Saturdays Gift

Here's a few pictures of what happend to my truck on Saturday afternoon. The accident happend in the middle of Oologahs spillway dam. I saw it coming and had absolutely no where to turn. The 19 year old kid was going too fast for the conditions and lost control when he started to brake while on the spillway. I'm sure it came from a lack of experience, but you talk about something that makes your butt pucker like a big dog knowing about 3 seconds in advance what's about to happen.



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My children were in the truck at the time. I wasn't hurting at all from it until about 8 pm Saturday night. My lower back at the very bottom has been very tender since and I haven't been able to get it checked out. My twins were not complaining of anything wrong. My 6 year old said her head hurt and my 17 year old said her side hurt. The Ex took the 6 yr old and the 17 year old to get checked out. They did a Cat Scan on the 17 year old to make sure there was not a spleen injury. The 6 yr old checked out ok.



What do you guys think?

I could use some advice from people that have gone through something like this, or, are experienced.

dang son,, all that ta keep ty'n jigs...

JAKE

I'm going to give you the very best advice I possibly can; Get a reputable attorney.....period.

None of us are qualified to handle ligitation and the laws of Oklahoma can be tricky at best. Insurance companies never, I repeat, never want someone like us to get an attorney because they know their goose is cooked then.

Clients always get more money by having a lawyer, always. Even with his fees.

He or she will be able to collect an appropriate settlement that includes both physical damage to your vehicle and any personal injuries suffered by you or your kids. The case can be left open for long term problems that may not present at this time.

Couple of years down the road and the spleen goes bad, has to be removed, who's gonna pay for that surgery and further physical problems?

The insurance company would love you to settle for a token amount, get out from under the responsibility and off the hook.

Get a lawyer reaper.... and good luck.

Oh, and one more thing.....this is important. You have to go to the emergency room asap and have your back checked out. Don't wait until tomorrow, go at your first opportunity.

Hopefully the "tenderness" you are now experiencing will resolve itself. But you don't know that now. It may be worse next week and next month it might be so bad you won't be able to get out of bed.

But if you wait til then, the insurance company will have a legitimate excuse to say that you injured your back doing something else, something exclusive of the car accident you and the kids were involved in.

Oh, they're sneaky devils when it comes to keeping their money in their own accounts. They certainly don't have you in mind and will fight any claim tooth and nail.

That's about all I can say reaper. Sorry if I said too much.

I'm glad noone was hurt.I have Farm Bureau as my home owners they have always treated us fair,but who knows.One thing they will try to do is give you a compact car as a rental,do everything not to except it unless thats what you want.I drive a crewcrab 3/4ton and progressive tryed to give me a S10,I told them i wanted a comparable truck or I would get my insurance to pay and just bill them,they ok'd a crewcab.You should be able to get a rental first thing this morning.Good luck

I can get a rental, but at my own expense up front. Then, I should qualify for reimbursement from Farm Bureau. Only thing is, I can't afford the upfront expense. I've more important things to pay like mortgage and other bills. So it leaves me at the mercy of waiting for Farm Bureaus adjuster to get in touch with me. I hope they don't mind me charging them for lost wages while I wait on them...

When he does contact you I would definatley express to him that I could not afford the out of pocket expense of a rental car,they should have accounts set up with the rental car company's.I would also call my agent even if you dont have rental coverage he should be working on trying to help you get them to authorize a car.Good luck with all of this.

Reaper - Do NOT expect Farm Bureau to pay lost wages. I would have to agree with Stinkfinger. Contact an attorney and discuss the concern and get to the ER or Doctor and get documentation about your lower back before it is too late. The mere hint of bringing an attorney into the issue could bring quick results. Good luck.

Your claim should be with your insurance company not Farm Bureau. They will be reimbursed by Farm Bureau.

Jim

I know where you can get it repaired asap Reaper and a excellent job if you need it

Dang Reaper; I bet you are still puckered! I've never had a sell-out...knock on wood, but after I moved down here I avoided 3 total-outs all the other drivers would have been 100% at fault. Take everyones advice on a doctors report/exam on your back. Then usually the other Ins.Co.'s will send you for a second opinion by their doctor. Bottom line you need it documented! For sure get an attourney or they will dilly-dally till next year.

I've heard from the adjuster. He's supposed to come by and take a look in the morning. He said he would bring a voucher for a rental from Hertz. That will help a lot. In the meantime, I am trying to find something similar without having to buy new.

im glad that no one was seriously hurt sounds like every 1 got pretty lucky and it could have been a lot worse

I wish you the best.

Know the limits of the others drivers coverage before going too far. Don't put yourself in debt, only to find out his coverage is far less than the accrued bills.

Remember, YOU will be held liable for all the medical bills.

