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Wife (car) was hit by a car that was hit by another car today - both left the scene.

SunnyD

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
tl;dr: "That'll buff right out."

Cliffs:
- Everyone is apparently okay.
- Wife is now starting to get a little sore where the seatbelt locked.
- Two little ones in the car, both are fine (as fine as any of my spawn can be).
- Car is drivable (drove it home), mostly just body damage along the driver's side.
- Driver that caused the mess left the scene and tried to hide her car in her garage.
- Driver that was hit by ^^^ that was "pushed" into my car left the scene and followed ^^^ to her home and provided location to cops.
- Everyone involved (according to cops) is supposedly insured.
- Someone is going to be paying to replace $600 worth of car seats and a good bit of body work. Not me!

edit - Pics:

car1.jpg


car2.jpg


** Reserved for non-tl;dr version **
 
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Press charges against the bitch that left the scene. I'm serious. Ask the police what you can do to bury her up to her neck in litigation. Your wife is sore? Get her to the doctor immediately and get her checked out, and then bill that to them as well. Grind the person who caused it into the ground.
 
What damage to car seats? I was the lead in a chain. Tail end Charlie was determined at fault, nothing to contest, other two of us were stopped due to red light and ambulance.

Tail end insurance covered everything. Rentals for the sandwiched, and bodyshop repairs all around. Extra $$ for minor injuries and $ for passengers not hurt.

For your wife, do not allow case to be closed until she is fully checked out and cleared
 
EagleKeeper said:
What damage to car seats? I was the lead in a chain. Tail end Charlie was determined at fault, nothing to contest, other two of us were stopped due to red light and ambulance.

Tail end insurance covered everything. Rentals for the sandwiched, and bodyshop repairs all around. Extra $$ for minor injuries and $ for passengers not hurt.

For your wife, do not allow case to be closed until she is fully checked out and cleared
Click to expand...

Both other drivers were cited for leaving the scene. My insurance company says we're definitely not at fault since we were obviously struck by another vehicle.

Unfortunately, we have to wait for the police report to get the details/insurance info for the person causing the whole issue. Should be wednesday according to the officer on scene.

Newbian said:
Why would you need the car seats replaced?

If it was that minor I don't see damage happening to them.
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There's a checklist of criteria regarding car seats involved in an accident. But basic rule of thumb is if a car seat is involve in an accident - period - replace it. There was enough force to lock seatbelts in this case, not enough for airbags though. But given it was a side impact, I'm going with enough torque to cause belts to lock potentially causing structural damage to the car seats. Therefore, they're getting replaced.

My wife is a car seat nazi. Not sure if she ever got certified to do the inspections or installs, but she may as well be.
 
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Newbian said:
Why would you need the car seats replaced?

If it was that minor I don't see damage happening to them.
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See above. It's accepted principle that car seats get replaced in a collision, even if there's no significant damage.

FoBoT said:
was the road wide or narrow?
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One lane each way and a center turning lane. We're not entirely sure of what/where the causing car was - either crossing/turning or oncoming. The car that was pushed into my wife was in the center turning late. My wife was travelling south passing by the car in the center lane when it was struck and pushed into my wife.
 
SunnyD said:
There's a checklist of criteria regarding car seats involved in an accident. But basic rule of thumb is if a car seat is involve in an accident - period - replace it.
Click to expand...

Pft, sounds like car seat manufacturer-spread disinfo to me. Paranoid parents = $$$
 
BrokenVisage said:
Pft, sounds like car seat manufacturer-spread disinfo to me..
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Not really. I'm sure part of it is profit motivated... but honestly given that it handles my little ones I want to make absolutely sure there's no non-visible damage that would risk my little ones at a later date, which is why this is accepted principle. It just so happens that the car seats we use are top of the line and not exactly cheap.
 
Pics added to op. Again, nothing terribly major, just the fact that there's damage down the entire length of the car. The driver's side door panel catches on the seam of the front quarter panel, making a really painful sounding pop every time you open the door.

Other than some wrinkled metal on the panel above the wheel well, just 3 sets of scratches along the side of the car for the most part. Like I said - most of it really should just buff right out. But I ain't payin' for it.
 
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I hope that the driver that got pushed into you doesn't get hit too hard for "leaving the scene" since they followed the other driver home. Hard to call that one.
 
Good luck w\ everything.

I had a hit and run... found the persons house where they had the car about 1 inch from their fence to hide the damaged area from view... cops didn't care at all.
 
