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Got hit by an impaired 18 year old

8K views 39 replies 30 participants last post by  Whiteboy 
#1 ·
Well,

I was leaving my girlfriends dad's house last night around 11:00 pm. I was going to make a left on 22 Mile Road from VanDyke Road, and I had a green arrow to turn left, I saw a car coming down VanDyke, but from where I was it looked like she was slowing down, so I proceeded to go through my turn. I looked down at my speedometer to see what gear I would have to shift back in to, looked back up and saw a green Cavalier heading straight towards my right front tire, and then bam, she smashed in to me. The impact caused the air bags to go off, and also caused the Jeep to turn on the driver side. I only have soft windows, so my elbow, and the entire left side of my body hit the pavement along with the Jeep.

This is a ****ty cell phone picture, but you can see how the Jeep was turned on it's side.



The Cavalier missed the front bumper completely, and hit me only in the front right tire, causing the control arm on the right side to sheer off of the axle, break the front driveshaft, mangled one of my Eagle Alloy rims, broke the shock mount on the right side, and caused my coil spring to go flying about 20 feet in the opposite direction. I think the impact shifted the frame, so I'm pretty sure it's going to be a total loss.

The driver of the other car was an 18 year old female, driving her friends car who was in the passenger seat. Michigan has a no-tolerance law for minors, and being that she blew a .04 on the breathalizer, she was arrested on scene.
 
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#11 ·
She should NEVER drive again! Its a shame about your Jeep, but it's replaceable... At least your ok. Driving under the influence should never be taken lightly. It makes me sick to my stomache to think about.... Anyway, sorry about the Jeep and thankfully your OK.
 
#12 ·
That sucks....i hope all ends well, good luck
 
#30 ·
Your insurance covers the vehicle...not the driver. I know because I was driving a buddies vet and slid it into a curb when I was 18. I called my insurance to handle the claim and my agent asked if my friend had insurance. I told him yes and he said that they would have to pay for it. Apparently, like I said, when you buy insurance it is for the vehicle not you....ie...you let your buddy drive your car because his is in the shop and he wrecks it...guess what...you have a new claim on your insurance!
By the way, insurance companies SUCK:brickwall
 
#15 ·
Update:

The insurance company called me back and said they would be covering me in this instance, being that it was a mistake on their part for not informing me of said "loophole" in the first place. A total-loss representative has contacted me, and they are awaiting a third-party estimate on the value of the Jeep, which I should know by Thursday as to what their decision is.

My insurance has a rental car coverage, so they set me up in a Hyundai Sonata, which isn't a bad little car, and it gets about 25mpg, which is good. Today was my first day back to work, and my arm is killing me, and to make matters worse I forgot my Motrin at home :(.

I will update the thread on Thursday when I hear back from the insurance company.
 
#16 ·
That's good about the insurance. They probably realized that covering you this time might be more valuable than losing a customer. Still think its BS.

Sorry about your arm, man. Anyway don't forget thee Sonata wave :wave:
 
#18 ·
Well this is my first post, mainly because your story really struck me as similar to my life. Basically the same thing happened to me last easter... except it was an impaired 18yo male.

Also my fiance drives a green cavalier and that picture sent shivers down my spine.

VERY glad you're ok...accidents suck.
 
#20 ·
maybe I misunderstood somewhere, but why are you even talking to your insurance company? This should all be on the chicks insurance, not yours
 
#21 ·
Michigan has a no-fault policy. Meaning that no one is blamed at the scene, so I have to call my insurance company, they determine who is at fault, in this case the girl who hit me, and then my insurance company will go after her insurance company to pay for the damages.

Update:

I was reached by a total-loss representative today and they offered me a settlement of $8,900 for the Jeep, which I accepted. So I guess all that's left now is to sign over the title, and cash the check.
 
#26 ·
^ I'm sorry you are going through all of this right now. May of 2007 I was hit by a drunk too. The insurance company of the woman who hit me (Geico) reaaaaaallly tried to stick it to me. The would only offer me $8K for my car (valued at nearly $14K on KBB). I ended up getting fed up with Geico and opened the claim with my own insurance company, and they issued a check for me of $13,800.

