Note: I am not looking for any legal advice. Just tales of similar experiences.
I was on the way home from work. Traffic was heavy. It was misting rain and the road was wet. I was tooling along at about 20mph when I realized the car ahead of me (early 90’s Grand Prix, I have a 94 Escort Wagon) was no longer moving. I hit the brakes and turned the wheel to the right. I slid into the Grand Prix with a fairly heavy punch. Luckily, my air bag did not go off. However, the corner of the bumper (well, bumper cover) was torn away and the radiator (that I slaved over installing a year ago) was punctured. The Grand Prix suffered a scratched license plate and a tiny, hairline crack in the rear bumper cover.
I was wearing my seatbelt (of course). In the other car was a man (driver) and a woman in the front passenger seat. In the back seat was a four-year-old and a baby in a car seat. All were wearing sealtbelts (at least that’s what the driver told the officer, the windows were blacked out, so I couldn’t see into the car).
The officer asked about injuries. The driver said he was okay. The woman claims that her back and neck hurt. The four-year-old said his head hurt. Neither requested an ambulance (the woman and I happen to work for the same hospital which was across the street). I said I was okay, but I’m sure I’ll be sore in the morning.
I got a ticket for following too closely. I admitted fault to the officer.
I’ve called my insurance company and reported the accident. I do not have comprehensive coverage or collision on my car, so I’ll have to have it repaired at my own expense.
Working in the insurance billing office at the hospital, I’ve seen claims from auto accidents go from a few hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I don’t think these injuries will cost nearly this much, but I am concerned about possible lawsuits after the passengers are treated.
First thing I’d ordinarily do would be yell at you for admitting fault. NEVER admit fault. But considering you rear-ended them, it’s pretty much an automatic “at fault” situation. I rear-ended someone once, only having liability insurance. Same kind of injuries and damages, too. The guy who I hit’s car barely had a scratch, while parts of my car were all over the damn road.
First things first. See a doctor. Now. It doesn’t MATTER if you feel fine right now. Most likely, you’re in shock. You are sure as hell going to feel it tommorow, if not tonight. Also, for your own insurance’s sake, see a doctor. Document any missed work, prescriptions, ect. Even if you were at fault, you are still entitled to re-imbursement of your medical expenses and lost wages through your own insurance company (if in your policy).
I gurantee you, even if the people you hit did not see a doctor straightaway, they’ll BE seeing one, rightfully so. They’ll be hurting either later today or tommorow, just like you. The lady probably has whiplash.
Now, when I got into an accident with just liability, they totalled my car, so I didn’t have to worry about repair costs. I don’t know what to tell you about that. How much damage do you think ($ wise) was done to your car? If it’s 70% or more the cost of repairs, they’ll total out your car, comprehensive coverage or not. I think that’s the best thing to hope for at this point, at least you’ll get the blue book value of your car.
As for my car, the repairs would be more than its current value. I do plan on having it repaired. It’ll be a helluva lot cheaper than a replacement.
When I hit the other car, it didn’t budge an inch. The woman got out of the car to answer a question for the officer and she appeared to be okay (but, I’m not a doctor, of course).
I don’t believe I’m in shock. A few years ago, I hit a bigger vehicle at a higher speed in a much more cheaply-made car and felt nothing the next day.
I never said how far I slid. It was about two car lengths at most. The front wheels locked up. The punch was loud due the to size of my vehicle. Let’s face it, Escorts are not tanks.