minor accident advice

dth656 · 02-02-2010, 04:45 PM

all,

wanted to ask the forum for advice. i accidentally bumped the car in front of me at a stop light, a white camry taxi cab. estimated speed was less than .5 mph, and the impact was negligible. actually, this is the first time i've been thankful for having the dealer installed front license plate, as there was abs no damage to my car.

the other car had two small dent's about 4mm in diameter, but that was it (the clearcoat was intact as well where the bumps were) caused by the mounting screws for my license plate. the rest of the taxi bumper was already thrashed previous to the impact (as expected, taxi cabs live a hard life--most of the damage seemed to be from people loading/unloading luggage). because it was a taxi cab, the police showed up. after inspecting both cars, police recommendation was not to file a report, but the taxi cab company elected to do that. it was reported to my insurance, and i've also sent my insurance company pictures of the other car, and made a statement, etc.

now i find out from my ins company that the other driver is filing a medical claim. do i have any recourse? wouldn't my ins company do some due diligence on the claim being filed (i.e. given that the impact, damage are so minimal)? i'm an engineer, so i wouldnt mind doing a few quick calculations to estimate the amount of energy involved int he crash, but not sure that would help. any thoughts guys? or are you automatically screwed when it comes to a medical claim?

Kylekuu · 02-02-2010, 04:49 PM

depends on the police report. Then on your insurance company, either way your covered so you shouldn't have to worry about it. But i'd say at least 700$, a trip to the er just for them to check you out. Then anything after that depends on your insurance's investigation. Can't claim rediculous amounts if it's noted to be a super small incident - insurance fraud.

i said 700 because that's how much the insurance company had to pay my medical insurance back when i was in a accident. Regardless, you are at fault since you rear-ended the taxi, can't argue it. And taxi guy can always claim muscle ache/pain which really can't be detectable.

SS e93 · 02-02-2010, 04:50 PM

well that what insurance is for...provided you have medical liability coverage and whatnot. if you do not have that kind of coverage and liability, then you may need a lawyer. his validity for his claim depends on how quickly he sought medical attention after.

dth656 · 02-02-2010, 04:56 PM

i have comprehensive insurance, but i want to avoid an increase in premiums. if the damage claim is small enough, my premiums will not go up. if there is some huge medical claim, then they will go up.

sleepyx637 · 02-02-2010, 05:03 PM

once the insurance companies are involved, it's really out of your hands. shouldve just offered him a hundred bucks on the spot to make him go away.

dth656 · 02-02-2010, 05:28 PM

i thought abt it, but the guy was freaking out. he looked eritrean, so i used some of my half assed arabic to calm him down. apparently, they have camera's in the cabs, his supervisor was on his way, and basically they need to do the full report.

looking back, i would say i should probably have waved a couple hundred in his face

sleepyx637 · 02-02-2010, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dth656

i thought abt it, but the guy was freaking out. he looked eritrean, so i used some of my half assed arabic to calm him down. apparently, they have camera's in the cabs, his supervisor was on his way, and basically they need to do the full report.

looking back, i would say i should probably have waved a couple hundred in his face

these cabbies probably bump each other all the time. anyway, the $100 offer has worked for me once, and it was completely worth it even though the damage was nowhere near $100. hope everything works out well.

cal fan?

Bobble · 02-02-2010, 05:42 PM

Yep out of your hands and up to the insurance company. You can't make them fight or settle. Case in point, my GF is in sales and drives about 40K a year. Couple years ago she taps, actually hits maybe at 4 miles an hour based on damage to her plate, the car in front of her. Guy sues and shit you not claims he can't have sex since the accident. Now what a crock load but the insurance company offered money to settle and he took it no matter what we said. Be prepared for some interesting allegations. Her insurance is company paid company car ut damn I'll bet it did go up!

dth656 · 02-02-2010, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepyx637

these cabbies probably bump each other all the time. anyway, the $100 offer has worked for me once, and it was completely worth it even though the damage was nowhere near $100. hope everything works out well.

cal fan?

yep, bears fan. unfort, my berkeley alumni plate did nothing to help me in this case, ha ha.

dth656 · 02-02-2010, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobble

Yep out of your hands and up to the insurance company. You can't make them fight or settle. Case in point, my GF is in sales and drives about 40K a year. Couple years ago she taps, actually hits maybe at 4 miles an hour based on damage to her plate, the car in front of her. Guy sues and shit you not claims he can't have sex since the accident. Now what a crock load but the insurance company offered money to settle and he took it no matter what we said. Be prepared for some interesting allegations. Her insurance is company paid company car ut damn I'll bet it did go up!

unbelievable--i bet the guy was laughing all the way to the bank. many years ago, i was in a company vehicle and got rear-ended. i should have claimed some kind of sex disability and gotten some $$ as well.

yeah, if there is a payout of more than 750 dollars, i'll get hit w/ a surcharge for 2 years i think.

sleepyx637 · 02-02-2010, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dth656

unbelievable--i bet the guy was laughing all the way to the bank. many years ago, i was in a company vehicle and got rear-ended. i should have claimed some kind of sex disability and gotten some $$ as well.

yeah, if there is a payout of more than 750 dollars, i'll get hit w/ a surcharge for 2 years i think.

unfortunately, i bet your insurance company's "convenience payment" (a fee they'd rather settle for since it'll probably be cheaper than the cost of litigation) is higher than 750. Did I read that right though? .5mph? or 5mph?

JayKay335i · 02-02-2010, 07:45 PM

Good thing insurance was involved.

