Mom gets t-boned in her brand new car

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Mark R

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
8,513
16
81
Car repaired by insurance on first incident.
2nd incident not claimed on insurance - for some reason she can't be bothered to take it to a body shop privately. That doesn't look like a major expensive damage - a bit of filler and a SMART repair, would be good enough. Not like the first accident - 1 wheel, 2 doors, 2 big body panels which included the pillars, side skirt - I could easily see the damage being $10k +, which probably explains why the insurance comapny is now hiring lawyers, and taking the matter to court - presumably to try to reclaim the substantial repair costs.

Insurance company said once initial claim went in that she should not be at fault. However, 3rd party insurance came back as saying they deny liability.

So the 2 insurance companies reconsidered for 6 weeks, and then decided that it should be 50-50. However, suggestsed that my mom might want to consult with their lawyers about it. So she called her insurance company's lawyers, and they said that actually she has a good case, and that they should be able to get the other party's insurance to pay for the whole thing, and avoid the increase in premiums, etc.

Was due to go to court later this month, and all witness statements were collected, etc. However, the other party's insurance's lawyers beat my mom's lawyers to court, so myu mom's insurance has now called off their original lawyers (their "offense" team) and given the case to their "defense" team lawyers.

That team are now working on collecting new statements, etc.
 
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deroki

Banned
Jun 26, 2014
5
0
0
suddenly I'm thinking it may not have totally been the mini drivers fault the first time
 

Mark R

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
8,513
16
81
Thought I'd post an update.

Heard from the lawyers handling the insurance claim. Other party 's insurance is refusing to accept any liability, so my mother's lawyers are suggesting that unless my mother wants to take the hit on her insurance, that they should go to court.

They are now waiting for confirmation of the court date, but it is expected to be some time around Christmas.
 

Jimzz

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2012
4,399
190
106
Good time to remind people, GET A DASH CAMERA!!!

If either car had one this would have been settled a long time ago. G1W is around $50 (can get for less if you look).
 

DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
13,782
2,284
126
you can remove the letter t from the thread title and everything takes a new meaning
also, sorry to hear what happened to your mom. but i could not resist the joke.
 

cabri

Diamond Member
Nov 3, 2012
3,616
1
81
Both may end up being at fault; given the scenario you described in post #17.
The other driver was already in the intersection

The guy was at fault for entering the intersection without it being able to be cleared.
Because he was in the intersection; your mother should not have entered; she did not yield the right of way.
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
126
Both may end up being at fault; given the scenario you described in post #17.
The other driver was already in the intersection

The guy was at fault for entering the intersection without it being able to be cleared.
Because he was in the intersection; your mother should not have entered; she did not yield the right of way.

That may be what the other driver has realized.

I'm not exactly sure what the law is in that State, but it could well be that as he was already in the intersection, he had the ROW and was allowed to proceed and clear the intersection.
 

Mark R

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
8,513
16
81
Update: This went to court for the insurance companies to decide who was liable.

2 hour court hearing with lawyers on both sides, witnesses, cross examination, all the trimmings.

The judge decided that my mother was not to blame.

Other party's insurance will pay my mother's insurance $5000 for the cost of the repairs.

What a farce.
 
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BudAshes

Lifer
Jul 20, 2003
13,938
3,231
146
Does it seem kind of insane that we all drive around in these expensive vehicles that are so easily damaged in 5 mph accidents?
 

eng2d2

Golden Member
Nov 7, 2013
1,007
38
91
Update: This went to court for the insurance companies to decide who was liable.

2 hour court hearing with lawyers on both sides, witnesses, cross examination, all the trimmings.

The judge decided that my mother was not to blame.

Other party's insurance will pay my mother's insurance $5000 for the cost of the repairs.

What a farce.

Why do you think its a farce? Just wondering
 

WoodButcher

Platinum Member
Mar 10, 2001
2,158
0
76
Why do you think its a farce? Just wondering
To wait two years for repair or reimbursement for damage that was caused to a car that was two weeks old is bull. If there was some indication that Mom was at fault I could see two months for a decision but two years, lawyers, court time, investigators and all the other people that get involved is truly a farce. I'll wager more money was spent disputing this accident than the 5k awarded.
 

MongGrel

Lifer
Dec 3, 2013
38,466
3,067
121
Government can be slow in general about things.

I had to fight for two years to get my Grandmother what she was obligated, while footing the bill for the assisted living money she was owed from my Grandfather being a highly decorated WWII vet.

She had moved in with one of her sisters like she always said she would, they picked her dry for what little she had left.

At that point they brought her back to Florida and dumped her off at my Brothers, where she even had one of his roomate's girlfriends trying to rape her for money.

I rescued her and put her in an assisted living, her meds were even messed up as they had been stealing those and not taking her to a doctor like should have been at the time. Even took her to a few of her former doctors here and they about freaked and changed everything. And now she is very happy. Money was tight even then at the time in my house and signed my name on the line to take care of her.

I finally had to write a Congressman to get it straightened out, and even then it took time.
 
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Mark R

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
8,513
16
81
To wait two years for repair or reimbursement for damage that was caused to a car that was two weeks old is bull. If there was some indication that Mom was at fault I could see two months for a decision but two years, lawyers, court time, investigators and all the other people that get involved is truly a farce. I'll wager more money was spent disputing this accident than the 5k awarded.

Exactly that. The amount of money and time spent disputing what in reality was a relatively small amount seems totally disproportionate.

I could understand 6 months to come to a decision. But 2 years? During which time, it goes on the insurance history as an at-fault claim, so you lose no-claims bonus and get dinged on the renewals.

The car was repaired quickly and the insurance paid the bill, so neither driver was out-of-pocket. This was purely the insurance companies disputing which one should reimburse the other.

Investigations fees, lawyers fees, witness expenses, court fees. I have no idea how much this all cost. But it must have been a sizeable proportion of the total claim amount.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,739
452
126
Does it seem kind of insane that we all drive around in these expensive vehicles that are so easily damaged in 5 mph accidents?

Can't have it all... to meet mileage requirements they had to cut weight somewhere, and over the years they've been able to make the body panels quite thin and light. They serve no structural purpose, that's the job of the higher strength steel in the frame/unibody, so it doesn't affect safety. Just means things like this result in more body damage.
 

Jimzz

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2012
4,399
190
106
She should make a diminished values claim with the other insurance company now the other party was found at fault.
 

core2slow

Senior member
Mar 7, 2008
774
20
81
I'd trade in 2yrs and $5000 just to club the other driver at the scene and we'll call it even.
 

3chordcharlie

Diamond Member
Mar 30, 2004
9,859
1
81
Does it seem kind of insane that we all drive around in these expensive vehicles that are so easily damaged in 5 mph accidents?

It is insane to think that a 5mph collision is should be nothing. Try a nice slow 5mph jog into a plate glass window and see how that feels. Then multiply the energy by 25x (4000lb car vs 160lb person). The job of the car is to keep you safe in a collision, not preserve it's own sheet metal.

Amusement park bumper cars are limited to about 5mph, and have bumpers all around. They still impart a pretty good impact.