She was sore the next day, which is understandable. A backrub from Dad and TLC seemed to have eased the symptoms. 
If she is still having problems in another couple of days, we’ll get her checked out. But car insurance premiums are way too damn high, and as much as some extra dinero would come in handy, I just can’t see filing a claim if she’s not injured.
Of course, if the insurance company gets snarky, her neck might start to hurt, but we’ll jump off that bridge when we come to it.
Only three? You’re tame compared to Houston. I’ve seen as many as 7 run a red light here.
It could have been a lot worse. She was not stopped at the light and then started to go; the light turned green while she was approaching the intersection and at least two cars in the other lane made it across before Bozo The Asshole did his thing. He could have drilled more than one car.
It’s been turned over to HPD’s Accident Investigation Division, to the guys that specialize in hit and run. We’re supposed to hear from them in the next day or so.
I got accused of a hit-and-run oh … a year and a half ago. I say “accused” because I had just barely tapped the other girl and didn’t know I’d hit her.
You can imagine the look on my face when the letter came saying “call us or we’ll put out a warrant.”
I think the cop was kind of amused when I called him, voice quavering and on the verge of tears.
There was almost no damage, though, and nobody hurt. This guy that hit your daughter is SO screwed. Don’t they execute hit-and-runs in Texas? 
What the? Doesn’t there need to be a minimun of damage before you can even file a police report?
Of course, weren’t you paying attention? The guy in the OP just did. Except they’re illegal to execute, not like U-turns which are legal to execute in most states.
(Shut up, I know what you meant.) 
The mechanic the girl talked to quoted her about $300 in damages, but that’s because he wanted to replace the whole panel. It was a tiny dent and she got some of my paint (I didn’t get any of her paint on my car, though) – the damage was probably more like $100.
And no, as far as I know you can file a police report even if there’s no apparent damage – if you’ve been hit, that’s good enough for the cops.
What is it with Dopers and traffic accidents these days? I saw some jackass run a stop sign last night, nearly getting broadsided by the bus I was on!
The owner of the car is supposed to show up at the cop shop on Monday at 3:00 p.m.
I ain’t holding my breath…
No no no. Like I said above, you’re supposed to be holding your neck.
Or your daughter is. Whoever. Maybe both of you. Maybe you can say he hit her so hard he injured you as well. Yeah, that’d work.
Typically you can file a collision claim under your own policy without fear of a permium increase, provided you were not at fault. Typically. Medical claims do not affect your premium at all. If shitforbrains hasn’t any insurance, get your car taken care of and let him deal with Fezzik from your subrogation department.
H&R accidents are the worst…and the BEST when the scumbags get busted!
Not if the other driver flees, as I learned about a year ago when some chick hit my car and took off.
The damage is what it costs to fix the car. My ‘tiny dent’ and ‘paint from other car’ ended up costing $350 to fix, and that was the lowest estimate I got.
That was paid for by the hit-and-run driver, because the state police basically told her that if she didn’t pay, it was going to cost her more than a grand in fines and the loss of her license for a year.
Well, things are looking up. Sorta.
The driver contacted the cops and then us. We have his information; he does have insurance and they are now paying for a rent car for my daughter.
However…insurance companies being what they are, we will probably be hosed by their offer. At that point, I think my daughter’s back is going to start hurting again, but I’m not sure. Our plan is to try to get them to replace the car with something equivalent; if they do, then we will be satisfied.
Once we are done with the insurance folks, though, there’s still the matter of a 22 year old asshole who nearly killed my daughter. I think I am going to make him be a pet project for a while and try to make his life as thoroughly miserable as possible. As much as I’d like to visit him in the middle of the night and introduce his kneecaps to a baseball bat, I can’t do that. Soooo, I’m going to find something to sue him for in small claims court, etc.
I’m hereby soliciting suggestions from the collective DoperBrain ™ of legal things I can do to just fuck his life up for the next year or so and make him regret ever having been born.
Your daughter needs to start her medical paper trail ASAP. My brother-in-law was hit at a red light (he was stopped, the other car just plowed into him), and three years later (I believe), he is in the middle of suing the other driver for his chronic pain. This is not a nuisance lawsuit; my bil was a healthy, very active young man in his twenties with two small children to support, and his chronic back pain caused by the accident has literally changed his life.
I don’t mean to scare you or anything, but your daughter needs her neck and back looked after right now, and not just for possible future lawsuits, either, but for her own health. Nobody wants chronic back pain.
Taking the law into your own hands, tempting though it may be, is never a good idea. I’m 99% sure that you don’t intend to do this, but I’m posting this just to be sure.
Just be in constant communication with the DA’s office, pressuring them (in a nice, civil way, of course) to prosecute this guy to the fullest extent of the law.
And on preview … what **featherlou ** said regarding medical treatment.
Go to the doctor as much as possible and spend as much money as possible on doctor’s visits and medications. If you can collect for medical bills twice in the case of an accident: once from your insurance and once from the other driver’s insurance.
THat’s really not how insurance works.
First of all, you should have had your daughter checked out immediately, and charged it to the medpay provision on your insurance. Your premiums don’t go up, as Inigo said(he’s an insurance guy).
Secondly, when they send you an offer, it will be a $ offer, not the offer of a new car-equivalent or otherwise. That money will go against the money owed on the note if there is any. Whatever is left after that goes in your pocket-I caution you with this one, however, as these days there isn’t much that goes to the accident victims.
If the car was paid off, you need to argue with the insurance about the value of the car. They generally use KBB values, but if the value comes out too low for you and your daughter to stomach(it most likely will), then another round of arguing ensues. Many times when we’re talking about custom cars or classic cars, you will be able to get that value raised appropriately, but it can cause a decent amount of heartburn.
I have dealt with car accident victims for many, many years. My last piece of advice is very important, and though you will most likely not take it, I have to offer it. If at any point you begin to become frustrated, or your daughter’s best interests are not being served by her representing herself(if she’s an adult, you probably can’t handle this for her), in this matter, you must have her consult with an attorney. The insurance business is very complicated and NOT slanted in the victim’s best interests any more. Those who choose not to have an attorney representing them generally get screwed over.
I hope everything works out, your daughter is still feeling better, and that the scumbag who hit her gets charged with a crime. Here in california, it would be a Misdemeanor-“leaving the scene of an accident”. If she were injured, here it would probably be a felony.
Sam
Not so. The 2x the medical bills rule is no longer in effect. The insurance companies have won out over the consumer. You’re probably better off simply getting well without running up huge doctor’s bills so whatever money is left on the perpetrator’s policy can go towards you and your new car.
Sam
Oops, I now see that you are seeking **legal ** ideas that will fuck up this bastard’s life, so I guess my admonition was not necessary, Clothahump.
Actually, just yesterday I got my second check for medical damages from when I was hit by a lady that ran a red light. I only got $1000 from my own insurance policy for medical purposes, but much more from the other drivers’ insurance.
Maybe things are different where I am (NC).
I’m glad to hear your daughter seems okay, Clothahump. But you should take the neck pain thing seriously. I was hit from behind on Jan 31 of this year. At the scene I had no pain at all and thought I was okay. But the next day I had neck and shoulder pain, which I still have going on four months later. I’m not in constant pain, but I have a shooting pain whenever I turn my head to either side to check for oncoming traffic while driving, and at night, just turning in bed can be excruciating and sleep-disturbing.
If an injury turns up, that hit-and-run, at least in California, becomes a felony. It’s probably the same in most states. You won’t have to make the asshole’s life miserable. The state will do it for you.