Fortunately, with the negligible amount of damaged caused I doubt that your insurance company is going to pay this guys medical bills. Plenty of scammers out there.

dth656 · 02-02-2010, 11:19 PM

nope, you read correctly .5 mph as in 1/2 of a mph, hence the minimal damage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepyx637

unfortunately, i bet your insurance company's "convenience payment" (a fee they'd rather settle for since it'll probably be cheaper than the cost of litigation) is higher than 750. Did I read that right though? .5mph? or 5mph?

demosthenes · 02-03-2010, 08:17 AM

Insurance companies deal with this kind of stuff all the time. Since there was little impact and little damage, they aren't going to let anyone walk away with lots of bucks. My guess is that they'll be willing to give the guy a few bucks to make it go away.

02-02-2010, 04:45 PM	#1
dth656 First Lieutenant 36 Rep 395 Posts Drives: e90 330i Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: ASCII iTrader: (0)	minor accident advice all, wanted to ask the forum for advice. i accidentally bumped the car in front of me at a stop light, a white camry taxi cab. estimated speed was less than .5 mph, and the impact was negligible. actually, this is the first time i've been thankful for having the dealer installed front license plate, as there was abs no damage to my car. the other car had two small dent's about 4mm in diameter, but that was it (the clearcoat was intact as well where the bumps were) caused by the mounting screws for my license plate. the rest of the taxi bumper was already thrashed previous to the impact (as expected, taxi cabs live a hard life--most of the damage seemed to be from people loading/unloading luggage). because it was a taxi cab, the police showed up. after inspecting both cars, police recommendation was not to file a report, but the taxi cab company elected to do that. it was reported to my insurance, and i've also sent my insurance company pictures of the other car, and made a statement, etc. now i find out from my ins company that the other driver is filing a medical claim. do i have any recourse? wouldn't my ins company do some due diligence on the claim being filed (i.e. given that the impact, damage are so minimal)? i'm an engineer, so i wouldnt mind doing a few quick calculations to estimate the amount of energy involved int he crash, but not sure that would help. any thoughts guys? or are you automatically screwed when it comes to a medical claim? __________________ go bears
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02-02-2010, 04:49 PM	#2
Kylekuu Captain 30 Rep 679 Posts Drives: 08 328xi, 84 318i Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kenosha, WI iTrader: (0)	depends on the police report. Then on your insurance company, either way your covered so you shouldn't have to worry about it. But i'd say at least 700$, a trip to the er just for them to check you out. Then anything after that depends on your insurance's investigation. Can't claim rediculous amounts if it's noted to be a super small incident - insurance fraud. i said 700 because that's how much the insurance company had to pay my medical insurance back when i was in a accident. Regardless, you are at fault since you rear-ended the taxi, can't argue it. And taxi guy can always claim muscle ache/pain which really can't be detectable.
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02-02-2010, 04:50 PM	#3
SS e93 Captain 27 Rep 850 Posts Drives: e93 M3 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: new york iTrader: (2)	well that what insurance is for...provided you have medical liability coverage and whatnot. if you do not have that kind of coverage and liability, then you may need a lawyer. his validity for his claim depends on how quickly he sought medical attention after.
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02-02-2010, 04:56 PM	#4
dth656 First Lieutenant 36 Rep 395 Posts Drives: e90 330i Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: ASCII iTrader: (0)	i have comprehensive insurance, but i want to avoid an increase in premiums. if the damage claim is small enough, my premiums will not go up. if there is some huge medical claim, then they will go up. __________________ go bears
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02-02-2010, 05:03 PM	#5
sleepyx637 Captain 19 Rep 952 Posts Drives: '09 E92 335i Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: LA iTrader: (0)	once the insurance companies are involved, it's really out of your hands. shouldve just offered him a hundred bucks on the spot to make him go away.
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02-02-2010, 05:28 PM	#6
dth656 First Lieutenant 36 Rep 395 Posts Drives: e90 330i Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: ASCII iTrader: (0)	i thought abt it, but the guy was freaking out. he looked eritrean, so i used some of my half assed arabic to calm him down. apparently, they have camera's in the cabs, his supervisor was on his way, and basically they need to do the full report. looking back, i would say i should probably have waved a couple hundred in his face __________________ go bears
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02-02-2010, 05:42 PM	#8
Bobble Major 56 Rep 1,232 Posts Drives: Whatever POS the wife leaves Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: SoCal iTrader: (1)	Yep out of your hands and up to the insurance company. You can't make them fight or settle. Case in point, my GF is in sales and drives about 40K a year. Couple years ago she taps, actually hits maybe at 4 miles an hour based on damage to her plate, the car in front of her. Guy sues and shit you not claims he can't have sex since the accident. Now what a crock load but the insurance company offered money to settle and he took it no matter what we said. Be prepared for some interesting allegations. Her insurance is company paid company car ut damn I'll bet it did go up!
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02-02-2010, 07:45 PM	#12
JayKay335i Banned 189 Rep 5,046 Posts Drives: ///M323 DCT Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: North Dakota; its best DUHHHHHH iTrader: (1)	Good thing insurance was involved. Fortunately, with the negligible amount of damaged caused I doubt that your insurance company is going to pay this guys medical bills. Plenty of scammers out there.
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02-03-2010, 08:17 AM	#14
demosthenes Major 48 Rep 1,162 Posts Drives: E90 328i 6MT Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: SF Bay Area iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 328i sedan [0.00]	Insurance companies deal with this kind of stuff all the time. Since there was little impact and little damage, they aren't going to let anyone walk away with lots of bucks. My guess is that they'll be willing to give the guy a few bucks to make it go away.
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