tuningvelocity

Hey Guys

This past thurs I was involved in an accident some lady ran a red light and I T-Boned her. Luckily everyone was ok, banged up but ok.

I'm working this claim with GEICO, any advice this is my first accident ever. By the pics does this look like a total loss case or can it be repairable. Any and all advice will be welcome.

Could I sue that person for negligence, cause it was real dumb!!!

Thanks for the help

Spicy_McHaggiz

iTrader: (1)

Advice is wait and see what the insurance says. Anyone can throw around an opinion but then you might get your hopes set on that one thing. Because from the horrible pictures, it looks like it can go either way. Remember to total a car, the parts plus labor must cost more then half total value of the vehicle. (not the total in which you owe)

As far as suing, don't be that guy. No need to sue someone for running a red light if your not seriously injured. You can just as well be in the same situation one day.

draxcaliber

if the insurance company takes care of your damages, then no, you can't sue them because the insurance company has fulfilled their insured's obligation to pay for damages that they're legally responsible for. so if the insurance settles with you for the total loss of your car, and they make a settlement with your for your subjective injuries such as complaints of temporary aches, pains, soreness, stiffness and a few days of lost wages while recovering from injuries, as well as providing a rental car for a reasonable amount of time while settling with you on the actual cash value of your vehicle as well as any other expenses that might have been incurred by you in this loss. then you have nothing left to sue for.

draxcaliber

actually the estimates for the cost of repairs have to reach 70-75% of the vehicles actual cash value before a vehicle is total loss. and for most cars, when the air bags are set-off, the car is totalled because they're extremely expensive to replace, and they likely have substantial structural, mechanical and body damage pad the bill.

as for the settlement on your vehicle, the insurance company has to evaluate how much the car is worth, not what you owe, if you're upside down on your loan, and you don't have GAP insurance, you're SOL. that is not anybody's fault but yours.

lastly, if you want, you can report the claim to your insurance carrier (which geico usually reports claims to the other party's carrier anyway), and if you carry collision coverage on your policy (which you obviously would for a fairly new vehicle), you're insurance company can settle with you for the total loss of your vehicle. granted you will initially lose the amount of your collision deductible (PA has a minimum deductible of $100, it is a state law), but your insurance company will than subrogate against geico to get the money they spent buying your car back from geico, and also get your deductible back and refund it to you.

So see what both insurance companies offer you for your car because they might have different ways of valuating the cars and one might offer you more than the other.

also, having a claim reported on your policy does not effect your premiums, anybody can call any insurance company and report a claim, it is whether or not you're at fault for the accident or that your insurance company pays damages that they can't recover damages from the responsible party that effects your rates.

draxcaliber

so how did the lexus get flipped over? what intersection did this accident happen at?

GammaTNT

iTrader: (8)

did the cop gave her a ticket?

O5_TRD_tC

poor tC, RS 5.0's are my favorite too!

Is the BBK still functional?

HKSpeed

hopefully they total it. i wouldnt want to drive a car that's been through that much damage. not becuase of any safety concerns, but it'll be hard to get all the panels and suspension to sit perfectly (back to stock measurements) with that much damage.

Phobboi

Safe cars are built to crunch up like that to absorb the impact and keep the people in the vehicle safe so the damage may look far worst than it actually is because its meant to do that. Just wait for what your insurance says. I wouldn't sue. The only winner in that situation is the lawyer & even if you the court says you deserve money it doesn't mean that person is ever going to pay you. & finally, how did you manage to upside down an SUV?!

fewjative

Dam, I actually cried a little. If it is totaled, take the seats out and the BBK!

brusky

dam they towed the suv upside down? that would be a funny thing to see while driving.

divisii

x2 it'll never drive the same...that was my impression when I had the same thing happen to me many years back.

Realize, to some extent you have the other driver's insurance at your mercy due to her negligence. Do not hesitate to ask for a settlement reasonable to your needs.

SR0529

It looks total for me.

tuningvelocity

Hey

Thanks for everyone's input, I really appreciate it. As far as the actual incident its as follow:

I was goin about 40-45 miles on N Gulph Rd in the KOP area. I was driving down on a green light, some lady in the white lexus suv came all the way out of her works driveway ignoring her red light. She came all the way out onto my lane, when I realized it it was to late I applied the brakes as fast as i could grabbed the steering wheel and braced for impact. I felt the impact and then the airbag deployed in my face barely glazing my nose, as for my passenger she was doing her make up, she didnt have time to braze for impact so she got the more brunt of the impact. Luckily we were both wearing our seat belts, because she wasn't ready ready for the impact her seat belt coiling back left her with seat belt marks on her not to mention with a few bruised ribs. I couldn't judge how hard the impact was but I do know it the somehow the key in the ignition broke in half. It was only until i got out of my car, took care of my passenger (who was airlifted to a hospital) that I realized that the lexus had rolled over. Once again luckily everyone involved in the accident was ok for the most part.
I do have to say that the tC took the impact like a champ, and I believe that the BBK also played into helping me slow down for the impact.

