Wife wrecked the van

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Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by SeaJay
Assuming the wife's insurance is valid and paid up, it will respond to the other drivers claim on his car as well as any injuries to that driver. The deductible doesn't apply to the damage to the other driver's car.

Assuming the wife's insurance included collision coverage, and is valid and paid up then the damage to the wife's car will be fixed/paid by the wife's insurance, less the deductible.

There shouldn't be any need to worry about the money to fix the cars and the other driver's medical bills. That is what insurance is for. Inform the wife's insurer of the accident and let them deal with everything. Eezy-Peezy


There were no injuries to my wife or the other driver. The other driver even told the cop who responded he was not injured. The only damages our insurance will have to pay for is our van, and the damages to the other vehicle...


If airbags deployed, then it's very possible that the hit party might have issues that creep up after the fact. I was hit while stationary and I wasn't sore until the next day. The accident involved all military personnel and we were all very honest, but that doesn't seem to be common in the civilian population...unfortunately.

Like I said before, be prepared for the worst.

//

A previous poster recommended having mods delete the post, because some minor little admission on your part may be used against you by a savvy lawyer.

When I was hit five or so years back I was offered the same advice and the mods helped.
 
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by SeaJay
Assuming the wife's insurance is valid and paid up, it will respond to the other drivers claim on his car as well as any injuries to that driver. The deductible doesn't apply to the damage to the other driver's car.

Assuming the wife's insurance included collision coverage, and is valid and paid up then the damage to the wife's car will be fixed/paid by the wife's insurance, less the deductible.

There shouldn't be any need to worry about the money to fix the cars and the other driver's medical bills. That is what insurance is for. Inform the wife's insurer of the accident and let them deal with everything. Eezy-Peezy


There were no injuries to my wife or the other driver. The other driver even told the cop who responded he was not injured. The only damages our insurance will have to pay for is our van, and the damages to the other vehicle...

Issues can creep up later.

My brother was rear-ended and didn't get medical attention right away. He later did because his back started hurting (no back problems prior). He sued and won.
 
Originally Posted by gathermewool
Originally Posted by grampi
Originally Posted by SeaJay
Assuming the wife's insurance is valid and paid up, it will respond to the other drivers claim on his car as well as any injuries to that driver. The deductible doesn't apply to the damage to the other driver's car.

Assuming the wife's insurance included collision coverage, and is valid and paid up then the damage to the wife's car will be fixed/paid by the wife's insurance, less the deductible.

There shouldn't be any need to worry about the money to fix the cars and the other driver's medical bills. That is what insurance is for. Inform the wife's insurer of the accident and let them deal with everything. Eezy-Peezy


There were no injuries to my wife or the other driver. The other driver even told the cop who responded he was not injured. The only damages our insurance will have to pay for is our van, and the damages to the other vehicle...



If airbags deployed, then it's very possible that the hit party might have issues that creep up after the fact. I was hit while stationary and I wasn't sore until the next day. The accident involved all military personnel and we were all very honest, but that doesn't seem to be common in the civilian population...unfortunately.

Like I said before, be prepared for the worst.

//

A previous poster recommended having mods delete the post, because some minor little admission on your part may be used against you by a savvy lawyer.

When I was hit five or so years back I was offered the same advice and the mods helped.


A lawyer would have to be VERY savvy to track me down only knowing my screen name on a website and that I live somewhere in OH...
 
Just don't post pics or actual names or other identifying info.

FYI: My attorney overreacted and scared me into not posting stuff during my initial stages of the divorce. He even said not to respond to PMs


It boils down to (hence speed is important)

"You must also be traveling at a speed where if you need to stop suddenly, you can do so safely without causing a car accident; however, depending on the state you live in, different rules may apply. You may be found partially at fault because your stalled vehicle created a road hazard. Although the rule of thumb is that you must keep a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, the other driver can try to prove that they acted reasonably under the circumstances and had no choice but to rear end you. "
 
Originally Posted by stockrex
Just don't post pics or actual names or other identifying info.

FYI: My attorney overreacted and scared me into not posting stuff during my initial stages of the divorce. He even said not to respond to PMs


It boils down to (hence speed is important)

"You must also be traveling at a speed where if you need to stop suddenly, you can do so safely without causing a car accident; however, depending on the state you live in, different rules may apply. You may be found partially at fault because your stalled vehicle created a road hazard. Although the rule of thumb is that you must keep a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, the other driver can try to prove that they acted reasonably under the circumstances and had no choice but to rear end you. "


Your bit in quotes would apply to the driver my wife hit, as it was his vehicle that was stalled in the road...
 
Originally Posted by grampi

A lawyer would have to be VERY savvy to track me down only knowing my screen name on a website and that I live somewhere in OH...


They could start with public DMV databases of persons in OH with a 2015 Sienna and a ?? Corolla with 300+k miles, and cross that with police reports of wrecked Siennas. Not too far fetched!

You haven't gone any farther than asking what's likely to happen, so this should be a straightforward case for all involved.
 
