AzPete

So....is it totaled or not.....according to the insurance¿ Just wondering if I missed that fact.

vegas_

If the car was hit so hard that it was totaled, then the chances that the human inside is completely undamaged is very unlikely. Now someone young and healthy may shake off the aches and pains as nothing, but only a good doctor can do the right tests to tell for sure.

I have lots of friends, in their 50's that have severe problems that were the result of an injury in their 20's that didn't both them that much when it happened.

PNYXPRESS

With todays cars and all the "safety" crap and crumple zones people dont get hurt but the car crumples like a tin can in the most minor accident. Long gone are the days of the occupants taking the brunt of an impact and the car being able to drive away.

GreyZ

The totaling of the car is still undecided. The insurance company has still not sent an apraiser at this point.

Rudolph Hucker

i wouldn't want my car once it was damaged that badly tbh..

Derf00

DO NOT talk to the other guys insurance. (I thought you had already contacted your insurance to begin with???). Even your insurance will tell you that.

1) You don't know if it's actually them unless YOU call them. It could be the guys brother calling you for all you know trying to scare you into taking blame or trip you up into saying something different than stated before.

On face value of course they are going to take their customers side...wouldn't you if it was your insured?

2) Your insurance is the only company you should be dealing with unless they give you specific instructions to talk to the other company. If they do, they will give you contact details of whom to speak with. The second USAA called (or whowever it was) I would've
told them, "Hi, i'm not willing to speak with you unless instructed to do so by my insurance company. Here's their information in case you would like to speak with them....Have a nice day." Done, end of story.

3) The insurance companies will conduct their own investigation and it could take a couple months.

To be honest, it doesn't matter what the police statement says unless the officer witnessed it. The report is just another piece of information. Nothing more. I got into an accident where I believe the other guy was at fault (changed lanes right into me without looking) I had damage to my passenger rear, he had it to his driver front. I was passing him and he came right over. Anyways, officer listed me at fault on the report. He said by his opinion, I was speeding. The insurances settled it as mutual negligence. Our respective companies covered our own damage and that was it. I had my car fixed by my insurance before they concluded their investigation. I called mine to find out a few months later since I was curious. My rates never changed.

PNYXPRESS

Really?! The fact that you were speeding (cops opinion) doesnt mean anything. The accident was caused by the other car changing lanes and failing to yield rightaway.

moosestang

that really depends on how much faster over the speed limit he was going. 5mph over is trivial in a lane change scenario, but 20+ isn't. This debate comes up all the time on the motorcycle forums and kids think they can do 130 and if someone changes lanes into them it's the car drivers fault, lol! There's an expectation of sane speeds by other drivers imo.

pascal

As a rider myself, I agree with you on that one.
If you're going way above the speed limit, then expect others to not see you in time when they change lane... That "looking twice" concept, escape most drivers nowadays.
That cell phone is so much more important.

As for the OP, I think he dealt with a bias cop...
If he was driving a minivan, the cop would have blame the douche instead.

Risq

I hate to disagree with this statement, but I can't

A few years back I had a similar experience.

I was in the middle lane of a three lane highway and a driver in the exit lane getting off suddenly "changed" their mind and decided to get back on the highway in the right lane without looking.

A truck (a Ford Bronco II) that was in that lane, suddenly changed lanes to avoid them by getting right into my lane. When they did they, struck my car (my ex's Jetta) putting a major dent it, they knocked the front tire clean off the rim on the front passenger side, and knocked me directly into the path of a semi traveling in the fast lane, who hit me full tilt from behind totaling my ex's car.

- I also had something like 20 calls made to 911 by those who witnessed the accident.
- I also had 2 different officers who responded to the scene and filled out reports, but because the driver of the truck kept going it had to be turned over to a detective to investigate as a hit and run. The officers noted in their personal note pads the skid marks, my tire being off the rim, and the "side skid marks" that my car left.

What's the point of my stupid story? The detective decided that I, the truck driver who hit me from behind, the two responding officers, and all the 911 callers were all wrong and that in his "professional opinion" as a traffic investigator for a number of years, I must have gotten scared and "swerved" into the path of the semi to avoid the truck when they changed lanes.

"And that was what was what he put in the official report!!", even though he included all the other info, he called it all "minor"

If you have to go to court the report often works in your favor, but during negotiations it's just info that they can choose to use or not.