Car crash - what to do with the insurance company?

[Keego]

My sister was in the way of a 80 year old lady's quest to run a stop light. Her car is now totalled and she has neck pain.

MS Paint of crash

Her car was a '96 geo prism, very good condition. I have a couple of questions about getting a replacement car and the subsequent insurance claims from going to the doctor a bunch of times.

How does she go about getting a new car based on the fact that this car was basically irreplaceable since it has depreciated so much?

The injury part - If she does not get an attorney, will she get screwed in the settlement? Is there a settlement? She's been to the doctor multiple times because she hit her knee on the steering column and her neck hurts from whiplash. She's fine otherwise.

The airbag issue - her airbag didn't go off. My mom called GM and talked to someone and asked why it didn't go off, and he said that they (GM) want to inspect the vehicle. My mom thinks there is money here, but I don't give a crap about this issue.

My mom is annoying in the fact that when she gets excited, she talks fast and it reaaallly pisses off my sister, so any useful knowledge is ignored, which sucks.

 

[KLin]

SUE EVERYONE. SUE GM, SUE THE OLD LADY, SUE THE CITY, SUE YOUR MOTHER!!!!

 

[tami]

attourney? are you british?

 

[ThisIsMatt]

I assume the person running the red light was going perpendicular...did your sister tbone her or did the lady tbone your sister?

 

[Keego]

I don't know the exact details, I'm 3000 miles away. According to my sister, they hit head on.

 

[slick230]

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt
I assume the person running the red light was going perpendicular...did your sister tbone her or did the lady tbone your sister?

And if your sister's car was the one that got t-boned then don't blame GM for the airbags not deploying. I don't think a '96 Geo Prism came with side airbags, and if the impact wasn't in the front then oh well.

 

[Keego]

Originally posted by: slick230

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt
I assume the person running the red light was going perpendicular...did your sister tbone her or did the lady tbone your sister?

And if your sister's car was the one that got t-boned then don't blame GM for the airbags not deploying. I don't think a '96 Geo Prism came with side airbags, and if the impact wasn't in the front then oh well.

please see my post above yours.

 

[slick230]

Originally posted by: Keego

Originally posted by: slick230

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt
I assume the person running the red light was going perpendicular...did your sister tbone her or did the lady tbone your sister?

And if your sister's car was the one that got t-boned then don't blame GM for the airbags not deploying. I don't think a '96 Geo Prism came with side airbags, and if the impact wasn't in the front then oh well.

please see my post above yours.

Please see that I was typing my reply as you posted, so tough sh!t.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

From all the stories I have heard, your sister will get next to nothing from the insurance company as they base it on the value of the car (so she might get a few hundred bucks). As for injury, the insurance company should be handling that. If they are not, then get a lawyer.

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: KLin
SUE EVERYONE. SUE GM, SUE THE OLD LADY, SUE THE CITY, SUE YOUR MOTHER!!!!

 

[Keego]

Originally posted by: slick230

Originally posted by: Keego

Originally posted by: slick230

Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt
I assume the person running the red light was going perpendicular...did your sister tbone her or did the lady tbone your sister?

And if your sister's car was the one that got t-boned then don't blame GM for the airbags not deploying. I don't think a '96 Geo Prism came with side airbags, and if the impact wasn't in the front then oh well.

please see my post above yours.

Please see that I was typing my reply as you posted, so tough sh!t.

Please calm down mr. internet toughboy.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
From all the stories I have heard, your sister will get next to nothing from the insurance company as they base it on the value of the car (so she might get a few hundred bucks). As for injury, the insurance company should be handling that. If they are not, then get a lawyer.

More than that. My dad got $1700 for his 85 Celica.

 

[QuitBanningMe]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
From all the stories I have heard, your sister will get next to nothing from the insurance company as they base it on the value of the car (so she might get a few hundred bucks). As for injury, the insurance company should be handling that. If they are not, then get a lawyer.

No she will get fair market value. In this case ~$3000 depending on model/options/ mileage. What she will want to do is make sure she is informed as to what fair market value is. Check NADA and KBB for average retail and clip ads for similar cars.

As for the airbag thing it completely depends on the wreck.

 

[walla]

Originally posted by: tami
attourney? are you british?

summon the barrister, double quick!

 

[HappyPuppy]

The value of the car is nothing compared to her injuries. Complications can sometimes take months or years to show up. Your sister is a fool if she doesn't get a personal injury lawyer. The insurance company will rake her over the coals and make her thank them for the fvcking.

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
The value of the car is nothing compared to her injuries. Complications can sometimes take months or years to show up. Your sister is a fool if she doesn't get a personal injury lawyer. The insurance company will rake her over the coals and make her thank them for the fvcking.

They won't rake her over the coals. They will just offer a token payment with the condition that she waive all future claims against them if she takes the cash.

Just remember, if you settle with the insurance you are settling forever, if something comes up down the road (for example she finds out she ruptured a disk in her neck and it takes a year or two to show up) she will be SOL. It's for this reason that you probably need to talk to a lawyer if she doesn't have good medical insurance.

 

[flot]

I wouldn't normally advocate it, but in an accident with legimate injuries, yes, I would hire a lawyer. That will at least level the playing field. I definitely would NOT expect to make any $ off the ordeal but you'll have a better shot at recovering a reasonable amount (like a few thousand $) for injuries and the car etc.

Having said all that - just because your sister hurts now doesn't necessarily mean that the injuries are minor OR major. She'll just have to wait and see. I've been a passenger in a couple minor accidents and I recall being in pain for 2-3 days and that was about the end of that.

As for the airbag - as others have said, airbag should not *necessarily* go off just because there was an accident - even if it totalled the car - just depends on how the car was hit.

 

[FoBoT]

a '96 geo prism ain't worth no $3000

 

[QuitBanningMe]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
a '96 geo prism ain't worth no $3000

I agree. However that is the fair market value assuming base options and 120,000 miles.