MVA involving multiple vehicles, need help

[anatram]

I was involved in a multicar acciedent the other day. A guy failed to control his motor vehicle and hit me causing me to hit the car infront of me.

Basically it was a chain reaction rear end with three cars involved.

His insurance is not wanting to cover the damage to the front of my car becasue he is saying I already hit the lady in front of me when, even though I was at a complete stop and there was approximatley 8 feet of cushion between me and the other ladies vehicle.

I looked in my rear view mirror, seen him coming, turned the wheel to the left and braced for impact. He rear ended the back passsenger side of my car, shoving me into the center divider on the highway and between the car infront of me.

He has already admitted fault to his insurance company for hitting me, isn't he and his insurance company liable for the damage on the front of my car as well as the other ladie's car.

I am getting screwed on this, I just want my hooptie fixed, I wasn't hurt and don't want anything else. Just fix my car.

If I don't get my car fixed I have to sell my bike to buy another,,,:sad:

[wackjum]

Do you have insurance coverage? If so, is it full or liability? Has the woman made any claims against you?

[anatram]

Yes, I am covered, and she has not made a claim to my insurance carrier. I do not know if she was illegal or what but no-one can get ahold of her.

I am miffed at the guy who hit me because he caused the entire thing and his insurance is ducking responsibility, it took two days to get a rental car, and they weren't going to do that until I threatened to get an attorney.

[wackjum]

I would contact your insurance company. They have lawyers who are looking for things to do, and you have essentially already paid for them by your premiums.

Your rates won't go up just because you got them involved. Your rates only go up if you are determined to be at fault. If your company pays you out, they will in turn collect behind the scene from the other guy.

[texranger]

sorry to hijack your post Anatram but I have been dealing with a similar situation since March.

We (family and I) were involved in a multicar accident on March 21st. We were coming from Dallas and on I45 SB near Willis. Supposedly a young chic failed to control her car (Accord) under braking; she then hit a Chevrolet Suburban that was behind us causing the Suburban to hit our truck and sending us against another Suburban that was in front of us.

Same thing: chain reaction with 4 cars involved.

Unfortunately we didn't have full coverage in that vehicle.. just liability :banghead:

Most of the damage is at the front of our vehicle. The Suburban that was in front of us, nada, zilch damage.

The Suburban that hit us ended up with the front end completely destroyed. Even both front air bags deployed (he was coming fast).

Both insurance companies (Suburban driver and Accord driver) are not wanting to cover the damage to the front of my truck becasue they are saying he, she, he, she (and BS:gesture:) weren't at fault, that he was hit by the young lady and blah blah blah.

It's kinda funny how a little accord with 2 people inside pushed a 5000lbs SUV with 6 passenger against another vehicle with so much force and the only damage to the accord was a dented hood and broken grill. IDK

Thanks God nothing major happened. None of the drivers received a ticket at the time. But I have the police report stating that the fourth car lost control (Accord).

My wife had to go to physical therapy for several weeks because she was having severe back/neck pains.

The other day we got a letter from the lawyers office that took our case (5 months ago) saying basically that they weren't longer representing us because they believe there's not much they can do about it :shrug:

I really feel that we are getting screwed on this as well. We didn't occasioned any damage but ended up with a wrecked vehicle. We just want it fixed.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,
Nick.

[wackjum]

Nick, I am not a personal injury attorney. It's not really my field so I cannot offer a whole lot of insight.

Generally, personal injury attorneys work on contingency fees. You pay nothing to them and they only collect a percentage of whatever they can get you. For a case where there is no bodily injury, there is relatively very little money at stake. Add to that a jury pool that is not very receptive to personal injury suits and you end up with firms only wanting to take the big stuff.

Your options would be to either shop around and find another lawyer (since personal injury attorneys usually don't work on a fee basis, it costs nothing for you to change to another attorney), or file the lawsuit yourself in small claims. You don't have to file in small claims, and you can't if the dollar value you are going after is above $10,000. But in small claims, the legal process is greatly simplified and it is easier for unrepresented parties.