Was injured in wreck last week, need advice

[nvaughan3]

What is the name of your state?I am in Michigan.

I was taking my GF to work in late Jan. 2005 when an 84 year old man exited a car wash driveway at 25mph and plowed through the intersection into me on the driver's side front/side of my 6mo old 2005 car. GF and I did not take ambulance but later went on our own. She suffered chest, back and neck pains. Her pain has passed. My injuries were similar, but seem to be more severe. My back pain is still prominent, tolerable on meds but severe without them.

We both have state farm. He was at fault, cited for careless driving. My car sustained ~5500 in damage. So far, I'm told my that property damage, medical bills, deductible, lost wages (4 days me, 2 days GF) are covered. However, I'm out a rental car. My expenses so far are ~$200 and likely will double. Because I did not have rental car insurance on my car, and Mich. is no fault, I'm told the other driver's insurance will not reimburse me for rental car.

I'm getting scared that the injuries might be more than temporary. I contacted an attorney 3 days afterwards but they didn't seem too interested as the injuries were relatively minor. My questions that I would like answered are:

1. I want my rental car expenses reimbursed! Am I justified in taking this man to small claims court for these expenses since insurance will not pay for them?

2. Can I sue this man in small claims court for diminished value of my new car? I'm sure the repair will bring it back to near new, but the severity of the crash will affect resale value. As michigan is not one of those states that requires insurance to compensate for that, can I hold the driver personally responsible?

3. At what point do I broach the subject of pain and suffering, and with who? (My insurance guys, his insurance guys?) This is my first accident and so far I've only dealt with my insurance but they've said nothing of compensation beyond bills. I'm not sure how long my injuries will last.

Thank you very much.

 

[nvaughan3]

Anyone?

Please advise if I would be better off posting this question in a forum other than this this.

 

[carofl93]

We both have state farm. He was at fault, cited for careless driving. My car sustained ~5500 in damage. So far, I'm told my that property damage, medical bills, deductible, lost wages (4 days me, 2 days GF) are covered. However, I'm out a rental car. My expenses so far are ~$200 and likely will double. Because I did not have rental car insurance on my car, and Mich. is no fault, I'm told the other driver's insurance will not reimburse me for rental car.

I'm in FL and we are in a similar situation in that FL is a no fault state as well. My hubby was in an accident that totalled our car (thankfully we have 2) and State Farm is paying for a rental car until a check is cut for the cost of our car. I don't know if it's because we have an attorney involved, but you might want to ask about the rental car. Our car is insured through Geico and we do have rental car coverage, but State Farm is the one footing the bill for us.

I'm getting scared that the injuries might be more than temporary. I contacted an attorney 3 days afterwards but they didn't seem too interested as the injuries were relatively minor. My questions that I would like answered are:

1. I want my rental car expenses reimbursed! Am I justified in taking this man to small claims court for these expenses since insurance will not pay for them?

2. Can I sue this man in small claims court for diminished value of my new car? I'm sure the repair will bring it back to near new, but the severity of the crash will affect resale value. As michigan is not one of those states that requires insurance to compensate for that, can I hold the driver personally responsible?

3. At what point do I broach the subject of pain and suffering, and with who? (My insurance guys, his insurance guys?) This is my first accident and so far I've only dealt with my insurance but they've said nothing of compensation beyond bills. I'm not sure how long my injuries will last.

Thank you very much.

I would look for another attorney...you never know if there is lasting damage associated with an accident. My husband thought his injuries were minor but was in severe pain. He went to the ER and had Xrays done and was sent for an MRI that shows a bone chip in his neck. I'm not encouraging a lawsuit by any means, but you need to make sure that you are okay.

Carol

 

[Lynx 36]

Quote: "
1. I want my rental car expenses reimbursed! Am I justified in taking this man to small claims court for these expenses since insurance will not pay for them?

Your call.

Quote: "2. Can I sue this man in small claims court for diminished value of my new car? I'm sure the repair will bring it back to near new, but the severity of the crash will affect resale value. As michigan is not one of those states that requires insurance to compensate for that, can I hold the driver personally responsible?"

If MI law says you can't then there is your answer.

Quote: "3. At what point do I broach the subject of pain and suffering, and with who? (My insurance guys, his insurance guys?) This is my first accident and so far I've only dealt with my insurance but they've said nothing of compensation beyond bills. I'm not sure how long my injuries will last."

Your insurance co. will pay your meds up to the amount of your PIP coverage limits. Any meds over your amount or any punitive damages will have to come from the OP's insurance co.

 

[nvaughan3]

You say it's "my call". Well, I definitely will if I CAN, but I'm that sure of that. I was looking for an answer of whether it would be legally allowed to pursue this claim in small claims (whether I'd have a snowball's chance in hell of getting a judge to award it). I can't find the answer on my own as a layman hence my post here. Same for the diminished value on the automobile. I know in Michigan that insurance companies are allowed to exclude that from their policies in terms of compensation to a insured person but didn't know if a claim like this was likely (or possible) to be awarded in small claims.

 

[teflon_jones]

Yes, you can go to small claims to get reimbursed for your rental, and yes, you're likely to win. However, the amount of time and money that'll be required to do this probably make it a wash even if you win.

You can sue for diminished value to your car too, but you'll need the opinions of a number of experts in selling cars and car appraisal to help you win it. How much was the sticker price of the car? With only $5500 in damage to a new car, it doesn't sound like you'd get a lot in diminished value on the car, unless it was a $13000 car.

 

[nvaughan3]

Yes, you can go to small claims to get reimbursed for your rental, and yes, you're likely to win. However, the amount of time and money that'll be required to do this probably make it a wash even if you win.

You can sue for diminished value to your car too, but you'll need the opinions of a number of experts in selling cars and car appraisal to help you win it. How much was the sticker price of the car? With only $5500 in damage to a new car, it doesn't sound like you'd get a lot in diminished value on the car, unless it was a $13000 car.

Hi, I really appreciate the response.

Eh, I don't really care how much time it takes. I'm out a few hundred bucks, that's big enough for me to pursue. I intend to write the gentleman a letter first, asking for perhaps 75% of the expenses before I do this though, hoping to avoid the hassle.

The car was a 2005 Scion tC, I paid about 17 grand.


Any other responses are greatly appreciated!

 

[nvaughan3]

I sent the gentleman a letter asking for approx. 2/3 of my real rental car costs, or I'd take him to court. I received a letter from his state farm agent today that says:


We received the documents that you sent to our insured XXXX XXXX. Unfortunately, Michigan No-Fault Law does not support State Farm issuing payment for rental car reimbursement. In addition, your request for rental reimbursement would not be owed from XXXXX. Please feel free to contact State farm...


I understand that State Farm will not pay it. My question is why is XXXXX (other 100% at fault driver) not responsible for it? Their wording, "would not be owed" leads me to believe they believe he is not legally responsible. According to posters here, that is incorrect.

So what's the real situation?

 

[nvaughan3]

anyone?

 

[carofl93]

Your situation is odd to me. I've never heard of State Farm not taking care of a victim, especially in a no fault state.
When my husband was hit, he was driving a 67 Galaxie, and it was a chain reaction accident that was caused by a younger driver (19) in a souped up car. Within 3 days of the accident, State Farm was on the phone offering a rental car until their assessor could total out our Galaxie.
In our case, my hubby was already working with a personal injury attorney due to a previous accident with the Galaxie, but I don't think that State Farm had been told about the attorney at that point.
Hold onto your receipts and when it comes time to play the valuation/damage game with them, you can probably work that into your reimbursement.

Carol