Please Help! My first accident!!!

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Unfortunately in a no fault state you have to have your own collision coverage or you get the big hose for an accident that someone else caused. A hard lesson, but get collision coverage.
 
Originally Posted by Pelican
On no Fault (at least in Ontario) your insurance will pay for your repair and then go after the guilty party's insurance to recover or if uninsured sue him in court. You may have to pay the deductible only.

That's only if he had Collision coverage, which it sounds like he doesn't.
 
Originally Posted by Silverado12
A hard lesson, but get collision coverage.
For a 20-year-old car with 200K+ miles that's not worth much, getting collision coverage is a tough sell.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Silverado12
A hard lesson, but get collision coverage.
For a 20-year-old car with 200K+ miles that's not worth much, getting collision coverage is a tough sell.


Yep. The cost of collision would outweigh the value of the car.
 
Originally Posted by Pelican
He may have turned left, but YOU ran into him (going by the photo).
Now you have to prove that it was his fault.
On no Fault (at least in Ontario) your insurance will pay for your repair and then go after the guilty party's insurance to recover or if uninsured sue him in court. You may have to pay the deductible only.


No way. Left turners do not have the right of way on oncoming traffic. A witness confirmed it. He clearly just drove right into my path.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Silverado12
A hard lesson, but get collision coverage.
For a 20-year-old car with 200K+ miles that's not worth much, getting collision coverage is a tough sell.



That was my reasoning. I just didn't expect a crash so early in my ownership of the car. I really liked the rust-free body of that Solara - it's from Florida. I think repairing it is too daunting. I think I will just have to buy another beater. Sucks. I am beginning motorcycle class tomorrow. Don't know how I feel about it now lol.

Maybe I can salvage some parts off of it. The engine and transmission worked just fine.
 
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Wait a second.

In most states, no fault insurance is in reference to medial, not vehicles. A driver at fault will not have to cover your medical expenses.

However, a driver at fault will be responsible for another's damaged vehicle.
 
May be time for a small claims suit. That's awesome you have witnesses. Did you get your witnesses' information? Have them sign a notarized affidavit.

In Texas you have to have full coverage to have collision.
 
Originally Posted by Cujet
Wait a second. In most states, no fault insurance is in reference to medial, not vehicles. A driver at fault will not have to cover your medical expenses.

However, a driver at fault will be responsible for another's damaged vehicle.


Not in Michigan ... madRiver posted a link to their no fault law.

"Michigan law requires you to have no-fault automobile insurance on your car. If you have an accident, this required insurance pays for injuries to people and for damages your car does to other people's property and to properly parked cars. IT DOES NOT PAY FOR ANY OTHER DAMAGE TO CARS. You must buy collision coverage if you want coverage for damage to your car in case of accident. The other driver's insurance will not pay for damage to your car."
 
Sorry that happened, I had a somewhat similar experience earlier this year. I had a mobile home park employee damage my car by backing into it, I needed 2 estimates for the park insurance carrier. The damage was about 1600.00 on a car worth 1000.00 at most (1994 Camry no collision ins.) they paid me the lowest body shop estimate amount and I kept it towards a replacement car down the road. If it would have happened out on a public street I would have only received 1000.00 from the mini-tort law. It's just the chance we take driving an older car in this state without collision coverage. Even with collision coverage you would be overpaying for coverage on a car with minimal value to the insurance world.
 
Originally Posted by Kurtatron
I just didn't expect a crash so early in my ownership of the car.

Sadly, life hands us unplanned disasters no matter how well one lives. I chuckle a bit when people shout they are going to keep their next new car forever. They forget about the deer, the drunks, the distracted that have other plans for your car.

On another note, after my wife's experience, I recommend ALWAYS visiting a doctor immediately after an accident, even with minor injuries. Get it on record that you have some aches, pains, bruises, discomfort. Problems can develop months later and you want to establish a paper trail to cover yourself.

I also chuckle at one of the links above mentioning the requirement of insurance in Michigan in order to get license plates. We have one of the highest rates of uninsured motorists in the country - above 21% I believe. Make sure you pay a few extra dollars to get enough uninsured driver coverage.
 
Originally Posted by newtoncd8
Originally Posted by Cujet
Wait a second. In most states, no fault insurance is in reference to medial, not vehicles. A driver at fault will not have to cover your medical expenses.

However, a driver at fault will be responsible for another's damaged vehicle.


Not in Michigan ... madRiver posted a link to their no fault law.

"Michigan law requires you to have no-fault automobile insurance on your car. If you have an accident, this required insurance pays for injuries to people and for damages your car does to other people's property and to properly parked cars. IT DOES NOT PAY FOR ANY OTHER DAMAGE TO CARS. You must buy collision coverage if you want coverage for damage to your car in case of accident. The other driver's insurance will not pay for damage to your car."


