got rear-ended on freeway today, advice needed, pic inside.

[Maximus96]

pic

happened on 580w and i80 merge during morning commute traffic. i was stopped because car in front of me was stopped. then this camry comes plowing into me at a good speed, around 20+mph. happened in front of a CHP and he saw the whole incident and wrote a report. now my neck hurts a bit from the whiplash, and the back of my car is rather fvcked up. my friends tells me to go see a doctor and lawyer. chances are my car will be totalled since its only worth $4600 in bluebook. whats gonna happen if it is totalled? what steps should i take? i've never been in this situation before in my 6 years of driving. thanks in advance for any advice

 

[MercenaryForHire]

:Q

Ouch. At least it happened right in front of a patrol officer, and he's got everything written down.

Doctor, lawyer. Go after the other person's insurance company ASAP, and above all document everything.

- M4H

 

[damiano]

get someone to hit you with a stick in the neck so it hurts even more
the more pain the more money

 

[Maximus96]

the chp let the other lady go first, after taking down her info i assume. i dont' have anything except a card to get a police report. i filed a claim with AAA and was told the adjustor will contact me. i assume the police report will have all the necessary info.

 

[Hammer]

whoa 20 is a lot. you're lucky you're not hurt more.

 

[Maximus96]

would i be able to ask for compensation for missed days of work to see doctors and such?

also, when do i see a doctor? is there a time frame for these things? i'm totally in the dark because this is the first time i got hit.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: zaku
would i be able to ask for compensation for missed days of work to see doctors and such?

Absolutely. If you were at a dead stop and this guy hit you doing 20mph, you're about to get paid handsomely.

- M4H

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

first things first buddy.


go see a doctor and go from there.



you might not need a lawyer, but expect to have to play hardball regardless.

 

[StageLeft]

That doesn't look like so much damage, but awesome that a piggy was there to witness. *Snort snort*

 

[Ness]

You should be able to, assuming it was necessary and unavoidable, make sure you get notes from both work and the doctor saying you were there and that work will not cover the time you are gone.

Like M4H said, document everything. Getting all of this straightend out requires that you have every proof of every penny you were offset because of this incident.

 

[Bryophyte]

I would go to the doctor today, you might be in less pain tomorrow if you don't wait. I was rearended back when I was 16, by someone going at least 35 (I was stopped.) I didn't feel bad until the next morning, couldn't get out of bed because of the extreme pain and stiffness in my neck. Wish I had gotten some meds the night before, was a miserable ride to the doctor.

 

[MangoTBG]

Take a sledge hammer and hit the tail pipe, too....Nothing like a new exhaust!

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: zaku
pic

happened on 580w and i80 merge during morning commute traffic. i was stopped because car in front of me was stopped. then this camry comes plowing into me at a good speed, around 20+mph. happened in front of a CHP and he saw the whole incident and wrote a report. now my neck hurts a bit from the whiplash, and the back of my car is rather fvcked up. my friends tells me to go see a doctor and lawyer. chances are my car will be totalled since its only worth $4600 in bluebook. whats gonna happen if it is totalled? what steps should i take? i've never been in this situation before in my 6 years of driving. thanks in advance for any advice

If it's totalled, you'll get a check and the car. What you do with the bent up car is then up to you. GO TO A Doctor. All medical visits from here on will need to be documented in the event CSAA sues them. LOss of wages is a typical claim as well. You'll need copies of work schedules showing time lost due to injury or Dr. visit related to recovery.
Document EVERYTHING. Keep detailed phone logs of conversations with the parties involved.
Ice down the neck with a bag of frozen peas or corn. The small size of the pea conforms better to the neck and shoulder topology than ice cubes, and can be re-frozen many times.
good luck.

 

[blahblah99]

Well my car was rear ended in almost the same manner as yours.. pic here.

Don't just assume that because you got rear ended, you can ask for any amount you wish. If you have whiplash, I would recommend checking with a doctor. Let the insurance know that you have injuries. They'll most likely settle it you in a form of a check, but it might not be the amount that you are expecting.