First go to the ER, second call YOUR insurance agent. Even if the kid has insurance your uninsured motorist coverage will take care of things and subligate the damages. Do not sign anything from the other company. See an attorney. I know this from experience, you saw me walk at Eufuala!

Dang mister he did hit you purdy good. man i'm glad those youngons are ok and you too.

I had just bought a brand new boat in 93 and first trip a guy ran a red light and hit my truck,knocked the dang boat off the trailor, caused a lot of damage.

You may as well get a good lawyer, you will not be able to reason with his insurance adjustor. I tried. I was trying to do right by them, i wanted a new boat, 3 months of lost wages, my truck fixed,and doctor bills. They told me that they were willing to give me 3k, pissed the guy off cause my first reaction was to laugh.

Hey its their job to try to screw you over.

Man i'm glad everyone is ok. OH, GO TO THE DAYUM DOCTOR AND GET YOURSELF CHECKED>>>>>>PLEASE

Adjuster came by, agreed that truck is totaled. He said it looked worse in person than on the pics on this site which is where I pointed him to to have a look at the damage. He gave me a voucher for a rental, I called the rental company and voucher would not cover an extended cab truck. I called the claims office, who in turn got in touch with him. He promptly returned my call and asked why I needed an extended cab. I let him know it was for my children. So far so good while dealing with the claims adjuster, but, I have concerns about him telling me that he is only dealing with me about the matter and that he will come up with a figure, then present it to me. Up front he seems ok, but I am not signing a thing till I feel comfortable about it.

I am waiting on a Toyota Tundra to show up at Hertz. I also have appts. to look at some trucks, as well as have my back checked out. I can walk around pretty good, but I have to take it easy when sitting down, or standing up. I hope it goes away soon. It could really affect me in doing my job as I am up and down quite a bit. My agent informed me I don't have to sign a thing and that I have a window to file a claim for injury and 3 years to deal with it. That Attorney you guys mentioned might be wise on my part.

Reaper...glad to hear that for the most part of it you and your family is okay, that is the #1 concern!

Secondly I will share some advise and thoughts of my own since I am currently an insurance agent and was an adjuster for Farm Bureau for two years prior to that. Keep in mind I'm not at all trying to steer you in any direction, you have to do whats best for you and your family and by NO means should you "rush" anything.

#1- I can't speak for "all" adjusters and insurance companies but despite what some may think we were never trained in the art of "paying out as little as possible" or "scamming people". Of all the hours and hours of training and classes that I took as an adjuster not once was I ever encouraged to pay anything other than what the claimant should be entitled to. As far as I know, insurance adjusters don't make any more money by settling a claim at low value. I got paid the same "low :)" salary regardless so my motivation was to settle the claim at a value that was both honest and fair to both parties. Guess what an attorney's motivation is?....GREED! That's it, they're not concerned about you, they're concerned about how much filthy money they can put in their own pockets!

#2- I don't know you personally Reaper but from what I've seen, you seem like an honest down home man. If you do decide to get an attorney don't let him change you from an honest man into a greedy one. People ask and complain all the time about why insurance rates are "too high". Well guess what, an insurance company is a business just like any other business and the more attorney's get involved and change "honest people" into greedy money seekers that get overvalued claim settlements....what do you think happens to the insurance rates??? Here's a hint...they don't get any lower!

#3- True story from my own personal experience. I worked a claim in southern OK. A man driving a rock truck was driving on a bad road and it had just started to rain so the road was very slick. Speed limit was 45 and he was going 35. As he was going around a curve his truck slid on the wet roads and he hit an oncoming car and killed the lady driving the car. To make matters worse he had been a friend of the family of the lady he killed. He was obviously distraught and I had to ride to the scene of the accident with him two days later and take his recorded statement about what happened. To make a long story really short the husband of the deceased lady initially wasn't seeking any extra monetary settlement other than what we had offered and from his own words stated it was a complete accident and there was nothing the man could have done to prevent the accident. An attorney then got ahold of him and persuaded him to go after "more" and demand the policy limits of 1 million. At this time the claim was transferred to the "higher ups" of our company and I no longer worked it. Our company offered the man 500K and he chose to take his attorney's advise which was "you can get more" so he refused. The claim went to court and eventually the jury would decide on a settlement of guess what?....ZERO! That's right, the jury found there to be no negligence on the part of the truck driver considering the conditions and this man went from having 500K in his pocket to NOTHING, all because his greedy attorney wanted "more".

I know this post was insanely long but as with everything there is always two sides to every story. In the two years I adjusted I can't count how many times a claimant ended up getting less money in the end because attorney's generally take around 33% of the settlement value.

