LEGAL ADVICE - Rear End Accident

[daixloxbmw]

the short version: i rear ended another car.

skip to the bottom if youre not interested in reading the long version.


the long version: i was driving my gf's 2001 corolla (not my 335i) to pick up my friend from the train station. i was going about 25 mph on a 2 lane road coming up to a 4-way intersection with a green light. i was in the left lane with about 4 cars in front of me. the car at the very front of the left lane was trying to make a left turn so that slowed everyone else down. i then slow down to about 20 mph and move over to the right lane. at this point, there are 3 cars in front of me all moving at around 20 mph. the first car on the right lane proceeds through the intersection. the second car abruptly slams on the brakes to allow a police vehicle on the oncoming side of traffic turn left in front of us. naturally, the third car (the one directly in front of me) also slams on the brakes, as do i. the corolla i was driving immediately locks up the brakes and slides about 6-8 ft before colliding with the car directly in front. the roads were rain soaked and pretty slick. i rear ended him dead on, bumper to bumper. at the point of impact, i was probably moving less than 5 mph. no one was hurt, damage to the corolla was minimal. only a couple paint scuffs and a bent front license plate. damage on the other vehicle (early 2000s chevy cobalt) was minimal as well, although slightly worse than the corolla. the cobalt had two paint scuffs on the left side of the bumper and a small puncture on the right side (probably from the bolts holding down the license plate). other than the paint scuffs and small puncture, both bumpers remained intact and still attached to the chassis without any deformation or misalignment.

i considered turning the steering wheel to the right to try to avoid contact the other car but there wasnt enough space and i would have probably struck the curb and would have probably still collided with the other car. the damage would have probably been greater since it would have been offset - my left front bumper to his right rear bumper.

the bottom: anyway, so i am obviously at fault for the accident. however, is it possible avoid raising my insurance points? do i have a chance at blaming this on weather since the roads were rain soaked and very slick?

some background on me, i am 27 yr old male with a relatively clean driving record. i have never been in an at-fault accident. i have only gotten a handful of speeding tickets in my life, most of which were received when i was in my teens. i have only had 1 speeding ticket in the last 6 years. according to my insurance company, i am considered a "safe driver", just 1 step short of the best rating of "safe driver plus" or whatever they call it. at the time of the accident, i was not speeding, racing, driving recklessly, tailgating (moving at 20 mph at about 1.5 car lengths behind) or doing anything else illegal... the corolla just couldnt stop in time (i bet it wouldnt have happened in my 335i!!!)

so do you think i have a chance at blaming this on the weather (and the crappy car jk!) and avoid having my insurance premiums raised???

any thoughts? thanks guys!

[jaiman]

No chance is my guess. The insurance company will say you were following to close for the conditions.

[Ochmonek]

Originally Posted by jaiman

No chance is my guess. The insurance company will say you were following to close for the conditions.

+1.

[Maestro]

it does not matter for the reason for the accident, the only way now to avoid a premium increase is to pay for the damages yourself assuming the other person does not want to turn it into their insurance company. Also, depending on your insurance company if the damage is less then $1000 some times they do not even count it as a accident. I know State farm does that, I had similar accident and slid on snow into a pickup truck no damage in his car and $900 on mine and my insurance guy let turn it in and it did not count against me.

[88Brimble]

If the damage isn't that bad, can't you just repair it out of your pocket...and leave the insurance out of it? I don't know the rules exactly, but I know people who have done that. Obviously you would have to pay for his damages, but if your insurance goes way up you would end up losing the money anyways cause of the accident.

I've never hit another car so I'm not sure, I've just heard people say they've done that. Could be a stupid answer...

[daixloxbmw]

i have offered to pay out of pocket for the damages incurred on the cobalt and leave the insurance companies out of it. when i spoke with the other driver at the scene of the accident, he seemed to understand that and agreed for me to pay out of pocket for the damages after he gets an estimate from a repair shop.

i did a bit of research and it seems like a cobalt rear bumper cover is only $200ish, so even with paint and labor to install it, it shouldnt be much more than $500 out of my pocket, which i would gladly play if i could leave the insurance companies out of it.

however, when i spoke with him yesterday, he mentioned something about going to the hospital with his passenger to get checked out and that they were in some pain and they are now taking some medications for the pain.

i dont believe him for a second, theres no way a <5mph collision would cause physical pain. the impact from the collision was really no worse than hitting a big pothole! i had my gym bag (with my softball gear in it) in the back seat of the corolla and it didnt even fall to the ground on impact. that same gym bag would routinely fall off the back seat of my 335i during mild braking! never mind a collision!

sounds to me hes just trying to make a buck out of this, so if thats his plan, then i have no intention of paying his medical bills out of pocket. so thats why i wanted to ask this forum if i had any chance of blaming the weather... just trying to get my Plan B ready if he decides to claim bodily injury.

any thoughts?