 

[Maximus96]

perhaps that 20+mph was just in my mind, i'll find out when i get the police report. i saw the car coming pretty fast in my mirror and thought 'oh sh!t', then boom.

 

[Aharami]

i made the mistake of handling with the other's person's insurance myself. it was a big pain in the ass. call up ur insurance and have ur insurance deal with the other guy's insurance. other than that, if u really got whiplash, sue

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: zaku
pic

happened on 580w and i80 merge during morning commute traffic. i was stopped because car in front of me was stopped. then this camry comes plowing into me at a good speed, around 20+mph. happened in front of a CHP and he saw the whole incident and wrote a report. now my neck hurts a bit from the whiplash, and the back of my car is rather fvcked up. my friends tells me to go see a doctor and lawyer. chances are my car will be totalled since its only worth $4600 in bluebook. whats gonna happen if it is totalled? what steps should i take? i've never been in this situation before in my 6 years of driving. thanks in advance for any advice

If it's totalled, you'll get a check and the car. What you do with the bent up car is then up to you. GO TO A Doctor. All medical visits from here on will need to be documented in the event CSAA sues them. LOss of wages is a typical claim as well. You'll need copies of work schedules showing time lost due to injury or Dr. visit related to recovery.
Document EVERYTHING. Keep detailed phone logs of conversations with the parties involved.
Ice down the neck with a bag of frozen peas or corn. The small size of the pea conforms better to the neck and shoulder topology than ice cubes, and can be re-frozen many times.
good luck.

I thought insurance company owns/ junks car if it's totalled?

 

[Maximus96]

what kind of doctor should i go seek out, chiropractors?

 

[AlienCraft]

Depends on company, I suppose. I had State Farm when my van got totalled. I got to keep it. It was junk, so it went to the scrap yard anyway. I do not know of anyone who had to surrender a vehicle after being totalled.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: zaku
what kind of doctor should i go seek out, chiropractors?

MD first to rule out anything broken, a chiro to fix anything resulting from simple whiplash / hyper-extension.

 

[Bryophyte]

Go to your GP first. Chiros cannot prescribe meds, and you almost certainly will be needing some. Chiros can't really help trauma involving muscle tears. JMHO

 

[Maximus96]

thank you everybody for helping me

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: zaku
what kind of doctor should i go seek out, chiropractors?

Go see your normal physician.

I would avoid seeing chiropractic/physicians that market people who have been in accidents.

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: zaku
pic

happened on 580w and i80 merge during morning commute traffic. i was stopped because car in front of me was stopped. then this camry comes plowing into me at a good speed, around 20+mph. happened in front of a CHP and he saw the whole incident and wrote a report. now my neck hurts a bit from the whiplash, and the back of my car is rather fvcked up. my friends tells me to go see a doctor and lawyer. chances are my car will be totalled since its only worth $4600 in bluebook. whats gonna happen if it is totalled? what steps should i take? i've never been in this situation before in my 6 years of driving. thanks in advance for any advice

You have two things to take care of:

1) The accident
2) The injury

1) Should be no problem. You should contact their insurance company. They will schedule you to meet one of their auto work companies to estimate the damage. If it is a write-off, then you will get the value they establish for the car.

2) See a doctor immediately. Start with your primary. Make sure not to let any significant time lapse between referral appointments. Make sure once you start visiting a recurring appointment (like a specialist) not to miss any appointments until the problem is healed. This should position you well should you need to seek a lawyer for help.

 

[dmoney]

By the way, the more doctors visits you have the more money you will get in the settlement.
You should get some pain and suffering money.
The insurance should give you an acount to go to the doctors with too, so you dont have to pay anything up front
And in most cases, the insurance company will get an estimate for the damage and then tell you if its totaled. Then you can either accept their offer for the car and they keep the car or you keep the car and get money to fix it.
Thats how it happened with me anyways