life goes on!

[juanita]

On Sunday my 18 yr old son was hit by another driver and totalled my car. Only one of brand my new tires left on the car. He is very, very lucky and was not seriously hurt. A bruised bone in his lower left leg, and a bunch of cuts on his left arm and shoulder. Some of them they stitched up and others they didn't. He ended up with an infection in some of the unstitched ones and is now on antibiotics. So now we just wait to see what insurance sompanies will do about me getting another car. And we all know how some insurance companies can be. Getting that call from the police was just as scarey as the call 3 years ago telling me that I have cancer.

[Mary Anne in TX]

Hi Juanita!
I reared 2 boys and I think just having an 18 year old son is scary!!!
I loved having boys, but as they got older and were driving, I worried more about them getting hit than hitting someone else. My youngest was in a small pickup and was hit and rolled and like your son, just had minor injuries. God is so good!
Just hang in there with the insurance company and press a bit. It worked for us!
ma

[tousled1]

Juanita,

Sorry your son was in an accident but thankful that he's ok. Push the insurance company for a rental. I know that with my car insurance I have rental car coverage. If you don't have it on your coverage then push the other driver's insurance company -- you can't be without a vehicle!

[VaMoonRise]

Juanita,

I too am so glad that your son is okay. I can imagine your terror when you got that call, what a horrible feeling that is.

I agree about the rental car, if your insurance doesn't provide for one the other drivers insurance should, I would demand it of them and in no way would I take a No from them. Also be sure to go on line and look up the Blue Book value of your vehicle so that you can be sure that the insurance company is paying you for the full value of your vehicle. Don't be afraid to get an attorney involved if you have to because most will give you a free consultation and only charge a reasonable percentage if you win and charge nothing if you lose. Also, whatever you do be careful in what you discuss with the other insurance company because they will do everything possible to pay you less than what your claim is for and they have a way of wording things that can make it seem like a simple matter that they are willing to take care of quickly when actually that is not there intent at all, they will also tape record your conversation. If your son works the other insurance company is responsible for any lost wages that he incurs and they can start paying him his lost wages right away without having to wait until the claim is settled. They also are responsible for any tow truck and junk yard fees that you have and of course all medical expenses. If your son needs physical therapy or a chiropractor they are responsible for that too and he can start it right away without the claim being settled. Be sure to keep a notebook with all of the details of the accident, injuries, daily progress of your sons recovery or any new injuries/pain he realizes he has that he didn't notice the day of the accident, doctors appointments, doctors assessments, when lost wages started, etc., your questions, demands, the blue book value of your car and anything else that you can think of that might be of importance. This is very important and crucial to do because it will help an attorney should you need one in getting you the most amount of money to settle your claim. Your insurance company will be sending out an appraiser to look at your vehicle to determine the damage done and the monetary value that you are owed for the car, it is sometimes good to hire your own mechanic to look at the vehicle after the appraiser does and to have him make you out an estimate of how much it would cost to repair the car. Compare this to what the appraiser has estimated and see if they match or if the appraiser goes below what the mechanic has estimated. If the appraiser's etimate is below the mechanics estimate demand the insurance company go with the mechanics estimate and not the appraiser's. You may even have to get a second mechanic's estimate if the first ones estimate is above the appraiser's. I say this because the appraiser doesn't always have the same knowledge about vehicles and the actual repair costs that the mechanic would charge to fix it and you want to get the most for your vehicle as you possibly can. If this makes the insurance company mad too bad because if the vehicle is totaled they will try to pay you only what a junk yard will pay for the totaled vehicle, as they will sell your vehicle for spare parts and they don't charge a lot for these parts.

Hope this info helped. I will be praying that your son has a speedy and as painless recovery as possible and that the insurance companies do what they are supposed to do.

Love, Hugs & God Bless to You & Yours.
Nicola