Much Support Needed

[joanrdtobe]

It was an awful day today. After I went to a Sunday morning alanon meeting I got into my car and as I was about to drive out of the parkign lot, a car rammed right into me, right into MY driver's side front door. (I was still in the parking lot)...He ran into me (from the street) because he was trying to avoid a car from ramming into HIM that was driving recklesslessly. That car that was driving recklesslessly drove off...a hit and run...anyway, it's a good thing I was wearing my seat belt...as I would have been badly hurt. I was okay, but my car is not. Turns out when I got out of my car, the whole left side of my car was dented in and I could not close the driver side door. That's how hard I was hit. I was totally in shock because all I was doing when the accident happened was waiting in the parking lot to drive into the street when this car hit me. Of course the ambulance and police came and everyone from the alanon meeting stayed to make sure I was okay. The police determined the fault was the guy who hit the other car who drove off.. BUT someone did get his license plate number and so all hope is not lost. I'm lucky because I just switched my insurance back from Calif to Florida last Friday....Had I not done this, I would not have been covered at all....I HATE TAMPA DRIVERS. I was in California a whole 18 months and NEVER anything happened and I'm back in Tampa less than a month and this happens. I was also in a car accident in Tampa 4 years ago, again not my fault.

So my car has been towed away to an auto body shop by triple A. Is it totalled? I don't know. The insurance company will decide. I do have rental reimbursement. I will get a rental tomorrow. I will call my insurance company tonight and make the claim. The police actually handled everything quite well.....

Needless to say, I'm in shock, ****ed, mad, sad, but grateful I'm not hurt. It could have been so much worse. Any support, suggestions, your experiences with car accidents and the aftermath, etc. grately appreciated. Sigh....THANKS....

i know it was a hurrendous day for you.im glad you werent hurt first and foremost.the guy who drove off was a f___g coward for not stopping.hopefully they can get ahold of him based on his tag number (i believe they call them "tags" in florida, right? not "license plates" as they do here in boston).this will all pass joan.hopefully they can fix your car.youll get your rental car and be able to continue the job search and your life wont be too interrupted by this.i guess you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.im so sorry this happened.tomorrow will be a better day.okay?ill keep priv messing you too

[Andrew]

Wow Joan, Glad you're ok!

[fasttalkingmom]

{{{Hugs}}} Joan !! I'm you wheren't hurt..

[smooch]

Joan, I am so thankful you're not physically hurt! I can definitely understand the shock and anger you're feeling. That driver who started this whole vehicular chain reaction is a total WANK! Try to trust the WANK will get his/her just desserts for that hit-and-run crap. You may not have the pleasure of being a witness to it, but that kind of stuff always comes back and bites the offender in the butt.

I feel for you in having to deal with the paperwork/insurance/WAITING side of this. We're here for you!

dear joan:totally agree with smooch.total WANK!nice word. like it: WANK.anyway, i know your still hurting from yesterday but try to enjoy the day, if just a little and remember the good things you like about tampa, even if you do hate the drivers......

[joanrdtobe]

Thanks Andrew and Paula and Danny and Smooch for your supportive words....SOOOO needed. In some ways, this is worse than MOVING from California to Florida....the emotional yuckiness.....I hope what Smooch says is correct....that this will come back and bite "THE WANK" in the butt.....I trust it will.....

But my insurance is handling most of the paperwork actually....And I'm in a rental car now so at least I'm mobile...that's something. And the other guy who got hit called this morning to chat and see how I'm doing....

I slept really awful last night...Tossed and turned all night long....Feels sort of like post traumatic stress...

ADVICE TO ALL: STAY AWAY FROM TAMPA, FL. DO NOT EVER DRIVE THROUGH HERE....Boston, Mass. drivers may be bad, BUT the accidents happen in Tampa, FL....consider yourself forewarned. I mean this happened at exactly noon on a freaking Sunday afternoon. You would think there would be no crazy drivers at this time....but NOOOOO....there are.....and that crazy lunatic has managed to turn my life uspide down temporarily....I have a few out of pocket expenses and unfortunatley a pretty big deductible to fix my car.....Okay, thanks......I guess I can put a happy face here now that I have vented and also to express my thanks for the support

[joanrdtobe]

Checking in...about this.....okay yes I have a rental and yes dealt with insurance adjusters today and yes they can fix my car...thank GOD it is NOT totalled....(probably because it's not that old and is still worth pretty much)....and police are being called every day to see if they could locate the runaway man....I would love to nab him with my deductible....not to mention share with him a few other kind words......Okay ending with a smile

[aforceforgood]

Mmmm, well, the car accident could be any number of things, only time will tell whether that prevents you from being in a place where you could have been hurt worse, meeting the man of your dreams due to this, or teaching you something... keep your eyes open.

