Had Accident, Need Advice??
 

Had accident last night. I was going Nortbound and car was going Southbound on a two lane road. He turned to his left in front of me, I hit him in the right rear fender area.

When State Trooper arrived, he asked me what happened and I told him, and had two witnesses that explained the exact same thing.

He went and talked to the other party involved and came back after talking to 2 witnesses and the other party and told me I did nothing wrong and that other party admitted fault to him, and that his insurance would be paying for my repairs. (Super Nice State Trooper)

Took out my right Steer Tire, bumper, hood, . Man was I surprised at how well the W900L held up.

My questions are this:

1. My insurance claims adjuster is gonna call me this morning, what questions should I ask?

2. Should I let my insurance co handle this and let them go after his ins co, or what?

3. Will I be able to collect for lost time? (I asked the State Trooper this, and he told me off the record that if his Ins Co did not want to pay for lost time, to get a lawyer, becuase it was clearly his fault and 2 witnesses and the driver himself all told the same story).

4. The Wrecker Driver told me that since I had one steer tire blow out (when the bumper got bent back from the impact) that I could request that I get two new steer tires since it would make a mismatch on the

5. Any questions and advice would be greatly appreciated due to the fact I have not had an accident in a Truck and want to be sure I cover all my bases.

Hi Papa Rick Sorry to hear about your problem.

I to had a accident this spring, car pulled out in front of me and put it's blinker on. I got stopped but the semi behind me didn't and rear ended me taking out the back of my trailer. The guy that pulled out in front of me got a ticket, the guy that hit me got a ticket. I limped home with a disabled trailer and a sore neck.

Well anyway. The biggest problem I had was my deductable. I live in Michigan which is a no fault state. My insurance had to pay my repair bills. My deductable is $2,500. I was lucky, I had purchaced a broad form collision policy which means if you are 49% or less at fault you don't have to pay your deductable. But my insurance company did. I asked if they were going to go after the other parties insurance companies and they said they would have more in lawyer fees than it will be to pay for my trailer repair ($4,480). All in all it worked out after me and the adjuster got on the same page. All it cost me was after I got the trailer home I noticed they put one wrong light in the back (not the same amount of led's as the rest) $50.00
They even paid me to take the trailer to the repair shop and pick it up.

Make sure you and your adjuster agree on the deductable.

Pay the $4.00 and go get your own accident report from the State police

When things get going with the repair shop get the list of things that they are buying for your truck and make sure everthing that was damaged is on the parts list, every bracket, Stainless bolt, lug nut cover. etc. etc

I agree about the steer tires

Is the wheel damaged on the impact side?

My insurace agent started to get me to do some of the phone calls and leg work and I stopped that. I told them that is what I pay you for.

I did find the repair shop that I wanted to fix it. I did have to hang up on the adjuster once.

I hope your not in a no fault state.

Good luck I know it sucks especially when it is not your fault.

Mike

Re: Had Accident, Need Advice??
 

Will this affect my rate? It really should not but best to hear it from the horses mouth

Depends on the answer to number 1. If it will not affect your rate, absolutely let them do the heavy lifting. I had a tractor hit me while parked a few months ago, did a bit over 4k worth of damage. I went straight to the other guys insurance. I got an estimate, they sent out there own adjuster who quoted less and that is what they wrote the check on. I had to fight long and hard and hire an attorney to get my full settlement. Insurance company to insurance company they might not jerk you around so much.

Yes, I got a nice check for lost time but be prepared to prove it. And not just your revenue. You will be asked to provide revenue and all deductions such as fuel etc. It is not like hitting the lottery but it is better than nothing.

I got them to replace both air cleaner elements as one was damaged. But thats alot cheaper than two tires.

Be prepared, adjusters job is to not give you money. Don't be afraid to involve an attorney. It is not a personal thing against the other driver, it is against the giant insurance companies that freely take all our money and don't like to give it back when due.

You are entitled to receive money for lost income while your truck in in the shop. You may opt to have them rent a truck for you in lieu of lost income pay. It can take several weeks for the repair shop to get the parts and complete all the body work. Don't sign a release until all repairs are done to your satisfaction. I have had two people take out my hood. The first insurance company was pretty easy to work with. The second wasn't so easy. It took several months to settle my claim. They didn't balk at the repair costs, but did with the lost income. The insurance company will likely want to see some figures on how much income you are losing unless you agree for them to rent you a truck.