SunnyD said:
Not really. I'm sure part of it is profit motivated... but honestly given that it handles my little ones I want to make absolutely sure there's no non-visible damage that would risk my little ones at a later date, which is why this is accepted principle. It just so happens that the car seats we use are top of the line and not exactly cheap.
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Same principle as bicycle helmets. If a helmet is involved in an accident - even if no damage is visible - the helmet should be replaced due to the possibility of damage that can't be seen.

I'd replace the seats. What they hold is too precious to leave to "well, it looks ok to me"
 
As someone who routinely deals with auto accidents: get medically checked asap. Insurance will balk at covering medical after 48 hours. I don't know about your state but in mine if you leave the scene of an accident that involves personal injury it is a misdemeanor; insist on the driver that fled be charged if possible in your state. And yes, replace the car seatss.
 
EvilYoda said:
I hope that the driver that got pushed into you doesn't get hit too hard for "leaving the scene" since they followed the other driver home. Hard to call that one.
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My wife told the other "victim" (the one that was pushed into my wife) that she would be a witness in court for her if needed to get the charge dropped/reduced. But I'm not sure of the law in general - because she didn't stop to offer assistance to my wife at all she may be on the hook regardless.

Perknose said:
+1
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Done and done. Wife and two little ones went to the ER on Saturday morning to get checked out. Wife's shoulder was pretty sore, but nothing major. My little guy woke up complaining that "his body hurt" and when asked he pointed to his left side about where the carseat harness would have been. By the time he got checked out, he was all giggles because the doctor prodding him was just tickles. The little one, well, she's no worse for wear.

airdata said:
Good luck w\ everything.

I had a hit and run... found the persons house where they had the car about 1 inch from their fence to hide the damaged area from view... cops didn't care at all.
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Both of the other two drivers were cited for leaving the scene. We wouldn't have found the major party to the accident had the other driver not gone after her.
 
I dont want to scare you but my wife was in a low speed crash that did less than 3k in damage to a 2004 avalon. Police were busy at the time and only filed remotely and no ambulance was called. She seemed fine and didnt even complain of any discomfort.

Three days later the pain started. She had damage to 3 vertibrae and could not work for 4 years. We put off having kids for years because she would be unable to carry them without full bedrest.

Because no ambulance was on site the insurance company could say it was aggravation of a preexisting vs direct causation.

We are out 600K out of pocket to this day though she can with weekly therapy and massage cope with chasing around 2 and half year old triplets.
 
Glad nobody was seriously injured and your car wasn't totaled. With more and more young people on the road every day, I'm a big advocate of buying a car with the best safety ratings above all. Sounds like you guys did well picking out safe car seats.
 
^ Manimal that's brutal. Hope she has help with triplets. Our twins need constant supervision even near 4 years old. Otherwise it's a battle royale between them every few minutes fighting for stuff.

SunnyD said:
One lane each way and a center turning lane. We're not entirely sure of what/where the causing car was - either crossing/turning or oncoming. The car that was pushed into my wife was in the center turning late. My wife was travelling south passing by the car in the center lane when it was struck and pushed into my wife.
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You're fricken lucky it was a second later than it was... otherwise head-on is nasty, especially with 2 kids.
 
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EagleKeeper said:
What damage to car seats? I was the lead in a chain. Tail end Charlie was determined at fault, nothing to contest, other two of us were stopped due to red light and ambulance.

Tail end insurance covered everything. Rentals for the sandwiched, and bodyshop repairs all around. Extra $$ for minor injuries and $ for passengers not hurt.

For your wife, do not allow case to be closed until she is fully checked out and cleared
Click to expand...

Anytime there is an accident involving car seats, it is "recommended" that the seats be replaced. I had to do the same thing with my oldest child's seat when we were involved in an automobile collision several years ago.
 
Have your wife write a letter to the local DA explaining that she would like no charges filed against the other for leaving the scene; explaining why. More that likely, the DA will have plenty of leeway in that regard.
 
*grumble* - Dealing with my insurance is appearing to be a little bit TOO cut and dry - take the car in for an inspection/estimate, they cut me a check. Then I go get it fixed?

Not to mention they're saying the want the car seats inspected, though the manuals for the car seats explicitly state to replace them after any accident.

Finally, medical - they'll cover what the policy covers, $1k medical payments. My wife is slightly worried as her shoulder is still hurting in the event she needs anything further.

Guess it's lawyer time.
 
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