Just in an car accident! Need advice quickly

[Movingon2010]

Hi all,

This morning a car rear ended me and knocked my car into another. The car I hit has very minimal damage but my car in the back is damaged pretty baddly. State trooper issued a citation to the driver that hit me and said it was her fault which makes her responsible for both my car and the lady in front of me. I went to the doc on my own after and have been diagnosed with whiplash and put out of work. I have no liability which is good but this car is included in my bankrupcty and I plan to surrender once im discharged....(should be the middle of october). I spoke to the insurance company on scene and they have started a claim for me. I have done every thing pro se but need to know how this can affect my bankruptcy. I was just assuming after discharge my car would go back to the bank. Now it seems it may take a bit of time just for the damage on my vehicle to be fixed. Do I call captial one and tell them or the trustee? What do I do???

Thanks everyone just want to be sure to go by the book on this.

[LadyInTheRed]

I'm sorry about the accident. I hope you recover quickly.

Your car will still go back to the bank. The responsible party's insurance company may pay the property damage claim to your lender. They also may send you a check payable to both you and the lender. If they send a check to you, either use it to repair the damage or be prepared to forward the money to the lender. If you want to continue to drive the car until it is repossessed, go ahead and get it fixed in which case you can probably get the insurance company to pay the body shop directly. Hopefully, your insurance company will deal with the other insurance company to make sure the property damange claim gets paid.

Be sure to consult a personal injury attorney to make sure you are adequatley compensated for your injuries. Whiplash can be even nastier than it seems at first. Because the accident occurred after your filing, your personal injury claim should not affect your BK.

ETA: Whatever you do, don't pay anything out of pocket to get the car fixed. You don't want to risk the insurance company sending a check to the lender after you get the car reapired. I was rear ended a few months ago. My insurance company was going to require me to pay a deductible to the body shop that they would then get the other insurance company to reimburse. That's when I decided to just deal with the other insurance company to have them pay the body shop directly. It wasn't a big deal, but I expected my insurance company to be more helpful than they were.

[Movingon2010]

Thank you lady in red. The lady who hit me has the SAME insurance company as I do! This can be a good thing or a bad thing, Im not sure. The whiplash has me out of work intially only a couple days but doc says if there is no improvement in 3 days she is going to send me to physical therapy. Im considering an attorney but I want what little I may get in the personal injury to go towards another car and not a legal bill so im still trying to get my ducks in a row here. State trooper says that the damage in the back doesnt look like more then 1500 in damage to him because its mostly my bumper, but parts of my hatch back is dented in too so who really knows. The front is just scratched a bit from hitting the other car but structurely fine.

Any other advice from anyone else?

[frogger]

My advice comes too late.

If you have the slightest doubt about your physical condition, always go for the ride in the ambulance. That's worth a good 25K more in the lawsuit.

[helpmeout]

When I had my accident last October, the person who rear-ended me had the same insurance I have. I insisted on filing the claim through the other person's policy as I would have had to come up with the deductible and then wait for them to get the money to me. It was less money out of my pocket initially. I was lucky in that by the time I had the accident (8 months after I filed for BK), I had positive equity in the car.

The medical portion had to go through my insurance. It may be different in your state.

[Exployer1234]

I hope you recover quickly. I got in a wreck years back and what was thought to be just a case of whiplash turned out to be a lot more. I ended up finding out I had dislocated my upper spine. This was not found out until a week after the accident. I would go ahead and make sure there is nothing else going on. They only cured me about 80%, but there is still a disc in my spine that is not properly aligned. i did make the other persons insurance pay for everything, including the 25K in medical expenses. Of course the case will not be settled with the other insurance company until after all of your medical is taking care of. Do not let the insurance company make you settle and close the case until after all your medical expenses are covered.

