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Rear ended by an uninsured driver in Oregon. What to do?

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by salemorevegaslover, May 31, 2018.

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  1. salemorevegaslover

    salemorevegaslover Low-Roller

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    I'm retired so lets get that out of the way. I was rear ended by an uninsured driver and my insurer ( USAA) has acknowledged they will cover my claim. That includes damage to my car, medical and perhaps, personal injury ( my pain & suffering). I'm debating whether to get an attorney or see what my carrier will do for me FIRST. I am seeing a chiropractor( 3X weekly) and probably will continue to seek medical help until I feel better. Physical therapy has started with chiropractor assistance. Somehow I feel uneasy "going against my OWN insurance company. Need advice, suggestions, direction. Have any of you gone thru something similar?
     
  2. Valgal

    Valgal VIP Whale

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    We had something similar happen once. No injuries though. It is very hard to get money out of uninsured driver. We could have taken the young man to small claims but we did not bother. Small town and I knew his family. Mainly a bunch of losers. If you have to pay a lawyer it could add up quickly.

    Small claims courts don’t cost much to file. Of course there is a limit to how much you can sue for.
     
  3. greekjim

    greekjim King Gyro

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    My mom got in an auto accident due to an uninsured driver. Took the driver to small claims court and won and the driver made a few payments but then stopped
     
  4. MrBBonz

    MrBBonz Low-Roller

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    Don't worry about claiming against your own insurance. That's what it is there for. I would put a lawyer on the back burner for now and see what your insurance will pay out for bumps and bruises. You will want to review your contract and see what your uninsured/underinsured policy says. I would try and claim against my own policy and then let them deal with the other driver vs trying to get a judgement and (even harder) trying to collect.
     
  5. vegasdev

    vegasdev VIP Whale

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    good luck. as a rule, insurance companies suck. more today than ever.
     
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  6. Ezzy711

    Ezzy711 VIP Whale

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    I was hit by an underinsured driver 3 month after I bought my first brand new “luxury” car. I was devastated. She has $10k in insurance and my repairs/rental were over that. My insurance paid the rest. What sucks is there was frame damage as she TBoned me in an intersection so my brand new car was now worth nothing. I contacted a lawyer about getting compensation for loss of value but he explained anyone with low or now insurance most likely has little to no assets so if I did win I’d not see the money for years if at ever. I dropped it. Lucky nobody was hurt, just sore for a while.

    That was in 2010 - I bought that car for the resale value and planned to trade it in every 2 to 3 years. I’m still driving it since it has no worth. It drives ok but I’m still a bit disappointed. It’s one of those times when you realize life isn’t fair. I just except that and move along.
     
  7. JakeJasper

    JakeJasper Tourist

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    Same thing happened to me in Atlanta about 20 mins after driving out of the rental car center. Dont worry about claiming on your uninsured drivers coverage. Thats why you pay your premiums. Get a good personal injury lawyer to represent you......check out avvo.com to find one in your area.........best of luck and speedy recovery!
     
  8. deansrobinson

    deansrobinson VIP Whale

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    Know much about blood from turnips?

    Generally speaking, if you can't afford insurance (e.g. play by the rules), you probably don't have two nickles to rub together.

    I retired from motorcycling when I was nailed by an uninsured drunk. Moved forward with the suit, but my attorney - after a while - pretty much said that this is fruitless. This guy is unemployed and has no assets to which we can attach (assuming favorable litigation). Now, the second question is: how hard are you? If you do - as mentioned above wind up going to small claims court and settling, and the defendant ceases to make payments, you can follow up with that and they can be held liable for non-payment. You might not recover any funds, but you can put the screws to the offending party. Yes, the things we do in court carry more weight than a 'gentlemen's agreement'.

    If it were me....just sayin'...I'd let the insurance company contend with this. I sincerely doubt your litigation would result in a pay day (then again, I don't know where your personal "yeah baby!" pay day bar is set.).
     
  9. BlacklabberMike

    BlacklabberMike MIA

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    that's why you buy uninsured motorist insurance in the first place. in fact ,here in mass it is a mandatory coverage.
     
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  10. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    Keep in mind you pay extra for uninsured/underinsured coverage(it's a separate charge on your policy), dont be uncomfortable using something you paid for.
     
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  11. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Get a lawyer. I spent a large part of my legal career representing persons in personal injury claims. if you are already going to chiro three times a week and planning to get PT (which I recommend; its very effective) then your med bills are quickly going to add up to the high four figures or maybe five figures. I assume from your description that you have uninsured motorist coverage on your policy. If you do, you are entitled to go after your insurance company to pay the cost of of your vehicle damage (which is never really a fight), the cost of your medical bills, and compensation for your pain and suffering. Trust me, even though its your insurance company, they will still fight you and try to lowball you on paying your medical bills (by saying the treatment was superfluous or related to pre-existing conditions) and your pain and suffering compensation. Get an attorney that works on contingency and let them handle it
     
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  12. Mudhen

    Mudhen Always in Dutch

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    This sounds like good advice, to me.

    Sounds like a somewhat serious accident, and so I would think having an attorney, who works directly for you, is a good idea.

    FWIW, I started with USAA in 1982, as a young officer in the Navy. The vast majority of my friends are also prior military, and also use USAA. I've not heard of any complaints about they way USAA handles claims. I know.......anecdotal evidence. But if it was a widespread problem, I suspect I would have heard about it.

    Still, when dealing with medical injuries, having an attorney seems like a good idea, to me.
     
  13. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    I had a couple cases with USAA through the years and they were pretty easy to deal with. Still, every insurance company tries to minimize how much they pay out on claims (some even base their adjusters' bonuses on how little they pay out in claims). A decent general rule of thumb is that if you have less than $3k in medical bills, it is probably not worth getting a lawyer. But more than that, you're almost always going to do better with an attorney. Don't get me wrong, you're not going to get rich because you get an attorney (big judgments and settlements are reserved for people who are seriously injured, e.g., permanently disabled). But you will get a better result and you won't have to deal with the hassle of dealing with the insurance company. Many companies are not as easy to deal with as USAA
     
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  14. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

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    Lawyers are expensive. If the company is already paying why need one?
     
  15. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Because you will end up with more money in your pocket.
     
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  16. salemorevegaslover

    salemorevegaslover Low-Roller

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    Guys & Gals...….thanks for the advice. I'm still having medical attention so I'm not rushing to settle the claim yet. I'll probably seek legal advice further on down the road and will see what USAA offers as a settlement. Did not realize how badly old bones & muscles feel after such an impact. It sucks getting old but worse if some unforeseen incident aggravates the aging process. Thanks again!
     
  17. hammie

    hammie VIP Whale

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    Lawyers, like most professionals, are really expensive. Until you need one and then they are cheap.
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2018
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