His no fault insurance coverage does not pay for damage to his car, I get that. But his LIABILITY should.
 
Originally Posted by walterjay
I would talk to an attorney.


An attorney more than likely won't touch a property damage case unless he will be able to collect a min of $10,000.
 
Originally Posted by Cujet
His no fault insurance coverage does not pay for damage to his car, I get that. But his LIABILITY should.

Look again at the table on page 4 of the document that was linked to eariler:
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/cis_ofis_ip202_25083_7.pdf

The only thing the 'liability' pays for is for injuries to people and for damages his car does to other people's property and to properly parked cars.

In Michigan, if you want insurance to pay for damage to your car, you need to have collision coverage.
 
Originally Posted by mattd
With airbags deployed it's going to be expensive with that alone. Both bags, RCM, clockspring and crash sensors plus any wiring that's was damaged will easily exceed 1500-2000$ in just air bag parts.


Only if there are none in the junkyard. Having said that, in this vehicle that is likely to be the case.

The can is only worth around $1000 anyway, so the check you got should be fine.
 
Originally Posted by Kurtatron
I don't know where else to turn. I need some advice. The accident was absolutely not my fault. Just going straight in city roads. Other driver decides to turn left right into me! I couldn't believe it!!! My airbags went off. I got bruised and bled, but I feel ok. My car was a 1999 Toyota Solara. Police showed up, made a report, a witness verified that the incident was not my fault.

So I am in Michigan, a no fault state. I don't get any reimbursement. My insurance company said I can get reimbursed $1,000 max since I was not at fault, at the other driver's expense. I am going to pursue that, called a tort(?) claim.

But what do I do financially? Really guys, I don't have a ton of money. This state is totally screwing me with this no fault bullpoop. The car still runs and moves. Should I repair it? It has 213k miles on it. But that looks like extensive damage. Should I sell it for parts and get a replacement? I put so much money into this car!!! I put like 3 grand worth of parts into it!!!! I am soooooo disappointed. This car could have lasted me another 50k miles easily!!!! And it had no rust as a Michigan car!!!!

How hard is it to replace airbags? Uhg.


Only good news is my health, and that I have a camper van I can drive until I figure out a solution. What do you guys think I should do?

I only have minimum liability, no collision coverage.


Step #1, After making the scene safe, wait for LE and file report (you did this, good!)
Step #2, Always go directly to the hospital, especially if air-bags deploy. You may feel fine, and NOT be fine. Further, this plays into legality later.
Step #3, Always notify your insurance company (you did this, good!)
Step #4, Hire an attorney. You now have medical bills (Step #2), you have suffered loss of property, and you have had "pain and suffering". You may also have lost wages due to time away from work, rental expenses, and other things.


I used to just shrug it off and be a good guy and get my car fixed, and move on.


Then I met "Direct General Insurance". Their client hit my 370Z one day, and messed up my back (minor, but still hurt and needed chiropractic for a bit). I called my insurance, theirs, etc., filed PD report on site, all things. I did end up going to the hospital 2 days later. Anyway, I was just going to eat the hospital bill, and wanted them to pay me $1000 for chiropractic and to "just fix my car with OEM parts at a good body shop that I have chosen per my dealer's recommendation".

Pretty darn easy going!

Anyway, they ILLEGALLY authorized the [censored] shop that my car was initially towed to, to fix it, which I found them in the middle of dismantling it 3 days after the incident when I called the shop I had chosen to fix it, and they said it wasn't there. They told me it was a $4500 estimate. At this point, I lost my [censored], called my attorney, and told him to paint the earth red, salt it, and end their lineage. He did.

What ended up happening?

The at-fault's insurance paid: $13,XXX to fix my car properly, $8000 in pain and suffering + $2600 in medical bills, and $4000 diminution of value to my car on top of repairing it + $1000+ in rental (I had a Kia Optimal for over a month).

This is why I recommend just getting an attorney if you do not IMMEDIATELY get satisfaction when you contact the insurance agency of the at-fault. If they don't treat you fair immediately, they never will, and you're going to have to show them who's packing more heat.
 
Sounds like you will be looking for a new car.
I know this can be be rough...
In the big scheme of things, this is just a bump in the road.

Go get another car. There are lots of them around.
Heck, in CA we have liability requirements, but lotsa drives do not carry any insurance.
My friend lost her beloved CR-V to a drunk driver; she got a little from her own uninsured motorist policy.
She bought it new, faithfully made all her payments, and then ...

If you have some credit, you can lease or buy something cheap.
Or buy another cheap used car.
Good luck.
 
It's a 1999 car with 213k miles. It's value is only max $2000. So the most you are out is $1000. Take the money and move on. Not worth fretting over.
 
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