1.My insurance claims adjuster is gonna call me this morning, what questions should I ask?

What kind of parts are going to be used.They are going to try and put lkq on you truck,especially the suspension.Don't use them.If you go through your insurance company,you might not have choice because it is in your policy,if you go through there insurance,you have more power.Lkq part for the bumper,fender are ok.

You can try and ask for the other tire but don't get your hopes up.The insurance company is only liable for the damaged parts.


2. Should I let my insurance co handle this and let them go after his ins co, or what?

Again,you have more power as a claimant then an insured as you are bound to your policy.I do not know about the laws in your state,but in Texas,if you are a claimant,you can get diminished value for your truck.If going through your insurance, you cannot.

3. Will I be able to collect for lost time? (I asked the State Trooper this, and he told me off the record that if his Ins Co did not want to pay for lost time, to get a lawyer, becuase it was clearly his fault and 2 witnesses and the driver himself all told the same story).

Yes,most definately.Oh...just because this guy stated to the cop that it was his fault,the story will change when he tells his insurance company what happened.Unless the cop noted that somewhere on the report,your lost.Once there are two different stories ,there is automatically an investigation.They will then find you somewhat at fault(90-10 80-20).
To the insurance company,You are always responsible for control of your vehicle.(even though the idiot pulled out right in front of you and there is no way your going to be able to stop in time,the insurance company will not care)


4. The Wrecker Driver told me that since I had one steer tire blow out (when the bumper got bent back from the impact) that I could request that I get two new steer tires since it would make a mismatch on the

answered above

Plain and simple ,be nice to the other companies insurance adjuster,at first.If the guy starts giving you a hard time,speak to his supe.
Most insurance adjusters want to give you a fair shake on the claim,but if you get one of those "super adjusters",you are going to run into a problem.Basically,if the guy or gal is under 30,you might be screwed.

If he wants to put lkq suspension,absolutely not as you have a truck that weighs 80,000 lbs and you do not need a wheel flying of(I have seen this happen many times)

A lawyer is the last resort.Once you get an attny,the walls go up and it is a pain in the a** to get anything done.

Tell you what,my email address is [email protected] you have any questions during the process,email me.

By the way,if you could not tell :lol: I am a claims adjuster.Been one for 11yrs.


Good Luck,I hope everything goes well.It is a nasty business :wink:

Things working out GREAT so far!!! Sorry for not getting back to anyone yesterday, but was busy trying to get everything done. Here is how it is going:

Talked to my Insurance Progressive, given a claim # and told an adjuster would call me?? Still waiting on this to happen.

Called Nationwide and told them what happened and who the other party was and asked if they were in fact insured, (As some people will only pay 3 months premium to get the card for proof and then cancel).

Was told they could not tell me due to privacy, but gave me a claim number, claim adjuster name and number and would receive a call within 4 hours. This did not happen, so I called her.

Very nice Lady who was very helpful and wanted to know if I was prepared to give a statement, and I said yes is you are willing to tell me if the person does in fact have insurance with your company.

She told me yes, so I gave a recorded statement about how it happened, where etc...., and then she asked me if I was hurt, to which I replied no just very sore in my back shoulder and neck.

She said she could send me a check for $150.00 right away and I asked her for what and she replied for pain and suffering, but that I would need to sign a medical waiver after that.

I told her she must have mistaken what I said because I was not trying to shake them down, just stating my back, shoulder and neck was sore and only stated this when I was asked.

She told me that if she could get in touch with their client and get a statement and he admitted fault that they could get the ball rolling.

Called me back in 30 minutes and told me that they would accept liability for the accident and assigned me a claims adjuster for Hamilton County TN (Truck is at the KW Dealership in Chattanooga TN)

I asked her if their client admitteed fault, and she told me yes that he stated he had just got off work and was tired and did not see me, and turned in front of me. (Not as I would be behind hiim, but in meeting him coming the opposite way and turned in front of me)

I asked her if they had their own Big Truck Adjuster and she said no, this would be a Speciality Claims Adjuster assigned to the case.


Still have more questions, hope for some advice and help:

1. How do I go about getting a police report for my personal records.

2. One thing I do is keep records of everything for the Truck. I avg for the past 6 weeks and it came out to $745.00 per day income. ( This is on a 5 Day work week as I do not work on Sat and Sun. I have no problem proving this as I keep a daily log, and settlement sheet. Question is: should I avg out my fuel purchase for this as well, or do it week per week to get my income loss?

