Ouch

[John in the Woods]

No way I can prove it, but that's my theory. She did admit fault and say she was in a hurry to go meet a friend, my guess is she was likely texting with said friend at the time.

You can prove it. The computers in the car log the time the accident happened. If you pursue legal action, or the police file charges, a court can order their phone records and everything done on that is time stamped. You’ve got a path here.

But first take care of yourself. That’s a heck of a shock. I got his in the same spot by a similar driver, but not quite as hard, and I felt that for months.

Here’s hoping the truck can be fixed, or this all end with you being behind the wheel of a new rig.

Sponsored

 

[Sandman 4x4]

I'm happy you are doing ok, sorry about the Gladiator. Having been hit my 2 drunks and had one drunk take out a power line that damaged my RV, non-had insurance. I'm of the belief now that it's time to layer up and suit the daylights out of uninsured motorists.

The only problem is they are losers who own nothing of value to be forced to sell and pay you off. Hopefully you have uninsured motorists coverage? That will help somewhat to make you whole again.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

No way I can prove it, but that's my theory. She did admit fault and say she was in a hurry to go meet a friend, my guess is she was likely texting with said friend at the time.

They can get a warrant in such cases. The kid that killed my father actually handed his phone to the deputy who was first on the scene and said "you can check".
Sadly, he also admitted that he had stayed up late the night before, had no sleep, and fell asleep at the wheel. (1 day jail while awaiting the case to come up, $250 fine)
But he was brutally honest - unlike most fools out there, so I'll give him that.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The only problem is they are losers who own nothing of value to be forced to sell and pay you off. Hopefully you have uninsured motorists coverage? That will help somewhat to make you whole again.

That was the case in the incident where Dad was killed. Immigrant family, renting a crappy house, cheap car (he was driving his father's car), and just basic minimum required insurance. We had to go through Dad's under-insured to get anything and even that, BARELY covered things. There was nothing for personal losses. The cost in time and money to sue and go after wages? What a joke. Years and years and then - some things are protected. He didn't make much money so there was really nothing to go after. They had nothing and in the future, would likely have nothing.

In this case, no one died, and hopefully - no long-term injuries, but man, watch out for that. One of my wife's sisters was hit by another driver. Seemed fine for a while, but later, ended up with neck and back pains that weren't present in the day or so after the accident. Such things can show up later - so best to not jump on any settlement, get checked over THOROUGHLY, and be thankful it was a vehicle and protected the occupants. Things can be replaced - health and life, not so much.

 

[Zachanadandy]

They don't have insurance because they can't afford it. Suing them just gets you another headache and legal fees.

It's the principle at that point. I don't care if they end up garnishing their wages for $20/week. For the rest of their life and the rest of mine we will get weekly reminders that actions have consequences. My uninsured motorist coverage will pay for the vehicle anyway.

 

[YGBSM]

So sorry to hear this!

 

[AustinKalb]

Headed into town earlier this week, only a couple miles on the interstate and cruise set at 72mph, when I suddenly caught a glimpse in the outside mirror of a silver car closing fast and veering towards me. Absolutely no time to react or even say anything and the truck got nailed in the left rear corner. The car spun around and its rear end hit the left side of the cab and bed shortly thereafter, then we both headed into the grass off the right side of the road and came to rest.

Thankfully injuries were only minor, but holy hell, can't anybody drive worth a damn anymore? Is it asking too much for folks to pay attention to where they're going as they hurtle down the road? Maybe even slow the hell down and not act like they're trying out for a role in some idiotic road race flick.

The truck held up pretty well considering the lady hit me hard enough to set off all her airbags and shove her right front passenger wheel back almost into her door. Best part is (surprise surprise) she had no insurance.

So now I take some Aleve and wait for word from the body shop whether the truck's going to get fixed or totaled. At last word there is some frame damage and cost estimate is already near 50% value.

Almost the same thing happened to me in college, outside Hartford, at 1am no other cars on the road. In my case she slid towards the guard rail and flipped over. Amazingly no injuries. She had been drinking.

 

[Y-Guy]

The only problem is they are losers who own nothing of value to be forced to sell and pay you off. Hopefully you have uninsured motorists coverage? That will help somewhat to make you whole again.

Always! My mom was in the insurance industry so I got a good education on it, she also encouraged me to go after small claims with the first turd.

 

[RoboticsRob]

Our Gladiator is a replacement for our Defender 110 which was totaled last year by a driver in much the same story. Admitted to the cop after that they were on their phone, also uninsured, and did not own the vehicle - in some crazy private party not-documented lease to own arrangement from the cars owner. Plus they tried to pay for auto insurance on the side of the road after so they could show proof of insurance to the cop, but that didn't fly, obviously.

Estimated to have hit our Defender going at least 60+, Defender was stopping at a stop sign on a 50 mph road. Their 3 series was wrapped around our tow hitch and suspension, only stopped their forward motion because their engine wedged itself into the road along with the rest of their car under our Land Rover.

Glad you're ok, as we were after a few bruised days, but no - no one can drive anymore, they're too distracted by their phone, the big ass screen in their car, or both simultaneously.

 

[MaximusTX]

I did end up going to the emergency room to get checked out. Nothing bad showed up in x-rays or CT scan, thankfully came out with just some soft tissue strain.