So...Reaper, again I'm not trying to persuade you either way. Just be the honest man I'm sure you are and be yourself. You deserve what you are entitled to and you should be compensated for any injury you may have...just don't let an attorney turn you into someone your not!

Schlinnigan, very good comments.

Reaper I know you are just wanting to cover your expenses and all, but I believe you are the honest man mentioned even though I have never met you, but take some of his advise and be the man you are. I am by no means telling what to do, but be honest to yourself and things will work out for you.

I know my wife had an accident that was her fault and the lady she hit claimed everything she could think of. She quit her job and claimed her back was all messed up and couldn't work anymore. She went after us to pay her the rest of her life for lost wages and you know what it eneded up biting her in the tail. She wasn't smart enough to remember we lived in the same town and she was video taped riding a bicycle and running up and down stairs at the football field. All she could do was talk about how rich she was going to be after the settlement on the advice of her lawyer. Well after the lawyer saw the video he asked for it to be dismissed and all she ended up getting was $1000 that was to cover the repair of her car and any medical she had.

Again I am not saying what to do, just a quick story of what happened to my wife and I. Just stay true to yourself and good luck.

Now if the back gets to be a problem and you can't real in those 2 lbs crappie anymore then let me know and I will come up and them off your hands. LOL

My Father was in insurance agent. There's much truth to what schliniggin has written. Dad got caught in the middle, between his customer and the company, cause he was an independent agent. He represented several different insurance companies. He said our insurance rates would be much lower if attorneys weren't involved.

That said ........

Good luck on finding a doctor. You say the words " back injury " and " auto accident " in the same sentence and doctors will run and hide, they don't want any part of anything that might end up in court. They just don't wanna deal with it.

All good points to take into consideration; but I have a question for Schlinnigan. My neihbor had a wreck after a woman ran a stopsign and totaled her car. Afterwards her adjuster sent out a check for the totaled vehicle, It was short the $5500.00 to pay the loan balance off....he said too bad you should have carried "GAP" insurance, really good of the Ins.Co. to tell her up front she needed this in case of a totaled out car! Now they've had to sell off everything to cover the debt, now were checking ours to see if we are covered?

In all fairness liprippers, he's right on the Gap insurance. Thing is, it should be a law that Gap be properly explained when getting a loan for a vehicle. Most people who finance these days end up being upside down on their note and Gap covers that difference. I almost think Gap should be mandatory on financed vehicles to cover the upsidedowness in case they get wiped out by an accident. Too many people are upsidedown on their notes and it just seems to get passed from one loan to the next doing nothing more than eating up and rebate amount due a customer, or that can be deducted from a vehicle. Gap should also be automatic for the innocent party.

Next thing on this post is that I want to say that I detest those who take advantage of a situation in a insurance claim. I can also respept those who have valid claims. The adjuster for Oklahoma Farm Bureau that looked at my folks house after the ice storm ripped their roof and created a mess was more than fair in my book in handling the claim. Not once did I feel he was trying to take advantage of my folks. I know this because I was their acting General Contractor for the repair work and the adjuster knew this. He allowed an extra adjustment once I took out the damaged drywall and exposed some more damage inside the attic area of the roof. Once again, more than fair.

I trust the adjuster to make a fair call on my situation. I also hope Farm Bureau understands that I am going to have my lower back checked out and possibly treated. It has been hurting since the evening of the accident. I can walk around ok, but am cautious when sitting, standing, bending or raising. It is most sore during those moments. I am also curious if it's going to effect my work as a Carpenter. I really hope it passes. I think I would make a lousy disabled person.

I'm the type of Contractor that really gets ticked when another has taken advantage of someone. It's why I remain so poor. On another note, I also understand why there is insurance in the first place. I guess it can be a fine line, but I'm not looking forward to even having to deal with any of it. It's bad enough shopping for another vehicle and missing a couple of days of work. I'm content if the current bills are caught up and there is food in the fridge. If I'm lucky, I can also go catch a fish.

Well Reaper did a pretty darn good job of explaining the GAP insurance issue so not much I need to say there other than to purchase it if you know you're going to be upside down. The dealership will often try to sell you on this, my advice would be to check with your insurance agent as well and see who offers it to you at a cheaper premium because most auto insurance companies will offer it on your auto policy.

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I'm the type of Contractor that really gets ticked when another has taken advantage of someone. It's why I remain so poor

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Now now reaper..."poor" and "rich" is all in how you look at it! Your healthy enough to get out and snag a few slabs every now and then, you have a wonderful family that you've spoken about...in my book i'd say you're a pretty rich fella!:D;)

Not to get this thread off topic, but this whole concept of being " upside-down " ......... is what has caused our country a huge economic mess. Its been going on the mortgage business even more than auto sales. Created a false economy where people were living waayyyy above their means. Now the piper will be paid. I don't have sympathy for those " upside-down " . Just should just show some discipline and live within their means. But then I'm an old fashioned sort've person.