3. Not trying to take anyone to the cleaners, but should I request that the suspension parts (kingpin, Tie Rods, be replaced or is this according to the body shop?

4. How long does it take for financial compensation to be paid to you?

5. If this pain persist in my Back, Shoulder, and neck, what is the proper way to handle this?

6. I did not hear from their claims adjuster so I called him Friday afternoon and left him a msg, but have not got call back, should I call him anymore or leave the ball in his court.

Sorry for the long post, but as stated never had this happen. I appreciate all the advice.

I am not looking at shaking the Insurance Co down, but also don't want it to happen to me either.

What does lkg suspension parts stand for?

You don't want to sign anything until repairs have been made to your truck. An estimate is just that, an estimate. It isn't uncommon for body shops (just like garages), will find something else that needs to be repaired and could result in a higher cost. Once repairs have been made to your satisfaction, you can call the claims adjuster and give them the final figure. The body shop may handle this for you. They can overnight a check to the body shop. Sometimes they will send a check to you but it usually has the name of the body shop and the individual who property was damaged.

You can get a police report from the jurisdiction where the accident occurred. It usually takes a few days after the accident before you can get a copy. I would contact local law enforcement in the county where this happened. They can direct you to where you need to go. In Hamilton county, TN, you can get a copy by going by the Police Services Center on Amnicola Hwy.

As far as compensating you for lost income, they will want to see net income after expenses. For instance, if you had gross income of 700 and fuel costs of $300, then your lost income would be $400/day. I don't think you will need to deduct your payments from the gross amount. You won't know how many days you will be out of work until the body shop completes repairs on your truck. I would not accept any money or sign anything prior to the truck repairs being completed. The body shop may tell you that the truck will be down for a week. In reality, it might take 2 weeks or longer, depending on parts availability. I have dealt with MHC Kenworth in Chattanooga. I have yet to pay them the amount of the original estimate. Somehow, it always seems to take longer. Funny how that works. Once repairs have been made you can call them with the number of days you have been down. They should be able to overnight you a check. They may just mail it. That is a point of negotiation.

If you are still having pain in your back, shoulder and neck, you may want to get it checked. You don't want to wait too long if the pain persists. The longer you take to go to the doctor the more difficult it will become to receive some sort of compensation for the problem. It is probably just a strained muscle, but it would not hurt to get it checked out if it concerns you.

Your insurance company should not have to pay anything out. His should take care of everything. Good luck.

Well Papa ,with the other party taking fault,you should have no problems from here on out.Natiowide is a good company,honest and fair,they should not nickle and dime you.

As far as the 150 for medical,don't take it yet.You really don't know if you are injured or not yet.Let a month go by and see how you feel.They want you to sign off because they will not be liable for anything that comes up in the future.If in a month you still have pain ,go see a doctor.Get some x-rays done.I always tell my customers this.I have seen people take the money and then a month later call back and state that they have back pain but it is to late.

Your claims adjuster didn't call you back because he probably has a huge territory to cover.I try to call my customers as soon as i get an assignment to give them a heads up on when I will see there vehicle.He is just probably busy and will call you on Monday.If not ,just call him everyday,the squeeky wheel always gets oiled first :D.Be nice and polite,I would however mention that everyday you truck sits is costing him money and you would like to get back on the road as soon as possible as you do not want the insurance company to have to pay that much.He will appreciate the thought.(I would anyway)

You can get a copy of the police report from the reporting police dept.They might charge you a small fee.

The adjuster will go to the shop and go over you truck with them.They will then issue payment to them.You can get the check made out to yourself if you own the truck and have the title in your name but it is easier to just let them give it to the shop.

As far as compensation of lost wages,call Progressive and ask them what they would want you to do if they were handling your claim.It would be cheaper for them to rent a truck then for you to just sit.With a rental,you would be doing your normal work routine.That would definatley tell you if you do have serious injuries or not.

LKQ stand for "like,kind and quality". USED! If they want you to put a lkq bumper or hood on your truck,thats ok.The shop has to prep it the same way the would a new one and the fit will be ok as it is from another truck.Suspension is totally different,they are going to take a suspension part from another truck that was already involved in an accident.They don't xray these things to see if anything is cracked or damaged,they just give it a once over visually.Thats a big safety issue in my book.I get in trouble all the time for not using lkq suspension.I could care less :wink:
The safety of my customers always comes first.