I was rear-ended by a school bus on the freeway 6 years ago and I am still dealing with issues from that. The issues don't always present themselves right away and I found the Dr don't always listen to you in the ER. I told them my arms were going numb and burning and they just said it was a stinger from the seatbelt and sent me home turns out I had a ruptured disc in my neck along with two minor tears in my ACL in each knee when they hit the dash and a torn SI joint and now have 3 rods in my hip, triple neck fusion and have to go in for a fourth neck fusion at the end of this month. If you do go to court or anything I would not settle or agree to anything right away. Just my 2 cents from past experience.

 

[AustinKalb]

Our Gladiator is a replacement for our Defender 110 which was totaled last year by a driver in much the same story. Admitted to the cop after that they were on their phone, also uninsured, and did not own the vehicle - in some crazy private party not-documented lease to own arrangement from the cars owner. Plus they tried to pay for auto insurance on the side of the road after so they could show proof of insurance to the cop, but that didn't fly, obviously.

Estimated to have hit our Defender going at least 60+, Defender was stopping at a stop sign on a 50 mph road. Their 3 series was wrapped around our tow hitch and suspension, only stopped their forward motion because their engine wedged itself into the road along with the rest of their car under our Land Rover.

Glad you're ok, as we were after a few bruised days, but no - no one can drive anymore, they're too distracted by their phone, the big ass screen in their car, or both simultaneously.

I only look at my phone while stopped at a traffic light, maybe a stop sign, or when the road is empty and the car is in self-drive (not a jeep). Until now.

I just got a ticket in Stewart BC for touching the phone more than once. In a town of 500. Extended stop at a stop sign. Off the main drag.

Anyways a 365$ ticket will “slow me down” so to speak at least until the pain wears off.

 

[Splenda]

Is that a Nissan Altima that hit you?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Glad you're ok, as we were after a few bruised days, but no - no one can drive anymore, they're too distracted by their phone, the big ass screen in their car, or both simultaneously.

I laughed when states - like Iowa did recently - pass the "hands free" laws regarding phones.
It's NOT the touching or holding of the phone, it's the act of using it - the conversation, etc.
that's been proven by university studies, and even MythBusters had a huge thing on it.
Hands-free laws do nothing at all for anyone, but perhaps discourage using the phone, maybe, perhaps. But just the act of receiving or making a call, that's the real issue. But the knee-jerk reactions of lawmakers, they just don't get it and neither do the auto makers - putting more and more in your face where you need to divert attention to manage whatever it is.

Dr don't always listen to you in the ER.

Don't even get me going there............ they'd have let me die in the hallway or sent me home to die if not for my wife INSISTING someone ELSE come in and check other things. By the time that someone else got there and checked what no one else had bothered checking even though the symptoms pointed to it - it was emergency surgery.
My wife's sister was in an accident where the ass blew through town (25 mph limit) at at least 50, through a red light and flipped her Blazer. Her left arm went out the window, under the side of the Blazer and the slide across the pavement of several yards ripped flesh off all but down to the bone.
She laid in ER for about 12 hours........... in the hallway. Kids with sniffles were seen first.
I went to urgent care for a huge swelling in my face -painful, and concerning the doctor there, he wrote an order for me to go to ER right away, ASAP, and the order said they were to give me some sort of injection - ASAP. Two hours later, a nurse came in with the injection.
They left my wife sitting in so much pain she was in tears, with a BP of about 200 over 120. I took her in at 1pm, we finally left at 9:30 pm. It was hours before they even got her in to check her BP and give her anything for the pain. I talked to one of the aids about being busy that day and he said yes, they were really running that day. When I suggested to a doctor maybe they were a bit busy, he got pissed, he even threatened to leave the room.

I do not trust any ER in our state - one of them is being sued as a patient DIED while waiting to be seen.

In my case with the gangrenous gallbladder - it took a 6th opinion while I was laying there, fentanyl doing nothing for the pain, to get anything done. Several trips to urgent care and an ambulance ride to the ER.......... LOL, what a joke.

Absolutely, see multiple doctors - make bloody well sure they leave no stone unturned. Accident results can be tough to detect and they don't really get paid well for that sort of thing vs. a fast 5 minute "I have a cold" covered by insurance thing.

 

[Deleted member 57233]

It's the principle at that point. I don't care if they end up garnishing their wages for $20/week. For the rest of their life and the rest of mine we will get weekly reminders that actions have consequences. My uninsured motorist coverage will pay for the vehicle anyway.

I'm not even going to reply to an email for $20 a week, let alone pay my lawyer and waste my time with court nonsense lol

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'm not even going to reply to an email for $20 a week, let alone pay my lawyer and waste my time with court nonsense lol

By the time we'd have spent in court, trips to the court, driving back and forth, fussing with attorneys, YEARS later, we might have gotten 20 bucks a week. But - at what cost to us?
We were given examples of the length of time such cases take - it's not days, weeks, or even months. It's often longer. Our attorney loves money, of course, but explained it would have cost us a lot up front to deal with it, and then to be dragging out the pain over months and years instead of being done with it.
I'm usually a "just for the principal of it" sort of guy - but in this case, it was a lose-lose thing.
And the way wages are attached, no, it wouldn't have been any weekly reminder to anyone (but us, maybe). To him, just another bill, and people don't miss the money they don't receive, so the check is 20 bucks lower - so what. It's not like he gets a Klingon pain stick applied with every check. He'd forget about it soon enough.
There's also the jury or judgement thing these days........... amazing how many people walk away, literally, because they are also seen as a hardship case.
Naw, not worth it.

Sponsored