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Rear-End Collision, Police Failed To Get Statement

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Veranor

Member
You need to take things that you *hear* with a healthy dose of skepticism. Think about it...if the police MUST accompany EMS every time, then EMS would need to wait until a police unit is with them before they proceed to the accident scene. Does that make sense?
Not in the least. Tis why I tossed it out here to get ripped up lol. Otherwise, I would believe that the sky is falling and the earth is flat.
 


Veranor

Member
I suggest your wife get a job and enlist the aid of your family to help sit the kids. This may be a long recovery.
Heh,

I will tell her you said that. She had a C-Section recently and cannot do anything. 1 week after, I had the wreck.

No we're pretty much screwed right now...
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
It couldn't hurt to have a chat with a lawyer about a possible uninsured motorist claim and see if it would be worth it for you to hire one.
 
Brilliant advice. Tell that to everyone as they are laying on a stretcher being put into an ambulance and not too aware of what's going on around them due to the trauma of a vehicle collision.
I would not tell that to everyone; it appears as if the OP was capable of performing this task. Anytime an ambulance is called, they'll haul you away ~ even for a 1/4" cut on your finger.

And to the OP : don't take legal advice from your Insurance Co. who is reluctant to move forward with a claim. You do have collision so the most you'll be out is your deductible (of course my deductible is 5K .. so it may not be a small amount). I would sign anything with them if you have any reservations about the document .. if you were injured, what about possible future issues?
 

Veranor

Member
I would not tell that to everyone; it appears as if the OP was capable of performing this task. Anytime an ambulance is called, they'll haul you away ~ even for a 1/4" cut on your finger.

And to the OP : don't take legal advice from your Insurance Co. who is reluctant to move forward with a claim. You do have collision so the most you'll be out is your deductible (of course my deductible is 5K .. so it may not be a small amount). I would sign anything with them if you have any reservations about the document .. if you were injured, what about possible future issues?
Oh they are moving forward with the repairs and such. Unfortunately I don't have the money for the deductible though, if it came to that.

I tried to get out of my truck when the EMTs were there... I fell out and onto the ground. I "thought" I would be fine lol, but that was shock. Pain like I've never felt before...

I also asked the EMT if they could let me get the guy's information and he said that it's the PD's job now to get that and their job is to get me to the hospital ASAP. I didn't see a uniform there though (maybe 15 mins after the wreck...).

I don't know how to get the money for the deductible, or how to pay my note off if the truck is totaled (I'm upside down). I guess I'll find a solution, but WTH at the PD! I mean... what if I was dead? Would they tell my wife "too bad so sad?"
 
I also asked the EMT if they could let me get the guy's information and he said that it's the PD's job now to get that and their job
Police are useless .. do not rely on them for anything ... . Plus they have no duty to protect anyone. Their tardiness? Who knows. But I know cops who wait 20 min before responding to calls just to avoid confrontation.

I have lived in places without any police at all, we had no issues .. guns make good neighbors.

Did you get any medical treatment other than x-rays, MRI etc? Hope your feeling better.

I have never called the police ; if I cannot handle a situation then the situation is also beyond the control of civilian law enforcement.
 

Veranor

Member
Police are useless ..
The detective assigned to my case appeared to enter a panic state when I called him and said WTF... Austin PD has been under tremendous scrutiny lately because of stupid idiotic things (personally I consider this one of them).

Did you get any medical treatment other than x-rays, MRI etc? Hope your feeling better.
So they gave me pain medicine and muscle relaxants in my thighs when I went into the ER. I started to have chest pains like a bad rib bruise and had problems breathing. They did an EKG and X-Ray but didn't see a break and heart appeared to be normal.

Doctor said I had severe whiplash and it would take months for me to recover, plus there could be other things masked by the inflamation. I went to the PCP for follow up and he said the same thing but that I would likely need physical therapy and I basically tore every muscle in my upper-back on the left side.

So now I'm hopped up on pain killers because they can't really do much else (broken ribs = nothing, broken clavicle = nothing). We don't know if there are legitimate breaks yet until inflamation goes down, and I can't hardly lift my newborn daughter.

So right now, life sucks.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Do you have gap insurance on your loan? Many lenders require or at least encourage it.

You should never set your deductible so high that you can't afford to pay it if you have to. I just lowered mine a bit, didn't cost much to go from 500 to 300.
 

Veranor

Member
Do you have gap insurance on your loan? Many lenders require or at least encourage it.