Good luck again.

But also do a search with the truck licence # to get a vin then put a lean on the truck, whether it is his or a company, that way you will get your money if it is ever tried to be sold, or totaled cuz of an accident (Insurance has to pay off leines before anyone else) Been there, done that :D

Since his insurance company is accepting responsibility for the accident, my insurance will, or should not go up should it?

Also if anyone can think of any thing I need ao add to the list of questions to ask the adjuster, please let me know.

I am getting ready to go to MHC in Chattanooga to see my Truck and get with the Body Shop Foreman and see what damage he believes I have. I figured this way I wouldn't be finding out the same time as the adjuster.

Will I be able to get money back to me for the gas that I spend going back and forth for this?

One other question: when this accident happened I called my friend who came and got my loaded trailer and delivered it and took trailer back to the yard. How does this work? Can I get money to pay him for his fuel and time?

I doubt if you will be able to recover the cost of gas to check on your truck, but you may be able to get reimbursed for the expense for your friend coming and delivering your load.

You should not be talking to the other insurance company at all. Not at all. Not on the phone or in person!!!! Only Progressive.

Papa Rick,

I'm not in O/O but was in an accident last November. I can tell you this, you need to get yourself checked out. I thought I was fine until the doctors had me doing CAT and MRI scans. They found that I had a couple bulging discs in the neck that were pushing on my nerves that created pain in the neck and shoulder. For a little while it would shoot down to my hand. I had to have 2 Epidural injections stuck into my neck at the bulging disc location. I'm finally 99.9% better and can finally get back to work after 6 months.

I'm assuming that the insurance company requires you to have sometype of medical rider on your truck, if not.... the other drivers insurance should help since it's his fault..... ...use his insurance for everything and don't sign anything!

You might have said, but what type of car was he in?

As far as replacement of parts... I would think it backwards from point of damage and see what happen to your drive line when the impact occured? I would also look at the king pin, the brake cans, drive shaft seals anything that could have been knocked around. Airbags for cab/trailer?? straps for the fuel tanks. Look at the door, is it misaligned? does it squeak now?

good luck!

What a mess!! I have had one heck of a time getting something done. I started leaving msgs for their so called special claims adjuster that deals with semi trucks, on Fri, Mon, Tue, and yesterday. Never did get a return call so I called and asked to speak to his supervisor.

He told me that they do not even deal with semi trucks and they are based in Ohio. He assured me that he would find out who I needed to speak with and call me right back.

2 hours go by and I call Nationwide back and seek to find out who my claims rep will be, and they patch me back to the guy who was gonna call me right back. He told me he was working on it and would call me right back.

I started laughing and told him I did not believe him and was not expecting any callback from him, but he assured me he would.

2 more hours go by, I call Nationwide again and finally get a name and number of someone who is in Knoxville TN. Call that number and can not get anyone except voicemail. By this time I have had enough and leave a msg with claim number, name, date of accident and call back numbers.

Almost forgot, also left on the msg that their return call would be recorded for the pending court case that would be coming.

Called their supervisor and left the same msg with them.

WOW WHAT A DIFFERENCE that made. Got a call back from the adjuster in Knoxville telling me he would be right on it and also from the supervisor of the Knoxville office who is in Memphis.

Will wait and see how this goes.

As for using my insurance Progressive, I spoke with rep and claims adjuster and both told me if he is 100% at fault then my rates should not go up.

I asked if I should go through them, and they said they would be glad to do this, but that I would have to go to court to get my deductible and lost time wages back.

So I will wait and see how it goes today, and keep posting the info.

I appreciate the advice everyone has given.

Things finally seem to be going in the right direction. Spoke with the claims adjuster and he told me he had wrote a check to the dealership and they were ordering parts.

I asked him if there were any problems with what the body shop had wrote up and he said no. I went up there Monday to the kw place and went over everything with the kw people and made sure we were on the same page.

Only thing now is finding out who I will talk to about my lost wages. The claims adjuster that is doing the truck part does not handle the lost wages part, but promised he would find out and return me a call with name and number either this afternoon or Monday.

I know they will not just bend over and hand to me without some proof, of which I have plenty of, but it should go better for me considering they did nothing for 1 week.

Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Time for round 4 or 5. My Truck is almost finished, the adjuster said he has no problem paying for the truck, but that they are not sure about my lost income.

