rear ended by company truck

[iamjenny]

What is the name of your state? ny

Im writing this for my fiance. On sat he was stopped at a red light with one car ahead of him and a large delivery truck behind him. The light turned green, the guy in front went, my fiance was just about to go and the truck behind him decided to go first. His car was smashed in the back with no damage to the truck. the guy admitted he was at fault. police and ambulence came but he ended up going to the hospital for xrays about 40 min later, his mom came and took him there since i don't have a car. the doc said he has severe whiplash/sprain in his back and gave him painkillers. he went to his own doc yesterday and he says that he may have a slipped disk and wants him to get an MRI and put him on more medication. He can hardly stand up straight because of the pain he's in. now we find out that his car might be totaled and he still owes 10 grand on it when the value they said is only about 5000. Should he sue the company for pain and suffering, loss of transportation(now we have no transportation, just a rental that thier insurance is paying for) and for medical bills? also how much do people usually get when they sue a major corporation? any help would be appreciated.

 

[AaronJ]

How on earth did a "large delivery truck" that was stopped directly behind your fiance manage to build up enough speed to "possibly total" your car?

Also, why would you want to sue for "loss of transportation" when they have already given you a rental car?

 

[iamjenny]

I guess the guy just let down on the gas and bashed into it. anyway we found out today that they are going to fix it rather than total it because we have no other car. he did enough damage to cause $5000 worth of damage though. i was asking about the suing part because there is no way we could afford another car while paying off this one and why should he have to because this driver was a dumbass who didn't pay attention. i'm sick of getting screwed for other peoples mistakes.

 

[JETX]

"Should he sue the company for pain and suffering,"
*** Too early to tell.

"loss of transportation(now we have no transportation, just a rental that thier insurance is paying for)"
*** No.

"and for medical bills?"
*** See first answer.

"also how much do people usually get when they sue a major corporation?"
*** Depends on the facts, damages, injuries, etc. Oh, and since this is your 'fiance', you get nothing, so quit figuring out how to 'get the system'. This is not the lotto!!

 

[iamjenny]

I am not trying to "get" the system, i'm asking these questions for him. second i am his fiance so this does pertain to me since we live together and share bills. I've had my first car smashed in a storm this past winter and the second car i got was stolen by some little **** and crashed into a house a month later. i was using his car to get back and forth to work so that WE can pay the bills, also i spend 2 hours driving everyday so i NEED the car and he spends 5 minutes. so excuse me if i'm a little miffed that i get nothing as well as him. that was OUR only mode of transportation and rentals don't last forever.

 

[JETX]

First, since you are not married, you have NO legal standing in this issue.
Second, if this is such a major problem for you, why doesn't he turn this in to his insurance company??? Of course, we already know the answer.... he doesn't have insurance.

That became pretty obvious when you said that your car was stolen.... and now you relied on his car...... because YOU didn't have insurance to cover the theft (and probably the storm damage also).

 

[HomeGuru]

Writer, why did he not consult with a PI attorney?

 

[iamjenny]

Of course we have insurance! jeezus were not that stupid. for the amount a month he pays he should end up with a less than crappy car because of what this guy did and will probably have higher rates now. as for me, my first car that was crashed the insurance company only gave me 3000 for it and i still owed 800 and the car that was stolen i JUST put insurance on and didn't even get a chance to drive it yet. I got 1000 for that one and the insurance company is suing the kid who stole it but i doubt they will get anything out of it since he's a little criminal in jail anyway. As for us not being married, he shared in the money also. i want whats best for him seeing as how he's gonna give himself an ulcer over this whole mess. Don't assume to know something when i haven't told the whole story....

yes he did call a lawyer but he's not getting back to him about anything..only time will tell.

 

[HomeGuru]

hahaha, what joke; you haven't told the whole story.

 

[iamjenny]

Forget it.. i come to this board hoping to get a little advice and maybe some peace of mind and all i get is how i'm basically being greedy (when my fiance is out of work because of it and is extremely worried about his finances) and how i'm trying to cover up something like i have something to hide. ridiculous. Sorry for asking for advice about a situation neither of us has ever been in. didn't know i couldn't get some straight answers from an advice forum. go figure.

 

[HomeGuru]

When you come to an advice website, one of the things you needed to do was tell the whole story briefly. Without all the facts, how are we supposed to help you. You got some straight answers based on the information you posted. Go figure.

 

[iamjenny]

what i said in the first post was the whole story. the only thing i didn't mention was that he called his insurance company and their's and also a lawyer but the lawyer isn't getting back to him. I'm asking for legal advice and what usually happens in these situations. Insurance is only gonna help so much. if the car was totaled we would still have had to pay 10 grand on and be without a car. their insurance was only gonna pay for a rental for 2 weeks. and now we have medical bills on top of that.

 

[JETX]

I responded accurately to your post, based on the facts you presented.

Instead of reading the FULL response and at least acknowledging it, your 'follow-up' attitude focused on a single statement ("This is not the lotto!!").

My adding that statement was in response to the 'tone' of your statement "also how much do people usually get when they sue a major corporation?". I took that as being a sign that you MAY be motivated (at least partly) by $$. Especially considering the FACT that you have NO standing in this matter.

Any follow-ups (by myself and others) were clearly in response to YOUR attitude!!
So, yeah!!! Go figure!!

 

[iamjenny]

what "tone" and "attitude" did i use in my first statement? i simply asked that question because neither of us has ever had to sue a corporation let alone a person. My "attitude" came the second time i posted when (and yes i did appreciate the advice) you turned it into "another person who wants to milk the sytem" add on to your post. I didn't need that and yes i get offended by that. I don't ask for much and neither does he. once again i do appreciate your advice but don't expect me to thank you for the add on comment.

 

[JETX]

You're welcome.