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Two weeks ago I was at fault in an extremely minor accident where I rear ended another vehicle. We were both in line on an exit ramp getting ready to make a right turn onto a surface street. It's a right turn only lane and visibility is EXTREMELY hampered for cars coming to the left due to guardrails, so you have to get almost in the intersection to see if you are safe to go. The car in front of me inched out and then started their turn. I started inching forward slowly just barely coasting (my foot wasn't even on the gas). All of a sudden my car barely tapped the car in front of mine. (I could have hit a 3 year old at that speed and they would have been completely unharmed) My car's only damaged was a cracked plastic front grill, and they had a small dent the size of a dime on their bumper. (I don't even know if my car caused that dent, as it didn't line up with any sharp points on my car, but I cant prove it) The other driver's only concern was to make their 6PM party they may now be late for. (all 3 passengers were early 20's in perfect health)
When the guy first got out of his car I asked if he and his two female passengers were alright, and they all said they were fine. He was nice enough about it. We got back in our cars to move out of traffic and wait for the police. When he got back out his demeanor had completely changed and he stopped speaking to me. (They obviously had a conversation in the car) The cop didn't even want to write a police report because it was so minor, but the other drive demanded it. He then complained that his back hurt but refused an ambulance. The police officer told me later he wrote it up for "no injuries" at the scene.
Two weeks later the insurance company is telling me all 3 of them are claiming injuries and have retained what is widely known as the greasiest law firm in my town. My coverage is $100K of injury and the insurance company said they'd likely be pursuing $25K each minimum in "damages".
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills right now but the more I research, the more I'm panicking that what if they shoot for more and I start having to dig into my retirement money for this? Is there no burden of proof at all for something this insanely minor? How on earth can they actually be asking for $25K each for something like this? Is there anything else I can do, and how worried should I be that I might actually be dipping into my personal funds over $100K of damages here?
Don't worry about it. This is not your insurance company's first rodeo. The sleazeball attorney will want a quick payday and will settle well within your coverage limits. Happens all the time. Your carelessness gave three people the opportunity to make a quick buck.
Here is the thing, cars are designed to take minor bumps, but the human body isnt. I was rear ended in a cross walk memorial day weekend at the airport and he was probably going no more than 10-15mph, he didnt want me to call the ploice and the cops just wrote a report and no ticket, even though he was at fault, my bumper and support structure was replaced and my back is still screwed up from such a minor accident.
After a wreck, you feel fine, but its about 3-4hrs later when the body really for the pain to kick in to show if there are injuries, even from minor wreck. Many people say they are fine right after a wreck, but are actually hurt.
In your case, im sure the guy was BS-ing if you truly just let your foot off the gas and hit them, granted they might have very minor whiplash or back pain, as a result from the sudden jolt, but there is no $25K in pain and suffering they suffered there. If they didnt go to a doctor within 2-3 days, they have no real case that you are the cause of their supposed injury vs it being a previous injury. I wouldnt worry about it, as your insurance company will fight it and they get a $1k or 2 a piece tops for this incident, just to go away, unless they have multiple medical xrays showing a actual back inury.
They will not get paid without any real legal evidence that they were injured.The bad thing is that even if they just received a medical evaluation the insurance company will rate your policy. Most of the time it is a 30% increase for 3 years and there is little you can do about it,
Don't worry about it. This is not your insurance company's first rodeo. The sleazeball attorney will want a quick payday and will settle well within your coverage limits. Happens all the time. Your carelessness gave three people the opportunity to make a quick buck.
Two weeks ago I was at fault in an extremely minor accident where I rear ended another vehicle. We were both in line on an exit ramp getting ready to make a right turn onto a surface street. It's a right turn only lane and visibility is EXTREMELY hampered for cars coming to the left due to guardrails, so you have to get almost in the intersection to see if you are safe to go. The car in front of me inched out and then started their turn. I started inching forward slowly just barely coasting (my foot wasn't even on the gas). All of a sudden my car barely tapped the car in front of mine. (I could have hit a 3 year old at that speed and they would have been completely unharmed) My car's only damaged was a cracked plastic front grill, and they had a small dent the size of a dime on their bumper. (I don't even know if my car caused that dent, as it didn't line up with any sharp points on my car, but I cant prove it) The other driver's only concern was to make their 6PM party they may now be late for. (all 3 passengers were early 20's in perfect health)
When the guy first got out of his car I asked if he and his two female passengers were alright, and they all said they were fine. He was nice enough about it. We got back in our cars to move out of traffic and wait for the police. When he got back out his demeanor had completely changed and he stopped speaking to me. (They obviously had a conversation in the car) The cop didn't even want to write a police report because it was so minor, but the other drive demanded it. He then complained that his back hurt but refused an ambulance. The police officer told me later he wrote it up for "no injuries" at the scene.
Two weeks later the insurance company is telling me all 3 of them are claiming injuries and have retained what is widely known as the greasiest law firm in my town. My coverage is $100K of injury and the insurance company said they'd likely be pursuing $25K each minimum in "damages".
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills right now but the more I research, the more I'm panicking that what if they shoot for more and I start having to dig into my retirement money for this? Is there no burden of proof at all for something this insanely minor? How on earth can they actually be asking for $25K each for something like this? Is there anything else I can do, and how worried should I be that I might actually be dipping into my personal funds over $100K of damages here?