As far as for suing I'm not that type of person whatsoever, but this was complete and total negligence and i think on principal its just wrong, not to mention that my passenger is in pain (nothing broken).

Here is the next issue. I have 3 witnesses on my side 2 pedestrians that saw the event, and the lady that was right behind me and follows me up on saying that our light was green. Apparently, the other lady has witnesses saying that her light was green. Right after the accident happened many of her coworkers came out (it looked like a dam fire drill), because her company parking lot was right there. How are cops gona see whos at fault with conflicting witness accounts.

If there are any cameras near the accident place how would I go about for asking for those tapes.

And finally I am so pistt that my baby is gone, in the event that they declare it a total loss am I allowed to take thing off the car? ex: my BBK, the srings, sway bar, rims, badges? or do they have to keep the car as a whole.

Thanks everyone.

draxcaliber

witnesses have to be completely independant of the driver's involved. as in, they can not have known the driver's prior to the collision itself.

the 2 pedestrians and the motorist who was behind you are more credible because they were actually out in the open and on the scene accident happened and clearly would have no prior relationships with you or the other driver. the other woman's co-workers are not valid witnesses because 1. they were inside a building when it happened, how much visibility of the lights do they have? and what would have drawn their attention to the area before the collision occured? and 2. they clearly would know the other driver before the accident occurred and would have a bias.

hopefully the adjuster should remind them that it is against the law to knowling provide false information to an insurance company...

as for sueing the other woman, you realize that pretty much EVERY car accident is caused by somebody's negligence, that is why everybody has or is supposed to have insurance.

if there are camera's near the area, then go ask the building managers for them since they get recorded over regularly.

divisii

Hopefully the adjuster doesn't go and assign a percentage of blame to both drivers and that the woman admits she ran a red light.

Thankfully no one was hurt, as is common when an suv flips.

draxcaliber

yeah, if PA is a comparative negligence state, then he might end up sharing in the negligence because if his airbags went off, he would have to be going pretty quick, approximately 35 mph. if there is evidence to support unreasonable speed, or that his attention wasn't fully focused forward, or that he wasn't approaching the intersection with necessary caution (even if you have a green light, you should always be prepared to slow or stop at an intersection and watch for danger, it is a duty of care) then he might not get all of his damages covered by the other person's insurance company, and he'll have to pay for the percentage of damages he is deemed responsible for.

MooSE55

iTrader: (2)

Just an FYI but u both should go see a doctor and than a chirorpractor..I'm an exercise physiologist and I see this stuff all the time..however the problem is that the pain or referring symptoms may not be til even months after the accident..just bc u feel "ok" doesn't there was any structural damage done to ur spine which protects ur bodys ability to function..I'd advise going now and opening a claim and get everything checked out before settling. If not and u or ur passenger have issues down the road than it comes out of ur own pocket and it's expensive..just remember just bc u feel ok now doesn't mean damage wasn't dome that could affect u in ur 40s get it looked at man..I'm sure u have PIP insurance..

Carlanga

good luck man. If the car is at your place, they will send an adjuster to take care of the value. Depending on the company, they will cover other things like wheels and tires, etc. Mine did cover the full value of the wheels and some other stuff. Only thing I didn't include was springs, headers, etc. No biggie though, days before they sent the tow truck I took the springs out and left the car sitting on the shocks :-) and took some other stuff out and left the stock parts sitting on the seat.

U shouldn't have much problem with the sways(not esential for mooving the car), I'm sure u can take the BBK out and hook up the stock stuff. It shouldn't matter cuz no one is gonna drive the car anyways.

serith

HOLY ****. I saw your accident dude. I was stuck in this traffic when I was going back to my hotel on lunch from work. And I also drive an RS 5.0. That's really scary.

I was staying in the Clarion Hotel just up at the next intersection. I saw the flipped car. This is nuts. This was... on Thursday I believe, around lunch time?

For the record, I work & live in Syracuse, NY, but i was working at my HQ office in Eagleville, and staying at the Clarion @ 480 North Gulph Road, King of Prussia, PA‎. Dude, those intersections right there are dangerous. They even have a flashing caution for the light right there...