P
piku
Guest
What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania
Hello, Recently I was involved in an auto accident. I am a Pennsylvania insured with liability only on an older vehicle which blue books for $4200. The other driver was a new york commercial driver in a pickup truck. The damage to my car seems quite severe to me. Rippled rear quarter panels, frame damage, excessive engine vibrations (bad motor mounts?) and transmission problems now. My body shop gave a $3200 estimate for the body work alone. A used transmission replacement (cheapest recourse for fixing the transmission, THEIR RESPONSIBILITY), is $1200. That alone is $4400. It's easy to see that if it is not already a total loss, it will soon be. As such I have started looking for another car and more or less began procedures to purchase one. I can still back out. However, the insurance company estimates $1900, and they already sent me a check! They say that in order for me to be paid for anything else the car must go to the body shop to begin repairs. Then as the cost reaches the $3200 they should be billed?! I have NEVER heard of this before! Any way around it, I declined to have the car repaired. Does this mean I should not be cut a check for the fullest extent of the damages to my vehicle (in essence a total loss or damn close) which I can use for whatever I please.
I read on this site actually that you can use medical claims as a bargaining chip. The day of the accident my girlfriend and I had severe headaches and neckpain. We went to the hospital emergency room the morning after (well afternoon by the time we get out of bed). Since then I have had mild to moderate neck pain here and there which was never there before. I've tried to be patient reasonable and gentle, but they're haggling with me over $2000 when I think I am being VERY fair here and not trying to go after "pain and suffering" or any other frivolous crap like that. What path should I choose? Because of the medical claims, I will get an attorney and sue them if it comes to it. I just don't want it to come to that.
On top of that I feel like I have to be very very cautious about what I say to the adjustors because it could be held against me when they inevitably Screw Me(tm). Hence it's difficult for me to figure out a good method to present the above lawsuit scenario to them to see if they would change their tune over a lousy $2000. Which path should I choose?
Thanks for all of your help.
Hello, Recently I was involved in an auto accident. I am a Pennsylvania insured with liability only on an older vehicle which blue books for $4200. The other driver was a new york commercial driver in a pickup truck. The damage to my car seems quite severe to me. Rippled rear quarter panels, frame damage, excessive engine vibrations (bad motor mounts?) and transmission problems now. My body shop gave a $3200 estimate for the body work alone. A used transmission replacement (cheapest recourse for fixing the transmission, THEIR RESPONSIBILITY), is $1200. That alone is $4400. It's easy to see that if it is not already a total loss, it will soon be. As such I have started looking for another car and more or less began procedures to purchase one. I can still back out. However, the insurance company estimates $1900, and they already sent me a check! They say that in order for me to be paid for anything else the car must go to the body shop to begin repairs. Then as the cost reaches the $3200 they should be billed?! I have NEVER heard of this before! Any way around it, I declined to have the car repaired. Does this mean I should not be cut a check for the fullest extent of the damages to my vehicle (in essence a total loss or damn close) which I can use for whatever I please.
I read on this site actually that you can use medical claims as a bargaining chip. The day of the accident my girlfriend and I had severe headaches and neckpain. We went to the hospital emergency room the morning after (well afternoon by the time we get out of bed). Since then I have had mild to moderate neck pain here and there which was never there before. I've tried to be patient reasonable and gentle, but they're haggling with me over $2000 when I think I am being VERY fair here and not trying to go after "pain and suffering" or any other frivolous crap like that. What path should I choose? Because of the medical claims, I will get an attorney and sue them if it comes to it. I just don't want it to come to that.
On top of that I feel like I have to be very very cautious about what I say to the adjustors because it could be held against me when they inevitably Screw Me(tm). Hence it's difficult for me to figure out a good method to present the above lawsuit scenario to them to see if they would change their tune over a lousy $2000. Which path should I choose?
Thanks for all of your help.