It’s called cashing out. They just hit a small jackpot. Insurance company will pay out because they don’t wanna deal with it.
My buddy had his truck stolen, they took the catalytic and ripped a few things off inside and took a fender. They totaled the truck over that damage. He got 12k and sold the truck for 7k.
Two weeks ago I was at fault in an extremely minor accident where I rear ended another vehicle. We were both in line on an exit ramp getting ready to make a right turn onto a surface street. It's a right turn only lane and visibility is EXTREMELY hampered for cars coming to the left due to guardrails, so you have to get almost in the intersection to see if you are safe to go. The car in front of me inched out and then started their turn. I started inching forward slowly just barely coasting (my foot wasn't even on the gas). All of a sudden my car barely tapped the car in front of mine. (I could have hit a 3 year old at that speed and they would have been completely unharmed) My car's only damaged was a cracked plastic front grill, and they had a small dent the size of a dime on their bumper. (I don't even know if my car caused that dent, as it didn't line up with any sharp points on my car, but I cant prove it) The other driver's only concern was to make their 6PM party they may now be late for. (all 3 passengers were early 20's in perfect health)
When the guy first got out of his car I asked if he and his two female passengers were alright, and they all said they were fine. He was nice enough about it. We got back in our cars to move out of traffic and wait for the police. When he got back out his demeanor had completely changed and he stopped speaking to me. (They obviously had a conversation in the car) The cop didn't even want to write a police report because it was so minor, but the other drive demanded it. He then complained that his back hurt but refused an ambulance. The police officer told me later he wrote it up for "no injuries" at the scene.
Two weeks later the insurance company is telling me all 3 of them are claiming injuries and have retained what is widely known as the greasiest law firm in my town. My coverage is $100K of injury and the insurance company said they'd likely be pursuing $25K each minimum in "damages".
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills right now but the more I research, the more I'm panicking that what if they shoot for more and I start having to dig into my retirement money for this? Is there no burden of proof at all for something this insanely minor? How on earth can they actually be asking for $25K each for something like this? Is there anything else I can do, and how worried should I be that I might actually be dipping into my personal funds over $100K of damages here?
1. Don't worry about this case. Its why you have insurance and the case will be handled by your insurance company and, if a settlement is paid, it will be within the policy limits.
2. I am an attorney and I agree with Adjuster Jack that if the injuries in this case are totally made up the attorney is not only a slimeball, I'll go further and say he is participating in insurance fraud.
3. As much you might want others too, though, your own role in this cannot and should not be ignored. Causing any rear end collision--no matter how minor--is a serious issue. I've spoken to people who have caused minor accidents and inevitably they want to gloss over their role in a situation like this. There are damned few excuses for colliding with a vehicle in front of you. It almost always involves not paying enough attention to traffic in front of you and/or driving faster than you should. Even if these injuries are not real, there would not have been issue to worry about if you had not struck the car in front of you. In forty-four years of driving I have been responsible for exactly one rear end collision and that was when I was nineteen and the roads were extremely icy. I was still held responsible for that accident and I do not blame the insurance company for it.
4. It means very little to nothing that someone says they feel "fine" right after an accident. Medical literature says it can take as long as four days after an accident to feel the symptoms of some soft tissue injuries.
Quote:
Originally Posted by adjusterjack
Don't worry about it. This is not your insurance company's first rodeo. The sleazeball attorney will want a quick payday and will settle well within your coverage limits. Happens all the time. Your carelessness gave three people the opportunity to make a quick buck.
I pretty much agree with this. I will echo what is said below though. People do get injured--occasionally--in low impact vehicle collisions. Human spines are not the equivalent of the steel and other materials that make up automobiles. The law doesn't require an injured person to prove that the forces of an accident were sufficient to injure "the average person". Rather, the applicable principle of law is that if the injured party had a spine that was particularly susceptible to injury and its gets injured in a minor accident, the party responsible has to pay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SAAN
Here is the thing, cars are designed to take minor bumps, but the human body isnt. I was rear ended in a cross walk memorial day weekend at the airport and he was probably going no more than 10-15mph, he didnt want me to call the ploice and the cops just wrote a report and no ticket, even though he was at fault, my bumper and support structure was replaced and my back is still screwed up from such a minor accident.
After a wreck, you feel fine, but its about 3-4hrs later when the body really for the pain to kick in to show if there are injuries, even from minor wreck. Many people say they are fine right after a wreck, but are actually hurt.
In your case, im sure the guy was BS-ing if you truly just let your foot off the gas and hit them, granted they might have very minor whiplash or back pain, as a result from the sudden jolt, but there is no $25K in pain and suffering they suffered there. If they didnt go to a doctor within 2-3 days, they have no real case that you are the cause of their supposed injury vs it being a previous injury. I wouldnt worry about it, as your insurance company will fight it and they get a $1k or 2 a piece tops for this incident, just to go away, unless they have multiple medical xrays showing a actual back inury.
I want to thank you for this post. It illustrates the often subtle and complex nature of many soft tissue injuries. My father was involved in a low impact rear end collision and he let the other driver just go on his way. That injury bothered my father for several years, until he ultimately had a disk surgically removed from his spine and the vertebrae fused together. Situations like this where people go without any compensation for legitimate injuries received in an accident are actually fairly common.
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