[88Brimble]

Originally Posted by daixloxbmw

however, when i spoke with him yesterday, he mentioned something about going to the hospital with his passenger to get checked out and that they were in some pain and they are now taking some medications for the pain.

i dont believe him for a second, theres no way a <5mph collision would cause physical pain. the impact from the collision was really no worse than hitting a big pothole! i had my gym bag (with my softball gear in it) in the back seat of the corolla and it didnt even fall to the ground on impact. that same gym bag would routinely fall off the back seat of my 335i during mild braking! never mind a collision!

sounds to me hes just trying to make a buck out of this, so if thats his plan, then i have no intention of paying his medical bills out of pocket. so thats why i wanted to ask this forum if i had any chance of blaming the weather... just trying to get my Plan B ready if he decides to claim bodily injury.

any thoughts?

That's what everyone says...you should have called a lawyer right after you hit him. It's almost expected for them to say they have "neck and back pain" no matter the accident. People can't wait for any good reason to sue somebody.

[Ochmonek]

Originally Posted by daixloxbmw

i have offered to pay out of pocket for the damages incurred on the cobalt and leave the insurance companies out of it. when i spoke with the other driver at the scene of the accident, he seemed to understand that and agreed for me to pay out of pocket for the damages after he gets an estimate from a repair shop.

i did a bit of research and it seems like a cobalt rear bumper cover is only $200ish, so even with paint and labor to install it, it shouldnt be much more than $500 out of my pocket, which i would gladly play if i could leave the insurance companies out of it.

however, when i spoke with him yesterday, he mentioned something about going to the hospital with his passenger to get checked out and that they were in some pain and they are now taking some medications for the pain.

i dont believe him for a second, theres no way a <5mph collision would cause physical pain. the impact from the collision was really no worse than hitting a big pothole! i had my gym bag (with my softball gear in it) in the back seat of the corolla and it didnt even fall to the ground on impact. that same gym bag would routinely fall off the back seat of my 335i during mild braking! never mind a collision!

sounds to me hes just trying to make a buck out of this, so if thats his plan, then i have no intention of paying his medical bills out of pocket. so thats why i wanted to ask this forum if i had any chance of blaming the weather... just trying to get my Plan B ready if he decides to claim bodily injury.

any thoughts?

Get your insurance company involved. Their lawyers will handle his medical claims and possible lawsuit.

[daixloxbmw]

yeah, you guys are probably right.

i was just being optimistic and hoping this guy would give me a break. he really seemed like a stand up guy and was very calm, polite and understanding at the time of the accident.

he probably had some time to think about it since and decided to make a quick buck.

i guess another way to say that i was optimistic, is that i was naive...

i will give him a call later tonight and see what he has to say. if he insists on claiming bodily injuries, then i will file a claim with my insurance.

[Spec 1]

I'm an insurance agent. It's your fault, period - Sorry, dood. You were the driver and therefore you were responsible for it. If it was raining or visibility was limited, you should have been giving more space between the Cobalt and yourself. You technically could have received a ticket for driving too closely or "too fast for conditions" if that cop would have seen it, so be happy he didn't.

If he's claiming injury, you may want to put in a claim. Sometimes you can settle outside, but make sure to get written documents stating your payment is for the accident and any injuries caused paid IN FULL and not to be revisited in the future. Have both of you sign it, and notarize it preferably. A trip to the doctor for drugs could have easily cost them $1,000 so be careful. Some (read: many) people are out to scam as much as they can.

For the future, give yourself more space. It's the #1 cause of accidents.

[Spaceman Spiff]

You'll be lucky if it ends with that hospital trip. They're quite likely to try and get a few months of chiropractic therapy out of it. Ridiculous laws.

[Buegie]

get a lawyer ASAP, and put it through insurance. I'm in the process of being sued from this guy who only had a bruised thumb after an accident. He's looking for months worth of physical therapy (which he hasn't even had yet), thousands in pain and suffering, he's milking it pretty badly.

[Maestro]

It is standard operating procedure for the police to issue a ticket on your type of accident, they basically say you had to have done something wrong otherwise you would not have hit other car... Forget the fact that if that was BWM who slammed on it brakes which stops in half the distance of every other car and if you followed the standard following distance you still would have hit them. The problem is most people have no clue how quickly a BMW stops and I always worry about someone hitting me from behind in panic stop situations.

Also, tell you agent you had an accident however you plan to pay it out of pocket but you just wanted to make him aware of it since it was just minor. This was if the guy tries and pull something you insurance company will sick their lawyers on him.

