Rear end car accident advice

[Ace]

You need to go through insurance, personally I don't get the fear of going through insurance. Yeah your rates might go up somewhat, but at least you'll be protected from someone that might be out to scam. Also I could be wrong, but this shouldn't affect your parents rates anyway...since neither of them were responsible for the accident.

Your only other possible option is to use a decent lawyer and offer to settle only with a waiver. Offering to settle for a $50 hubcap might only insinuate guilt on a much larger claim.

[10W30]

Originally Posted by fotze

This shows that you NEVER take the word of someone you have gotten into an accident with. Just go to the police and report it no matter who is at fault. Have heard countless stories of people completely changing their stories after the fact. People have a tendency not to lie to people's faces. Always report the accident to the police and take your licks if need be.

Story time.
This is in Nova Scotia, but maybe my story will help, or maybe it won't.
I was leaving an intersection, turning left on a green light. It was pouring rain and visibility was poor but I thought the car across from me was letting me turn left in front of him.. I waited for a few seconds, and when he didn't go I went for my left turn. I absolutely did not see him, and I didn't even realize I hit anything until I heard something bumping along the side of my car, but I had (oh this sounds bad) hit a guy crossing the crosswalk in a wheelchair. I was absolutely at fault, and I felt bad. It didn't tip his chair or anything. It folded up the footrests and the person with them just folded them back down.

We stood in the pouring rain going over all the functions of his electric wheelchair and he was adamant that everything was fine and good and that he just wanted to go home. The lady with him kept asking if he was ok and kept getting him to try all the functions on his chair (understandably) and thanked me profusely for stopping when I could have easily kept going. It likely wasn't even 10 minutes and he kept insisting he was fine and wanted to go. The lady asked for my number in case they found anything later, and I did give it to her and went on my way. I had a small scratch along the bottom of my back door where his footrest drug along my car.

2 weeks go by.... nothing, then i have a message one day when I get home. The chair apparently WAS messed up by the accident and its 1000 to fix it, call me back. I didn't immediately call back as the whole thing seemed a bit fishy and I wanted to do some research and likely call my insurance company on the following Monday. Not to report the incident, but to ask some "hypothetical" questions. Before I called back, they called again and I actually spoke to the guy, he said that there was $1000 in damages to the chair and that he needed the money. i told him I didn't have that kind of money, but that I did have insurance and we would have to start that process if he wanted to try and get compensation. I did feel guilty, the incident was my fault, but it was true, I wasn't going to just hand this guy $1000 because he says 2 weeks later that his chair was broken because of the accident. When I told him that i would have to place a call with my insurance company and they would likely send someone to asses his chair and blah blah blah he countered with a compromise... I pay half and we don't need insurance.. that's when i knew it was a grab. I told him no, that if his chair needs fixed as a result of my error, then I want to make sure he is compensated properly for it.

I gave him my insurance info and the following Monday I called my insurance company and gave them the details. i started out with hypotheticals, but they saw through that pretty quick . They also assured me that if there was no legitimate claim, that there wouldn't be any effect on my policy/premiums. i gave my report of the incident to them and let them know straight up that I thought it was a sham.

A year goes by... nothing

Just before Christmas the next year, I get a call from the Halifax police asking me about this indecent from over a year ago. I do my best to recall the event as we complete a police report over the phone. he informs me at the end that our stories are different and that I apparently agreed to pay to fix his chair and that I haven't done that yet.. I explained that my insurance company would be handling that.

I called my insurance company again, who informed me that nothing ever happened with this case but given the recently filed police report they would be investigating.

A couple of weeks later I got a call form insurance to update me that the guy was claiming for chair damages as a result of the accident and pain and suffering restitution, that my concerns of fraud were understood and assured me that they would be thorough. I was adamant that if there was a legitimate claim that i was certainly responsible for it as I did cause the accident, but that I was very opposed to any frivolous or unwarranted claims, which they of course agreed.

I placed a follow up call after about another month and there had been no new activity. My insurance company had dispatched an adjuster and requested medical records, etc. but there was nothing to report. That was the last I heard, that was over 3 years ago. Nothing changed with my policy as a result of all this..

Sorry for the long "cool story bro" but it just goes to show that the upfront "right" approach is often best even if you have concerns about premium increases or whatever. If you feel like its a scam, then put your mind at ease and let the professionals deal with it. This is what you have the insurance for. i'm sure there are some on here that have been on the other side and have legitimate claims and are unfortunately put through the ringer with all the bureaucracy of insurance... and that is with legit claims. imagine if you are faking it and trying to get something, I think you would be like my guy and just give up.

best of luck, but let insurance know. They should be able to assure you that no legit claims means no premium increase.

