car totalled, question about insurance and attorneys

[anchovy619]

hi guys, i got into a pretty severe car accident where i was completely stopped on the freeway due to police stopping it for another accident ahead. a car approached from behind and smashed into me without ever slowing me down, sending me and my car down the embankment. he was drunk and there were 4 cars total involved.

i'm very inexperienced with this, and i feel i may have made some bad decisions afterwards. i never called my insurance, since i thought hiring an attorney would help guide me through it all. in hindsight, it was stupid but i've had minor fender benders where i never called them and things end up fine using the other persons insurance.

i wanted to sign the car over to the tow yard since they charge daily. i could keep it for almost 700 or give it to them and theyll just charge 270. my attorney said he wouldnt need it since we had quite a bit of evidence.

now my insurance (wawanesa) called me, asking about my car and if they can inspect it and take it. i told them about the situation and they were confused, wondering why i did these things. i told them i am in financial hardship and had to do something with my car asap. they told me they could've taken care of the fees. they also said they have their own attorneys for these. toyota collision called asking to check and buy the car back (but they dont know how crushed my car looks, non-salvageable)

i dont have health insurance, so all my bills are forwarded to my current lawyer, or will be on a lien with him, so i dont even know how they'll handle that since im going to accumulate medical bills. i told them since i had a concussion, i dont really want to talk about it today and theyll call me tomorrow.

basically, im not sure if its better to use my insurance's attorneys or stick with my own currently. i've already gone this far so i am lost as to if i made a huge mistake or not. does some one have any similar experience that can help guide me through this?

[IzzyTakamono]

CALL YOUR INSURANCE IMMEDIATELY! If you have 1st party collision coverage and bodily injury coverage they should be able to help with a lot of this


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[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by anchovy619

hi guys, i got into a pretty severe car accident where i was completely stopped on the freeway due to police stopping it for another accident ahead. a car approached from behind and smashed into me without ever slowing me down, sending me and my car down the embankment. he was drunk and there were 4 cars total involved.

i'm very inexperienced with this, and i feel i may have made some bad decisions afterwards. i never called my insurance, since i thought hiring an attorney would help guide me through it all. in hindsight, it was stupid but i've had minor fender benders where i never called them and things end up fine using the other persons insurance.

i wanted to sign the car over to the tow yard since they charge daily. i could keep it for almost 700 or give it to them and theyll just charge 270. my attorney said he wouldnt need it since we had quite a bit of evidence.

now my insurance (wawanesa) called me, asking about my car and if they can inspect it and take it. i told them about the situation and they were confused, wondering why i did these things. i told them i am in financial hardship and had to do something with my car asap. they told me they could've taken care of the fees. they also said they have their own attorneys for these. toyota collision called asking to check and buy the car back (but they dont know how crushed my car looks, non-salvageable)

i dont have health insurance, so all my bills are forwarded to my current lawyer, or will be on a lien with him, so i dont even know how they'll handle that since im going to accumulate medical bills. i told them since i had a concussion, i dont really want to talk about it today and theyll call me tomorrow.

basically, im not sure if its better to use my insurance's attorneys or stick with my own currently. i've already gone this far so i am lost as to if i made a huge mistake or not. does some one have any similar experience that can help guide me through this?

You have been paying for insurance so why not use it? Let them deal with the car and injury costs and your attorney go after any other legal aspects. There is no reason it needs to be one or the other.

[PetrolioBenzina]

Wow. Good luck with any money you end up with after the lawyer gets his.

Edit: Don't mean to sound rude, good luck and hope you feel better.

[MrDinkleman]

Yeah, retaining an attorney from the get-go was a very, very bad idea... how much will it cost you to drop him?

There are a few things you should have determined, first:
1. Resolving a collision outside of insurance only works for small fender benders. You need to call and work with your insurance.
2. Does the guy who hit you have insurance? Then his insurance will pay all your costs, including medical, up to the limits he is insured for. But let your insurance deal with his insurance. So call your insurance agent. And let any doctors you go to know that your injury is related to a car collision. This changes the way they bill you.
3. Do you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage? Then YOUR insurance will cover shortfalls and go after the other guy for reimbursement.
4. If the other guy has no, or not enough, insurance and you do not have enough insurance, THEN you hire an attorney. But as Petrolio said, only the attorney will be happy in the end of that scenario.

[HKz]

jeez, sorry to hear about the mess but I'm very confused on why ya didn't use your insurance company to begin with? I mean if you didn't use them for fender benders that is one thing but you got into an actual bad wreck, so when exactly were you planning on utilizing your paid coverage..? IMO total waste of money to get a separate lawyer when the accident was cut and dry with the culprit, your car & your body should have been covered no questions asked

[Impureclient]

Should have called the insurance but if you have a lawyer who knows what they are doing and are going to take care of you, after they take care of them$elve$ fir$t of course, then you will be OK. Especially true if whoever hit you has proper insurance.
Not sure of everybody else's experience in here judging by comments so far but, having a good lawyer in this situation will end up with you getting much more than just another car back after all is said and done.

[soundman98]

i had a big reply, and the forum ate it. again...

anyways, been through this a few times. i'm on my 2nd brz because of the last one. someone ran a stop sign, where i had none.

there's 3 ways to play it, it all generally ends the same in all of them.

1. you use the attorney. if you've got one, that's great, but it's a lot of money to pay someone for a very clear-cut case.

2. you use your own insurance. generally, they'll begin processing the claim as if it was a single-vehicle accident, you'll need to come up with the deductible, and then they chase down the at-fault insurance company to recoup all their expenses and refund your deductible--discuss this with them, as because you're not actually at fault, it might not be something applicable to this case. the main advantage here is that they want to take care of you as best they can, because it means keeping you as a customer. they know the game, and they have a desire to maintain a relationship with you.

3. you go through the at-fault insurance company. generally this is the most direct way, as they pay directly for everything, but you are the hassle to them and it's in their best interest to get you off their books as fast as possible. they don't stand any benefit to treating you well, or taking the best care of you, they just want it gone. depending on the company, #1 can be a better option than this.

personally, i'd pick #2.

[Dake]

Frankly, I question why your lawyer didn't direct you to contact your insurance company. That seems like a major lapse in representation, and I question their motives. It seems like they're trying to just get more money for themselves instead of doing what's best for you.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Dake

Frankly, I question why your lawyer didn't direct you to contact your insurance company. That seems like a major lapse in representation, and I question their motives. It seems like they're trying to just get more money for themselves instead of doing what's best for you.

THIS ^

[HaXx]

I probably pay slightly more for my local agent that put me on a local ins co, but it's way worth it than dealing with a nationwide ins co where you're just a number. Get good, full coverage ins from a good local ins broker. You should not be scared to call or email your agent

[PetrolioBenzina]

Any news, OP?

[Summerwolf]

Lawyers tend to want it to go through both health insurance and car insurance.

YOUR insurance should help you through things much more than the offending parties insurance company will. Your lawyer should be advising you every step of the way though.... be direct in asking him what to do.

Signing over your car to the tow yard was a pretty odd move and doesnt even sound like you got a value for it? What did they determine your car was worth. Also they should pay the taxes on your new car so make sure that's all being taken care of ( probably state dependent, look in to that.)

[HKz]

Drives: Into Crowds

sorry I had to point out OP sorta predicted his own future