI, CAT and EEG and EKG workup. If you got seen at the emergency room, then follow up on their recommendation. If on the other hand you haven't yet been to a Dr., make it a point to get an appointment and mention the accident. See if they can see you quickly. When you get seen have the Dr. CHECK YOU OUT!

This is all within your rights. You are NOT bilking them out of anything they have not expected to pay....period. That they have NOT yet had to is because you're trying to work things out with them. They're not willing to play Chess and have instead pulled out their Hockey Stick. Do you want to put your fingers on a piece only to have them whack it with their stick?

All you are doing is reminding them of just how expensive this can get. You can always cancel the Dr.'s appointment, but if you haven't been seen, then it might not be a bad idea......you DID set off the air bags.

Then remind them that since you are now out of a car that this could take a while to get settled, unless they can help you get your car either FIXED or REPLACED.

If you let them play on your willingness to be reasonable, then don't be surprised when they take advantage of you!

That they've taken care of a couple of things...great, just don't let them drag it out, you need a car and a physical check up NOW!

E

[Fun_in_my_z]

Got a apointment in the morning, my back is really killing me. Im not going to be reasanable, ive preasented everything to my lawyer and he said we will go play hockey so to speak.

Just waiting on a court date.

[Fun_in_my_z]

Settlement for the car, $2,500. I woundnt pay that for it off a lot with 281,000 miles

on it. They are still looking at medical and the days i missed from work

[240Zdragon72]

Nice work. How is your head and neck by the way?

[Fun_in_my_z]

My lower back is actauly what has been bothering me. Everytime i bend down to pick up something it hurts like hell. When i bend to tie my shoe its hard to get back up.

Doc says have a pinched nerve

[1 Bravo 6]

Hey there Bill,

Glad you're still on your feet mate. Take the buggers for what you can get.

By the way, looking at the pics of your car, I notice that the drivers seat is very stained ....... you didn't, ..... ummm ,........ you know, ...................

embarrass youself did you ???????????????????

Rick.

:devious: :devious:

[Zrush]

Hey there Bill,

Glad you're still on your feet mate. Take the buggers for what you can get.

By the way, looking at the pics of your car, I notice that the drivers seat is very stained ....... you didn't, ..... ummm ,........ you know, ...................

embarrass youself did you ???????????????????

Rick.

:devious: :devious:

. At least he'll have the fine vinyl in the Z and this won't be a problem. Very easy to wipe clean! J/K Bill.

That was a good one Rick

Vicky