[Hockeyguy15]

The way I look at it is I pay insurance every month, and for the most part they never have to do anything.

If I get into a situation where there is an accident of any kind (my fault or not) I will just let insurance handle it, so I get something back for all the money I have paid them over the years.

[CaptainCrunch]

Meet them and listen to their demands, its its unreasonable at all. Then thank them and tell them that you'd prefer to go through your insurance company .

IF what they want is reasonable, sub .500 tell them that you want to go through your lawyer.

But chances are they're going to try to gut you like a fish with their first offer.

Also tell them that not being able to sleep means nothing. You want a doctors exam note, and on the brake light thing you want your own mechanic to look at it to see if it was caused by impact as opposed to your brakes are worn to the thickness of a piece of paper.

If you do pay a lawyer would want paperwork on the transaction and a agreement that they can't come after you again.

It will be far easier to go through insurance if it comes to it.

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by Slava

A doctor as in a chiropractor/massage therapist/physiotherapist/etc. who has a bias of compensation? A family doctor who will record that the person presents with back/neck pain and refers them for some physio/chirp/massage? What can possibly go wrong...

And the alternative of an insurance adjuster deciding whether you're injured is much better right? What can possibly go wrong.....

Frankly I'm disgusted that there are people who side with a billion dollar industry and not the person who may actually have an injury. Not all people are trying to scam the insurance company.

[CaptainCrunch]

Get him and his wife to sit down. Wear a suit and black leather gloves and bring a medical bag with you. If they get insistent tell them that she'll really have trouble sleeping after you murder the crap out of him. Then tell them that you get away with it all the time because your with the CIA and pull out a really blatant toy police bage.

They'll think your entirely insane and leave you alone.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

And the alternative of an insurance adjuster deciding whether you're injured is much better right? What can possibly go wrong.....

Frankly I'm disgusted that there are people who side with a billion dollar industry and not the person who may actually have an injury. Not all people are trying to scam the insurance company.

Well the insurance adjuster will quite often use independent medical assessments to make decisions on contentious issues. They also hire engineers and other professionals when they think there are concerns regarding cases that could go to a trial. Its not a question of siding with an industry; its a question of legitimacy on the part of someone involved in what sounds like an extremely minor collision.

Don't worry. Insurance companies pay all the time for claims by other parties that policyholders don't think should be paid. There are dozens of examples of people being paid for damages when the insured person feels that the other side is pulling a fast one.

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by Slava

Well the insurance adjuster will quite often use independent medical assessments to make decisions on contentious issues. They also hire engineers and other professionals when they think there are concerns regarding cases that could go to a trial. Its not a question of siding with an industry; its a question of legitimacy on the part of someone involved in what sounds like an extremely minor collision.

Don't worry. Insurance companies pay all the time for claims by other parties that policyholders don't think should be paid. There are dozens of examples of people being paid for damages when the insured person feels that the other side is pulling a fast one.

Oh come on we are talking about injuries that are usually almost impossible to detect by even a doctor. Soft tissue injuries don't show up in any x-rays and they're not paying an engineer for a $5000 claim. They want to settle 99.9% of the time without it going to court.

minor collision or not, if there is an injury then they should be compensated and someone trained to detect an injury should help decide even if you don't like chiropractors.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

Oh come on we are talking about injuries that are usually almost impossible to detect by even a doctor. Soft tissue injuries don't show up in any x-rays and they're not paying an engineer for a $5000 claim. They want to settle 99.9% of the time without it going to court.

minor collision or not, if there is an injury then they should be compensated and someone trained to detect an injury should help decide even if you don't like chiropractors.

So how much is that worth in that case? Now we should just take someone's word for it and cut a cheque?

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by Slava

So how much is that worth in that case? Now we should just take someone's word for it and cut a cheque?

That's why they put the cap in place. They don't mind handing out the cap because it is pocket change to what they were paying put before for a soft tissue injury.

And what other way would you suggest? You think all doctors/chiropractors are lying for their benefit and you don't want to take anyone's word at face value. So what is your suggestion?

[Hevishot]

Let the insurance company fight it out. Do not give them anything! and stop communicating with them. Go fill out a police report even if the damage is under 2000 just to make sure you cover yer a$$. Than let the insurance company know that they are trying to take you for a ride. They will investigate the claim and most likely tell those people to pound sand or give them nothing. Because 500.00 van will always be 500.00 van. I deal with this type of BS constantly. Never let the scumbags win.

[mykalberta]

IMO Go through insurance.

These people sound like leeches and I wouldnt be surprised that if you paid them once you would get a call after asking for more money.

The initial money they ask for, have your brother give that amount to his parents to cover any increase in insurance if any. Most likely though they are using this as a way to extort money out of you.