They requested I send them info on this, and I did 18 Pages in all, from my settlement sheet, bank deposit slips that match the amount I was paid each week, my daily, weekly and monthly trip report.

A profit and loss statement for the month of June.

I faxed this to them on Tue and within 45 minutes of sending this to them the claims adjuster called me and told me that I would need to get a rental truck and they could not pay me for lost wages after that day.

I told him that there was no one that would rent a truck to a log hauler, and he told me that I would have to call around and get names, numbers of different companies I called and was turned down.

That was on Tuesday, called him back with the info and gave it to him. I then called his supervisor and left a msg for him to call me back.

He called back on Wed morning and told me that He had checked into this and found out that indeed I could not get a rental and that getting the lost wages was not a problem, that he would need to see the paperwork.

Then today, I have to call the claims adjuster to see what is going on and he wanted to know if I had a signed contract with the people I haul through, and I told them no that you just haul and no signed contract.

Then I was told that this is all new to them and that their accountant was trying to decide what to do??????????

I told the claims adjuster that I had payments to be made and that I did not need them to be messing around and trying to cheat me out of my money.

He told me that maybe he would hear something tommorow, but not to count on it.

I need advice on what I should do now.?????????????

Pay you friendly local lawyer to place the next call, you may be surprised how things change. Remember it's their job to give you as little as they can get you to accept.
Why should you lose anything because of their client caused you damage.
Next time they want me to rent a truck I want one with everything mine has and someone to move all my equipment in and out.

Thanks Heavy Duty, thought about that, but trying to avoid this if possible. The guy that hit me only had $ 25,000.00 in property damage and right now the truck is at $16,000.00, but I may have to do this as it looks as if they are wanting to try and steal my lost wages from me.

I can understand they have a job to do, but stealing is just wrong.

WOW just got off the phone with the supervisor to the claims adjuster and he starting telling me that I will need at least one year, maybe 2 years tax returns, a report for the maintenance expenses for the past year.

This is turning out to be one big pain and problem. It is really a shame how people treat you now.

Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Call your Atty and then let him call the Insurance Adjustor. Watch how fast they move to pay you then. He may only have 25K in property damage however your lost wages are covered by his Liability insurance. That should be higher than that.

When he was telling me what the accountant would be asking for, he asked me if I had copies of tax return for 1 maybe 2 years as if maybe I was either lying to him or didn't keep any records.

What is bad about all of this, is the amount I am asking for per week: $2100.00 and so far it will be two weeks which amounts to $4200.00

He told me that they would have to take all of my Truck and Trailer expense and any payments they deem as necessary.

He then asked me if I had all of this for a year that I could fax it to them now and save some time, but that it would take several days for this to ever happen.

I told him I had all of this, but was not sure if I would fax it or see him in court.

He said whatever I wanted to do would be fine with him.

I have not been smart with them, or tried to steal from them, but they act as if I am a jerk and lying about everything. I am really disappointed in how this is turning out.

They are jacking you around, get help, they know your truck makes money they hope to make you give up and take a small amount.

Had a friend get hit by a Werner truck once and when he summited his downtime claim they said he couldn't make that much. His response was"I don't work for Werner" with a little help he got his money.

They want you broke and desperate, you should push to get the truck on the road first, then keep fighting for down time.

They called me this afternoon and requested last years Tax Return, all expenses to include fuel, insurance, tags, permits, maintenance for the past year.

Or since I could not get a rental truck they would settle for $150.00 per day with no documentation, since this is what it would have cost for a rental truck including mileage.

I told the claims adjuster to tell his people that I would settle for $350.00 per day for 11 days and sign the waiver. And that I still had to pay my insurance, tags, permits if the Truck is running or not, and that this was not right to request this.

And for me to give up my tax return would be against the privacy act, since it had my ssan as well as my wife’s since we filed together.

He told me he would get with his supervisor and the accountant Monday and let me know.

Advice or suggestions needed here. Thanks

Just give them a straight up price.

If you could have obtained a rental you would have made more than $150 a day.

Does anyone know where or how one would go to find a lawyer that would handle this? The claims adjuster is in Tennesse, but the accident happened in Alabama.

They called me back today and stated that unless I was willing to turn over last years tax return, and all my expenses that the original offer was all that they would offer.

I may be wrong, but I don't feel that they have any right to look at any of my tax returns, as they will use this to try and derate the figures.

Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.