[LadyInTheRed]

Not only are you entitled to have your medical expenses paid and lost wages reimbursed, but you are also entitled to pain and suffering damages. An attorney can help get a settlement that may be higher than what you would get on your own - maybe enough higher to more than cover the attorney's fees. If you don't use an attorney and decide to negotiate with the insurance company yourself, do some research to find out what is standard for pain and suffering damages in your state. You deserve to be adequately compensated for your injuries.

[Miknan]

But only sue if your really hurt. Dont abuse it.

[LadyInTheRed]

But only sue if your really hurt. Dont abuse it.

Absolutely! Frivilous claims drive all of our insurance rates up.

It sounds like the OP was really hurt because the doctor took him/her out of work. The severity of back injuries due to car accidents tend to take some time to completely manifest themselves. So, nobody who is injured in an accident should settle an injury claim too quickly. But, be aware of the statute of limitations in your state.

[Movingon2010]

Thank you all for your advice it was much appreciated. And yes I was injured, which is why I decided to go on in and not wait. I will re access how I feel in a few days after things settle down.

[ValleYum]

Just make sure that anything you sign to pay for the property damage is just that.

Some insurers have an endorsement underneath where you sign the check and will sometimes try to get themselves our of any future claims once you sign it. Just read EVERYTHING every closely.

I was in a car accident 20+ years ago with a whiplash injury. They can come back to haunt you.

Good luck!!

[Movingon2010]

Thanks everyone for the advice, I woke up this morningn in a lot more pain then I was in yesterday,so much so that i went to ER thinking there must be soemthing else wrong. They said nope, its the whiplash and its worse days later. Please God dont let it get worse then this. My neck is stiff and im in a good deal of pain. He told me the meds I was given was not enough and put me on a narcotic pain med and told me to add tylenol to extend time between doses.

I will be contacting the insurance company today. Again I appreciate the advice and if you can think of any other advice I will certainly take it!

[sassiebaz]

Thanks everyone for the advice, I woke up this morningn in a lot more pain then I was in yesterday,so much so that i went to ER thinking there must be soemthing else wrong. They said nope, its the whiplash and its worse days later. Please God dont let it get worse then this. My neck is stiff and im in a good deal of pain. He told me the meds I was given was not enough and put me on a narcotic pain med and told me to add tylenol to extend time between doses.

I will be contacting the insurance company today. Again I appreciate the advice and if you can think of any other advice I will certainly take it!

I would be calling a personal injury attorney at this point!

[Movingon2010]

Im back just to update you all! I have really had a rough go of it, I was out of work for a week. Just returned to work today, still have a stiff neck. I left early from work because I just felt so bad and need to take my meds, but didnt want to drive after taking one. I did get me an attorney last week. I realized it was just in my best interest at this point. The insurance adjuster told me the damage was $6350.00. They gave me a rental car and said it would take 2 weeks to fix my vehicle. I have a follow up appt with my dr on thursday where we plan to talk about physical therapy. On a good note I finished my debtors education since being laid up, and filed it with the court today. Also today I got a report of no distribution on my case 341 was in late August and trustee wanted my lien info. I got it to her and was told by the the trustees office today I do not have to attend the next meeting which was slated for Oct 17. She said I should get a discharge in 4-6 weeks which is later then I expected but I am happy just the same. Im expecting Cap one to come get the car right after discharge so that will atleast give the ins time to fix it lol!

[ValleYum]

I can relate to your pain. I was in a car accident in 1992 and ruptured 2 discs in my cervical spine due to a 'flexion-extension' injury.

It was a painful injury and after a major surgery and almost 20 years I will still occasionally have problems with my neck.

I guess what I am saying is PLEASE make sure you are well before you sign off on a settlement with any insurance company. Try to look down the years and imagine what it may feel like adding in arthritis or about missing a week of work for years to come. I was hit by a college student and he had a 10k policy limit (he had 4 tickets, a DUI and 2 prior accidents) so I had to turn to my own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage for payment.

If you need or want more details about necks, surgery or insurance companies, feel free to PM me. Feel better!! {{{}}}