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Originally Posted by TwoBits

Not to get this thread off topic, but this whole concept of being " upside-down " ......... is what has caused our country a huge economic mess. Its been going on the mortgage business even more than auto sales. Created a false economy where people were living waayyyy above their means. Now the piper will be paid. I don't have sympathy for those " upside-down " . Just should just show some discipline and live within their means. But then I'm an old fashioned sort've person.

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I think most who are upsidedown in a vehicle are living within their means. It's the ludicrous (sp) finace charges that has ruined the Country. Kinda like legal loan sharking.

One example is a credit card. Tough times for a person that might have to miss a couple of payments. Yet, things smooth out for them in a couple of months. The credit card just jumped up to maximum interest and now the person is struggling just to make the minimum. The laws are just too lax when it comes to financing. That, in itself is what brought the Country and the World to it's knees.

Looks like I opened this thread a couple days late, sorry to hear about your experience reaper. Most of the main points I would have made have already been said...document, document, document. Probably a pretty good time for everybody to go visit thier insurance agent to check your coverages, 90% of people who come into my office wanting a quote don't know what coverage level they have, most of them only have state minumum liability and no medical coverage. Reaper, if you have any other questions I'd be glad to help in any way I can.

Z..what company do you work for/with?

Farmers Insurance Group, but I'm also very familiar with Farmers Union or American Farmers and Ranchers or whatever they are calling themselves this week. My Grandmother was an agent with them for over 20 years and I know a lot of people who still work with them.

Where is your office at? I office out of the Owasso/Collinsville area. I am pretty good friends with a Farmers agent here...Gerald Cleveland. You know him?

PM sent schlinnigan, I don't wanna hi-jack reapers thread too much

I work with adjusters all the time. Some are honest and some are downright dishonest. As in all people, some good some bad. The absolute truth here is that you will benefit from having a lawyer. Absolutely!! He will want you to have pics, You have them. He will also want you to write a history and a current minute by minute blow by blow documentation of everything you go through. The insurance companies first policy is to deny everything they can deny. When they have their pants down so to speak they will then try to downplay. As in "so glad the damage was only vehicular". I was an insurance agent at one time and the agent is not in control of you anymore it has bypassed the agent and is in a division of damage control. Once you have stated you are in pain you havbe become a star in their horizon. Don't ever lie and don't ever spend money you have not received. If you carry groceries and fish and work in the yard be completely honest. Lying will only make you lose anything you are intitled to. And you are a policy holder so you are intitled to everything your policy and the other policy will allow within reason. Just don't lie. They want you to lie they are begging for you to lie. Never do it. JMOHO For what it is worth.

I don't plan on lieing. I had to empty the '07 of personal things and tools to get it ready for the Auto Pool to pick up. I was able to unload the tools without much of an issue. The miter box didn't give me much trouble. The 2hp Hitaci compressor was a bit more though. I had to carry it bout 75 feet to the shop. I just took my time and used both hands while trying to stay upright. I told the Doctor the same thing. With luck, this thing is just going to slow me down some, for the most part, but, if it slows me down too much, it will affect my work as speed is needed to be able to do my jobs in a timely manner. If I can't do that, I won't be able to compete for certain work. There are those that would rather have me do the work, no matter what speed I move at.

I do have an attorney in the wings. I don't need him for the figuring of damages to the truck, or replacing a few other items that bank note wasn't on. So far, the adjuster seems to have been shooting straight to me, and has been able to explain things in a manner that I can understand. I hope he feels I'm trying to be fair. This is my first claim in my life other than when I was 16 and made my own ignorant move on a slick road. That cost me higher rates on my old 68 Cougar. I have no complaints yet, and really wish my back wasn't sore. The Doctor said it's a wait and see thing and there is no reason to jump to conclusions about a thing. If the soreness goes away, I'm good with that. If it sticks around, I have concerns. I really don't know what else to say about it.

Reaper

I do residential insurance work with 2 large co. in ok. OlJim is right you need to contact your agent and file a claim. They will stand up for you and have lawyers they pay for. In the residential work if a car hits your house and you let the auto insurance pay for it they will depreciate the heck out of it and you have no way of collecting. If you go to your Co. they will collect everything from the auto insurance and even reinburse you on the deduct. Does not hurt your standing with your co.

Get um

My insurance carrier has nothing to do with the accident. I have no problem with the other parties insurance and the way they have handled things so far. I feel the adjuster has been fair to this point. I have no complaints for the way he's handled things at this time. My Banker has no complaints. Should a problem arise that the adjuster and I cannot agree on, I will have to address the issue one problem at a time. Till then, things are going fine.