This thread is really off the rails. Wife is clearly at fault for rear ending a stopped car, she wasn't impaired and no one was hurt at the scene. Unless the other driver decides to sue for back pain or whiplash, there's nothing else to do here except deal with the wrecked car and traffic citation. If you want to get a lawyer for traffic court maybe, but rear ending another vehicle is hardly going to result in any serious consequences unless there was some serious negligence not being discussed here. Common accident, happens all the time.
 
Originally Posted by grampi

It didn't help that the road was wet...


It didn't help that your wife did not adjust the vehicle speed according to the conditions. If you go faster than the conditions allow,, even if you are not exceeding the posted speed limit, you are speeding in the eyes of the law.
 
Originally Posted by vavavroom
Originally Posted by grampi

It didn't help that the road was wet...


It didn't help that your wife did not adjust the vehicle speed according to the conditions. If you go faster than the conditions allow,, even if you are not exceeding the posted speed limit, you are speeding in the eyes of the law.


I didn't mention that to blame it as the cause, it's just a factor...
 
Originally Posted by dishdude
This thread is really off the rails. Wife is clearly at fault for rear ending a stopped car, she wasn't impaired and no one was hurt at the scene. Unless the other driver decides to sue for back pain or whiplash, there's nothing else to do here except deal with the wrecked car and traffic citation. If you want to get a lawyer for traffic court maybe, but rear ending another vehicle is hardly going to result in any serious consequences unless there was some serious negligence not being discussed here. Common accident, happens all the time.


Normally, I would agree; however, the fact that the Sienna's airbags all deployed leads me to believe that the accident was pretty bad.

I was rear-ended once, really hard. I saw it coming in my rear-view, since the lady was looking to the right, at an accident. Even still, I was sore the next day.
I was hit so hard, that I was pushed into the truck in front of me, which was 1/4 car-length ahead of me.
Her airbags didn't deploy.

I think that letting the OP read that something worse than an insurance hit and dealing with the citation is prudent, even if the hit party said they were OK at the time. The person may be a really nice person, who just didn't feel any pain until later. Then, lawyers get involved and things COULD get out of hand.

Not 'will' or 'likely will', but could.
 
I got a call from my insurance assessor yesterday. They are totaling the vehicle and their payout is more than I expected. So far, so good. Next will be the court hearing on Monday...
 
Originally Posted by gregk24
Best of luck, and glad your wife is ok! I was in a fender bender the other day and my, this process is NOT fun! I am trying to get in contact with the FHP officer's superior that ticketed me.


Hire a lawyer and get it dismissed in court. FL law says that insurance companies cannot raise your premium for any violation that is thrown out in court.

I had to do this after I was tickets for "failure to maintain control of my vehicle" and "careless driving" because I spun out and got hit by another car after another vehicle pushed into my lane and ran me off the road.

Got it thrown out and it has never been held against me.
 
DoubleWasp said:
[ Hire a lawyer and get it dismissed in court. FL law says that insurance companies cannot raise your premium for any violation that is thrown out in court.

Doesn't Florida have a lot of elderly drivers? I suspect some of them should be off the roads.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Glad everyone was ok. Aren't there supposed to be occupancy sensors to prevent unnecessary deployment?

Seems crazy that a 2015 vehicle would be totaled. Even with a Toyota I doubt the outcome will be fiscally in your favor. If it's repaired, be prepared to sue for diminished value.

Good luck.


Friend of mine went through this with a brand new Toyota 8 months old. When adjuster heard over the phone that all airbags had been deployed she declared it a loss over the phone and said she would send a field adjuster to verify the loss.
 
Originally Posted by Willclark
DoubleWasp said:
[ Hire a lawyer and get it dismissed in court. FL law says that insurance companies cannot raise your premium for any violation that is thrown out in court.

Doesn't Florida have a lot of elderly drivers? I suspect some of them should be off the roads.


Wasn't an elderly driver in this case. Saw a full head of dark hair. Just a person who decided well after the zebra stripes that they didn't actually want to leave the highway, and used a NASCAR move to fly across the stripes back onto it.

The woman who hit my car afterward was a young woman who said she "didn't want to use her brakes because she had cars behind her". Not old. Just stupid.
 
Originally Posted by grampi
My wife rear ended a vehicle that was stalled in her lane Friday. Nobody was hurt in either vehicle, but our 2015 Sienna will probably be totaled. The radiator was pushed back into the engine and every air bag deployed. I'll take a totaled out vehicle over an injured wife! She was given a ticket, but she is going to court to fight it because the person in the stalled vehicle didn't have his 4 ways on, nor were his brake lights on. Worst case scenario my wife will be found totally at fault, best case maybe she can at least get the insurance part dismissed. In most collisions the driver that did the rear ending is usually found to be at fault, but it's worth a try. I never imagined the hoop jumping chain of events an accident like this puts into motion. Between filing an insurance claim, dealing the emotional stress my wife is going through, contacting rental car companies, contacting the bank we have the vehicle loan through, searching for a replacement vehicle (she wants another Sienna), and on and on. It's not much fun...I just keep telling myself, it could've been worse


Hire a lawyer. Getting the finding of fault dismissed in Court will go a long way towards getting out of this one.
 
I also just found out that as long as I send them a copy of my purchase agreement within 33 days of the claim open date, my insurance company will reimburse me for the sales tax, which will be around $1500...
 
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