Rear ended at a red light

[Yangima]

What is the name of your state? Maine
Well the back story is that my mother was going up to northern maine, to enjoy the columbus day monday in her 1984 cheverolet citation. she was coming up to a red light and was at a complete stop, when all of a sudden she was struck from behind. A man driving a 2003 ford rear ended her going 40 mph in a 25mph zone. He was driving his mother's car, and according to him his mother, who was sitting in the back seat, distracted him. The mother is the actual owner of the car and the license plate and insurance were form New York, the son was from Missouri...the hell...Now my mother is fine, but she no longer has a car to drive to work, she has pains in her neck that need a chiropractor. And now she is scared to get in a car...so emotional trauma? Her car, the 1984 citation, was great car excellent condition, great gas mialage, had less than 100k miles on it, had a new painjob done, basically my mom loved the car. Can she ask for replacement value and other expenses, such as medical bills, her emotional distress, work compensation, and the inconvenience...heck she was stuck in northern maine for a whole day...
If she goes to a claim court how would it effect the situation if the other party is out of state, I personally don't think that will matter but she has some concerns about that.

[ecmst12]

Your mother is entitled to receive EITHER the cost to repair her car OR the fair market value of the car (which may be adjusted for the value of the paint job if it was very recent and she saved the receipt). She are not entitled to the replacement value for your car. The accident will be governed by the rules of the state where it happened, was that Maine? She is entitled to have her actual medical bills paid as well as compensation for pain and suffering/loss of work/inconvenience. If her injuries are significant I'd suggest she hire a lawyer, but it sounds like the injuries weren't serious so she could just wait until her treatment is complete or close to complete, and ask for an amount she thinks is fair. The insurance company will try to negotiate so she should be prepared to haggle and justify the amount she asks for. She can also request that they pay for a rental vehicle for the time it takes her car to be repaired or she can pay for it herself and file a claim for reimbursement after.

[Yangima]

Can't we do anything? My family is not wealthy, and now we lost our only car (we sold off others in the past) He was going 40 in a residential area...is there anything else we can do?

thx.

[ecmst12]

You can file a claim for the things I noted with his insurance company. Is the car repairable or is it totalled? Has it been looked at by a mechanic yet?

[moburkes]

Your mother's medical bills can be paid for by her own insurance company. Medical payments is mandatory in ME, but the only requirement is $1000. Additional bills are the responsibility of the at fault party.

She will not get replacement cost or inconvenience. She MAY be eligible for a small amount of pain and suffering since her injuries are not permanent.

Your department of insurance's website:


COLLISION COVERAGE pays for physical damage to your car when your car collides with an object, like a tree or another car. Collision insurance may be required by your bank or credit union if you have a loan. Also, if you are leasing a car, the person who leases the car to you may also require it.

If you have an older car worth less than $2,000, you may not want to buy collision coverage, because you are likely to pay more money in premium than you would ever receive because of a claim. Auto insurance policies only require the company to cover the cost of repairs or value of the car, not to replace your vehicle. When an accident involves an older car, the cost of fixing the car can quickly exceed the worth of the car. If that happens, insurers will "total" the car and pay you what the car was worth instead of fixing it.


You should be able to get a rental vehicle paid for by the at fault party.