You should never set your deductible so high that you can't afford to pay it if you have to. I just lowered mine a bit, didn't cost much to go from 500 to 300.
No gap insurance. I wasn't aware it existed at the time. Fortunately my blue book is higher than my payoff, according to Wells Fargo. Deductible is already at 500 and I don't think I got a choice at lowering it when I got the policy at Progressive, but I plan on updating that as soon as I have a chance.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Ok if the value of the car is higher than your payoff, then you are NOT upside down and you don't need gap insurance.
 

CrashXprt

Junior Member
Police are useless .. do not rely on them for anything ... . Plus they have no duty to protect anyone. Their tardiness? Who knows. But I know cops who wait 20 min before responding to calls just to avoid confrontation.

I have lived in places without any police at all, we had no issues .. guns make good neighbors.

Did you get any medical treatment other than x-rays, MRI etc? Hope your feeling better.

I have never called the police ; if I cannot handle a situation then the situation is also beyond the control of civilian law enforcement.
This is very true. I've been investigating accidents for over 20 years and I have probably seen less than 15 accurate and well-documented police reports among the thousands I've reviewed. Even when they think they are doing a super job, they aren't. They just don't have the proper training or experience to handle even simple crash investigations or reconstructions. They have no duty to investigate anything, and they have no duty to investigate anything correctly. And they are ALWAYS looking for somebody to charge with a crime. I've attended some of the schools that train cops how to investigate accidents, and frequently it's like the blind leading the blind.

The advice I give to everybody I know is that they should NEVER provide a verbal statement to police at the scene. Just give them your information and tell them you will provide a WRITTEN declaration after you collect yourself and have a chance to think about what just happened. They won't like it, but it protects you from illiterate cops who can't read their own notes and from "super-cops" looking to make an arrest. That way, you have complete control over what is attributed to you in the police report and you are less likely to unintentionally say something stupid that will get you arrested.

The next thing I tell people who have been in a crash: Get an honest injury attorney (yes, they do exist - ask for references and check with them). Make sure he is not in over his head by asking lots of questions. You have the right to know who your attorney's experts are (you are paying for them) and you should make sure they know what they are talking about by looking at examples of their previous work. Don't call the T.V. attorneys. You always have the right to change attorneys if they aren't aggressively prosecuting your case - DO IT. Don't trust anybody (like insurance adjusters or police officers) who are not working for YOU because they will tell you things like you have no case or that it must have been your fault. Ask an impartial expert or an advocate for you.

And even if you believe an accident was your own fault, you might be wrong if there were contributing factors like roadway defects or missing traffic control devices. Unless you've been trained to recognize what constitutes a dangerous roadway condition, don't assume you are at fault, and NEVER trust the unqualified opinions of police officers. The only thing they know about traffic accidents is the vehicle code, which is why they obliterate evidence, administer FSTs to people with head injuries, and generally stomp on victims rights to compensation for their injuries.

And if any police officers are offended by this, good. You should be. You officers, deputies, and patrolmen really need to clean up your act in this regard and realize there is a whole world related to crash investigation that goes far beyond making arrests and writing down license plate numbers. And you have the power to ruin peoples' lives so please start being more responsible with that.
 

CrashXprt

Junior Member
Oh yeah, I almost forgot:

You should have somebody take LOTS pictures of your vehicle before it is sold or destroyed. Take at least 100 pictures inside and out to make sure you get everything that might be important later. Also take pictures of the scene. Next, consult with an attorney or two. If the traffic signal was not properly designed or if there is a sight-distance issue, there may be liability on the part of the public agency in charge of the intersection.

My final bit of advice: Support legislation that makes it difficult for illegal aliens to live in this country. Support any politicians who are in favor of deportation and who want to build a border fence. Chances are, the person that hit you ran because they were an unlicensed illegal alien. This is one of the thousands of unintended effects of allowing our country to be invaded by Mexico.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Taking pictures is great. The most important thing that could be done, that usually isn't, is taking pictures of the scene BEFORE any of the cars are moved. Of course, it's not always safe to do that.

But 100 pictures is excessive. No one is going to look at that.

If you file an insurance claim, the insurance company will take lots of pictures of the damage when they do the estimate. The only thing they can't do is take pictures that don't exist anymore, meaning the scene as it was before anyone moved.

Now in a rear-end accident, that's not AS important, since it's obvious who is at fault, but any type of accident where it might be a word-vs-word, it's really good to get pics if you can, without putting yourself in danger.

BUT if you just hit your head or are otherwise injured, it is perfectly fine to not worry about any of that stuff and just get yourself to the hospital where you belong. Don't go wandering out into traffic if you are in that much pain or can't think straight.

And plenty of people hit and run even though they are citizens. Often because they are drunk or unlicensed. But you don't need to be an alien to be stupid or break the law.
 
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