Got rear-ended by a flat bed truck today -- 5 months old, 8300 miles...
Was standing behind several other cars at a traffic light, the truck driver "got distracted" and didn't see us all stopped and slammed into me -- I saw him coming but had nowhere to go. Pushed me into the car in front of me, pushed that one into the one in front of it. Three cars damaged (plus the truck, whose bumber got rather bent too), the older lady in fron of me was taken to the hospital. Her Toyota Camry was quite damaged both in the rear and in the front. I am fine, my calf hurts little, probably from stepping on the brake pedal with all my might, and likewise my lower left arm muscle is sore, otherwise I am okay. The front of my 545 was scratched up and stuff, but not dented in at all -- but the rear looks horrible. The truck's high bumper cleared over the BWM's bumper right into the trunk, which is all smashed up. The gaps of the rear doors are closed from pushing everything forward, even the roof right above the windshield is bent a little from the impact. None of the windows broke (wow!), and the airbags did NOT deploy -- I was concerned about that at first, but the guy at the dealership's body shop said they dod not deploy for rear impact, and thinking about it it does make sense to me. BMW assist was on the phone within a minute or two and sent the ambulance and police, as well as the tow truck, which towed it to the body shop. Apart from being very upset about my dream car being so damaged, until I spoke to the guy at the body shop I was thinking perhaps the car is totalled and at least I'll get a new one -- the way this car looks now, I don't want it back anymore.

BUT, and this leads to my question: he said with such an expensive car ($70k+), the insurance will want to have the car repaired. We're looking at a minimum of 2 months until this is all "fixed" -- he sounded a little bit like he was looking forward to fixing it all because he just completed training on this model. I know the body shop is supposedly very good, but still, it won't be the same car to me anymore.

So the question is: what should I do? There is no question of the truck driver being at fault; the policeman said so, and I have a witness who later stopped by too. BUT, how do I go about getting what I should, without getting screwed by the other insurance company. Mine is very good and will "handle" dealing with the other comapny for me, but is that enough? Should I get an insurance lawyer? Ideally, I want a new car, same equipment etc. but probably MY2005, but what is the best advice you can give me? I don't want to be shorted as this was really an expensive car for which I had to (and have to) work very hard. And what about the loss in value if they rebuild it, given that it will have a major accident on its record?

I have not had a major accident like this before (knock on wood), so I would appreciate all the advice I can get. I am not eager to involve lawyers, etc., but I want back what I had this morning!

As soon as I can get to the car again, I will take some pictures of the damage.

 

Boy...I'm glad you're OK, mostly, considering the wallop you took. I'm not sure what to advise but I would say to proceed cautiously, contact these guys and see what they have to say. Good Luck. Keep us posted.

http://www.autoappraisal.com/

 

Glad to here your OK. Hope it gets sorted out quickly.

 

Tough, PeterF. Something I think about every now and then. I believe an insurance lawyer would be your best bet -- one that has a reputation as a horse trader. You will be hard pressed to get the insurance company to pay beyond the blue book retail, IMO. Punitive damages could make up for the rest of it, and BTW, hasn't your neck started bothering you?

 

sorry to hear your accident and glad to hear you are ok. different laws in different states. i think lawyer won't be able to do much about your case. but again, it all depends on your state. it's not hurt to give a few law firms some calls. most of the time lawyers involved is due to injury. you are probably having some minor injuries that you don't even know. it's better to check with you doctor and he/she will refer you to some specialists. i doubt you car will be totalled because it's rearended and airbags didn't come out. most of the insurance companies will get you a new one only if you car's repair bill over the car's value. keep in mine that repair bill and medical bills are two different things. insurance policy has two different limits to cover this two areas. i totally understand how you feel but the reality is always cruel :'(. i hope everything will be ok and a lawyer will help you solve this smoothly .

 

WOW, very sorry about what happened. Hope you get it all figured out tho.

 

Get to the Dr. as soon as possible. You may have injuries come up later.
You can settle the claim for the car but leave the medical open for up to a year (you usually have a year to sue). You should start a journal detailing everything that's happened and going to happen. Make sure you write down the date/name/title/telephone#/details of everyone you speak with. If someone is not helping you very much, stay calm and ask to speak with their supervisor.

You can always negotiate for your earlier settlement of the medical. I once negotiated a higher settlement because I told the adjuster that signing off "future potential damages" was worth something because I'm giving up my right to sue under the 1 year legal maximum. If anyone gives you a big hassle or doesn't treat you fairly (you can use the words "acting in bad faith") you can always threaten to get a lawyer. Say something like,"I want to get what's fair" because you had a brand new car in perfect condition.

Hope you get a new car. Sounds like the frame may be tweaked. If they repair it, you should negotiate a settlement of the reduction in value and for your time/trouble. Take the money and your repaired car as a trade in and buy a new one. You can call around and ask a couple of dealers what a repaired car would be worth? By the way, you can specify who you want to repair it. I would have it towed to my dealer and have them give the estimate.

Be sure to keep your paperwork organized and an easy access list of telephone numbers. This will help reduce the stress. Set up a special folder for the accident. Another one for the loaner car. My accident folders ended up being quite thick.

Good luck.

 

PeterF glad to hear you are okay I'm sorry about your new car

 

Sorry about Your car. It will never feel the same, not in Your mind. I agree with others go to Dr. because if You don't complain now it can be difficult later. "this type of symptoms should appear immediately..."

In Finland it's possible to get two to three years full value insurance. You can choose if you want totally new or repaired car. And this new car is going to be equivalent to the new similar car at that moment. So no upgrades!

Some people has tried to cheat insurance companys, but with not so good result.

Skaffa

 

Sorry to hear about you accident. I hope it gets fixed OK.

One of my sales staff crashed into a 3 day old WMB (3 series) recently. The poor guy. I would be devastated if that happened to me.