Unfortunately my friend, you are about to become very versed with the ins-and-outs of insurance claims. Good luck.
 
#28 ·
Yeah, you want a copy of the Total Loss evaluation that your insurance company used to determine the value of the vehicle. Might be something called a CCC report, Mitchel evaluation, or the NADA guide used as a baseline value with adjustments for optional accessories, milage, etc.

You also probably would like to see the sale of salvage receipt or whatever documentation they are using to determine the salvage value. The salvage value will be deducted from the amount that your carrier demands as reimbursement from the other carrier after they settle with you, so it is not really important unless you want to buy back your stuff.

I am not entirely sure whether or not you are actually entitled to see this stuff...but it is what the insurance company should have to document the settlement in their file. They will most likely need it if they are going to attempt to get reimbursed from the other girl's company (it's called subrogation and it is generally how your company gets it's money back from the at-fault party).

I work for a company that audits insurance claims. Depending on the carriers involved I might see your claim! Haha. Good luck. I am surprised you got as much as you did for it really.
 
#33 ·
:wave:
Yeah, you want a copy of the Total Loss evaluation that your insurance company used to determine the value of the vehicle. Might be something called a CCC report, Mitchel evaluation, or the NADA guide used as a baseline value with adjustments for optional accessories, milage, etc.

You also probably would like to see the sale of salvage receipt or whatever documentation they are using to determine the salvage value. The salvage value will be deducted from the amount that your carrier demands as reimbursement from the other carrier after they settle with you, so it is not really important unless you want to buy back your stuff.

I am not entirely sure whether or not you are actually entitled to see this stuff...but it is what the insurance company should have to document the settlement in their file. They will most likely need it if they are going to attempt to get reimbursed from the other girl's company (it's called subrogation and it is generally how your company gets it's money back from the at-fault party).

I work for a company that audits insurance claims. Depending on the carriers involved I might see your claim! Haha. Good luck. I am surprised you got as much as you did for it really.
As this guy stated before. Request a copy of the CCC evaluation. You are allowed to have a copy or the evaul. It will be an itemized list of options that are installed on your car. It will have dollar signs next to each option. And if they use CCC Evaluation i doubt that they even added things like the lift, wheels/tires, WINCH, or any other mods. All depends on your Insurance Co. Who is it by the way? I would not be so quick to close this claim. I would be acutally interested in seeing a copy of the Evaluation. They probably also deducted for UPD (Unrelated Prior Damage). like dents/dings not related to the accident. No way to dispute that. If they did not add value for the mods i would take em with you.
 
#32 ·
That's how it always seems to go where I'm from. My friends brother recently just got his 3rd DUI in 2 years (two with his kids in the car) and all the state has done is issue some community service and some practically non existent fines. ******* still gets behind the wheel drunk and never thinks twice about it.
 
#37 ·
Hmm, were the girls hot? I would of taken them home... but thats just me :).... man this sucks. I'm sorry to hear about your arm, and especially the Jeep.
 
#39 ·
Update on health status: It's been almost 3 months since the accident, and I've experienced some aches and pains lately that didn't exist prior to this accident. About a week after the accident, my back was bothering me quite a bit, so much so that I couldn't lift anything, and being that I was moving that month it made things a bit interesting and a little more stressful for my roommates.

Also, if I'm walking around a lot, my left hip begins to hurt, I don't mean slight pain I mean "Why is someone sticking that 12 gauge needle through the side of my pelvis?" pain, which should be completely unheard of at my age, I'm only 21 for pete sakes. My back is extremely sensitive any more. As an example just last week I was shoveling snow in my driveway and threw out my back within 10 minutes, hurt like hell for 3-4 days.

I'm not planning on pursuing any kind of medical compensation, because I just don't care enough, I just thought I would post this up so that people realize what kind of toll something like this can take on your body in the long term, even if you don't feel it right away.
 
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