[daixloxbmw]

thanks for all the input guys.

i realize its my fault since rear end accidents are always that way so i wasnt asking or disputing this fact. however, i was just hoping to avoid getting my insurance premiums raised. a buddy of mine actually wiped out, crashed into a divider and scraped up the whole side of his car. there was no other cars involved so he was clearly at fault but he blamed the rain and never got any points raised.

so i was hoping to get the same break since i wasnt doing anything illegal at the time of the accident. i would like to think that there wasnt much i could have done to avoid the accident. as i have said before, i was only going 20 mph (25 mph max) and i was at least 1.5 car lengths behind the cobalt, which i think is more than a reasonable distance. i know the counter argument would be that 1.5 car lengths was obviously not enough to avoid contact for the weather conditions but seriously, who drives with more than 1.5 car lengths?

anyway, i have called the other driver several times and left a voicemail but he has not responded. hes probably avoiding me at this point so i will have to file a claim today.

i have a feeling this guy is gonna scam as much money as possible from this incident. is there anyway for me to make sure he only gets what he deserves because theres no way hes really hurt that bad? i will post a pic of the corolla's front bumper later. you will probably have a hard time finding the damage on it because it was such a light bump (and toyota's arent even known for building the most rigid cars)

[yomama69]

No need for you to get a lawyer involved. Get your insurance company involved. They will take care of the medical and legal issues.

[Spec 1]

Originally Posted by daixloxbmw

i was at least 1.5 car lengths behind the cobalt, which i think is more than a reasonable distance. i know the counter argument would be that 1.5 car lengths was obviously not enough to avoid contact for the weather conditions but seriously, who drives with more than 1.5 car lengths?

I do, especially when it's raining. Rain increases the distance needed to stop your car. I tend to give 2-3 car lengths at any given point, but probably because I'm an insurance agent, and the #1 accident on the road is rearends. Why? Most people think, like you, that 1.5 cars is plenty of space when it's really not (as you have learned, hopefully).

Best of luck with everything. To avoid him getting more money then he deserves, let your insurance know the details and give them as many pictures as you have.

[kyleb350]

Unlike Milli Vanilli, you can't blame it on the rain

[ideliver]

were you cited? Are you a no-fault state?

[spectrumphoto]

Lets clear a few things up....

If you wish to handle this on your own without involving insurance companies then you should get a lawyer at the very least to draw up paperwork releasing your from any future liability for the repair cost and/or $xxxx paid to the person who you hit (passenger would need to sign too)

If you do involve your insurance company, there is NO NEED to seek out and hire an attorney. Your insurance company will provide you one of their in-house attorneys unless this gets complicated then your insurance company will provide a contracted attorney to pursue the matter. All this is part of your policy so don't worry about it (unless the other party is claiming injurys/damages above your policy limits)

Without actually giving you formal advice, if the other party is claiming to have gone to a doctor and is on meds, ect. for discomfort then get your insurance company involved as a precaution in protecting your assets. If the other party is being cool then look into just paying cash out of pocket for the repair (Bumper skin, prep&paint, probably 2 bumper shocks, install) and have him provide you with a repair estimate and when you pay them get everything in writing

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by spectrumphoto

Lets clear a few things up....

If you wish to handle this on your own without involving insurance companies then you should get a lawyer at the very least to draw up paperwork releasing your from any future liability for the repair cost and/or $xxxx paid to the person who you hit (passenger would need to sign too)

If you do involve your insurance company, there is NO NEED to seek out and hire an attorney. Your insurance company will provide you one of their in-house attorneys unless this gets complicated then your insurance company will provide a contracted attorney to pursue the matter. All this is part of your policy so don't worry about it (unless the other party is claiming injurys/damages above your policy limits)

Without actually giving you formal advice, if the other party is claiming to have gone to a doctor and is on meds, ect. for discomfort then get your insurance company involved as a precaution in protecting your assets. If the other party is being cool then look into just paying cash out of pocket for the repair (Bumper skin, prep&paint, probably 2 bumper shocks, install) and have him provide you with a repair estimate and when you pay them get everything in writing

Some insurance companies only have contracted counsel.

[daixloxbmw]

no, i was not cited. no police intervention, even though that police cruiser drove right passed us. he didnt even notice there was an accident since the impact was so light.

i have no idea with "no-fault state". how can i tell if massachusetts is no-fault and how does that affect me? sounds like it would be in my best interest to claim no-fault... can someone tell me more about this?

Originally Posted by ideliver

were you cited? Are you a no-fault state?

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by daixloxbmw

no, i was not cited. no police intervention, even though that police cruiser drove right passed us. he didnt even notice there was an accident since the impact was so light.

i have no idea with "no-fault state". how can i tell if massachusetts is no-fault and how does that affect me? sounds like it would be in my best interest to claim no-fault... can someone tell me more about this?

Massachusetts is a quantitative no-fault state. You have to meet a monetary threshold amount. I have no idea what it is.