If they can do it "legally" through insurance so be it, but dont allow them to scam you under the guise of "handling it outside the insurance companies".

[Raekwon]

Ignore them until they open a claim. Document everything you have right now and hope nothing comes out of this in the next 2 years. If they put a claim through then so do you and your insurance deals with it.

I have more input but haven't read through this entirely and have to head out. I shall return.

[Flamenspiel]

I agree, you have to go through the insurance, the red flag for me is the "cash settlement".
The moment you put that on the table everything becomes negotiable and outside the process.

The OP should report it and claim on the parents insurance, that would be the lesser of "bad" choices. As a parent I would my kid to report it to me rather then have them handle it and snowball it into a bigger issue.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Cuz

This is a reason that public insurance isn't that bad. In BC, ICBC has what they call a low velocity impact program. Essentially, when someone is rear ended, if the collision does not meet certain requirements, then the parties are not entitled to any injury payouts. So if there is little to no damage, the claims adjusters will not believe that someone was legitimately injured from the collision.

The LIV police doesn't stop people from getting lawyers or going to court. You can still make a claim for a LVI. IMO ICBC exploits this process often. I have clients who have their entire rear bumper cover destroyed, but since the cost of a replacement is only a few hundred, they fall into the LVI category.

Alberta probably has the better system here, where their "LVI" are capped. You then need a doctor to pull you out of that cap.

To the OP, I would consider doing everything through the insurance company. As other posters have said, they should give you the option to pay them the cash directly for any damages (obviously contact them first, to make sure they are giving you this option). Doing it this way will ensure that everything is investigated properly. Insurance companies are not in the habit of giving people money for vehicle damage that did no occur.

The only downside to insurance for you is that if the other driver is underbidding, then they will get fair damages through insurance. For instance, if he offers you $200 to get rid of the whole deal, it may turn out there was actually $1000 of damage after a proper investigation. In which case, you'd be on the hook for the larger amount.

Settling outside of the process brings all sorts of other issues too though. For instance, if a proper release is not signed, they may try and come back and claim again even though you'd paid them already.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

That's why they put the cap in place. They don't mind handing out the cap because it is pocket change to what they were paying put before for a soft tissue injury.

And what other way would you suggest? You think all doctors/chiropractors are lying for their benefit and you don't want to take anyone's word at face value. So what is your suggestion?

This is right on.

The ultimate issue is that there is no way to stop people from lying. The cap makes things cheaper overall, as it not only keeps settlements low, but saves the insurance company money on investigative reports (medical, engineer, etc..) and legal fees. This keeps rates lower for everyone.

The flip side is that sometimes people are genuinly injured in relatively low speed/damage collisions. Injuries are very unpredicatable. For instance, I know peolpe who've suffered slipped discs reaching down to pick up a bag. As a result of current systems, people genuinly injured in small collisions don't always get fair compensation. They could miss out on employment, develop genuine psychological injuries, etc...

The overall issue breaks down to honesty. Unfortunately, the people with genuine claims get lumped in with the liars. The liars get more than they deserve, and the people genuinly hurt get less.

[FlameOn]

Wow, thanks for the responses... I didn't think there'd be so many.

I'll be recommending to my parents to file a police report and then opening a claim with the insurance company. Hopefully this will shield us from any liability going forward.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by blankall

This is right on.

The ultimate issue is that there is no way to stop people from lying. The cap makes things cheaper overall, as it not only keeps settlements low, but saves the insurance company money on investigative reports (medical, engineer, etc..) and legal fees. This keeps rates lower for everyone.

The flip side is that sometimes people are genuinly injured in relatively low speed/damage collisions. Injuries are very unpredicatable. For instance, I know peolpe who've suffered slipped discs reaching down to pick up a bag. As a result of current systems, people genuinly injured in small collisions don't always get fair compensation. They could miss out on employment, develop genuine psychological injuries, etc...

The overall issue breaks down to honesty. Unfortunately, the people with genuine claims get lumped in with the liars. The liars get more than they deserve, and the people genuinly hurt get less.

I dislike the cap.

[Raekwon]

Don't open a claim until they do, I know Insurance companies will tell you that a claim doesn't go on record unless something is paid out but especially in this case you would be opening a claim and admitting fault, it will go on your insurance.

These guys could be bluffing trying to make a quick buck and never open a claim, waiting doesn't hurt you in any way. If these guys put an injury claim in and file a statement of claim down the road and you get a letter saying you are being sued you would just forward it to your insurance company at that time and let them deal with the BS claim.

[GGG]

Liking the cap is not siding with billion dollar insurance companies. Its siding with lower rates for a lower level of coverage. Insurance is competitive enough that the rate is essentially what they pay out plus 10%. So removing the rate cap just raises rates for everyone.