As for dealing with the other guys' insurance company, TAPE RECORD EVERY CONVERSATION YOU HAVE WITH THEIR ADJUSTER. He is not your friend, though he will act like he is, at least in the beginning. His job is to minimize the amount his insurance company has to pay you.

Not sure of Florida's laws, but a buddy said that tapes of conversations can be introduced by asking if the other party has any objections to the tape being played. If they say no, the jury wonders why, if they say yes, there's your evidence.

They are responsible for renting you a car comparable to the one you were driving, don't accept their offer of a $15 a day econobox. ABSOLUTELY DO accept their offer to rent you a replacement car though. And when negotiations get tough, they will retract that offer. Rent one on your own dime, they will have to reimburse you, and it will keep pressure on them to come to a resolution quickly.

I went through dealing with an insurance company over a car that a car wash crashed for me, I wasn't even in it, and it was an ordeal, so steel yourself. But it did have a sweet payoff- I was able to say to the vice president of the insurance company (after haggling back and forth for 3 MONTHS [!!]) "You know what, let's you and me fight. I've had enough of you aholes jerking me around. Let's go into a court with 12 people who've been paying insurance for YEARS and getting NOTHING in return. And maybe some of those 12 people will have even had to deal with you insurance scumbags and will regale the other jurors with those tales in the jury deliberation room, and I'll play my tapes of all of the conversations I've had with you and your adjuster, and we'll just see how much of your money they give me."

There is a principle called "BAD FAITH" which states that a company can be sued for MORE than the total of the damages if they willfully deal with someone in bad faith, in other words, try to deny them a reasonable settlement in a reasonable amount of time. And in the case of insurance companies, in order for a judgement against them to have any effect, it typically has to be at least a MILLION dollars to get the companies attention.

Keep us updated for support and suggestions as to how to deal with the insurance co's. Including your own. It might seem like they should care about you and work in your best interests, but that's not the case either. They will do whatever is least costly for them.

[joanrdtobe]

Okay, I will do that.....I have Geico insurance.....they seem to be treating me okay....they did suggest the PLACE where I should get my car fixed....I assume they have a contract with them or something...but I'm okay with this place fixing my car.....but I hear you about trying to do for me what's least costly....thanks Force.....

Incidentally, place where I could have been hurt worse?? Man of my dreams? Teaching me something??? Okay.......I'll trust that....

[jimmmaaa]

Hang in there Joan. I hope your car gets fixed quickly and you land that job soon so your life will get back to some normalcy.

[joanrdtobe]

Well said, thanks James.....I hope so too....I am doing everything possible in both arenas.....Thanks....

[Tara]

Joan you have my support too.

I'm glad you weren't hurt but car accidents are awful It's such a hassle to go through.

I was in an accident back in 97. I was driving home from work at 1:30 in the afternoon. I was going straight and a guy in a pick up truck hit me because he tried to make a left hand turn from a side street into on coming traffic.

The guy ended up being a City employee and was in a City Truck. It happened in Peabody Massachusetts. I was so upset that nobody from the City offices ever checked to see if I was ok (which I was). People kept telling me I should have sued the City but i didn't. I think he did $3000 damage to my car.


I also got into another accident about 2 years ago. I was technically at fault because I was making left hand turn into oncoming traffic. The woman who hit me was speeding but I was still at fault. She did $4000 worth of damge to my car and her car was smaller than mine. My view was also obstructed by over grown plants and it was a dangerous hill. I meant to fight and probably would have benefited if I did. But...My procrastination got in the way...

[joanrdtobe]

Thanks Tara. Hassle?? Tell me about it!! Hassle is a good word...

Regarding Accident #1, what a bunch of creeps...so at least did the city pay for the damage to your car and to have it fixed? Yes I would have sued the city....

Accident #2 I can totally picture! I could see that happening to me actually near an intersection I now live at! That oncoming traffic thing is tricky!

[MightyMouse]

I don't have any advice on your accident, but I wanted to just say I am really glad you were not hurt and I hope you feel better soon.

MM