[TopDownSLK]

[] Late last night I was sitting at the red light behind a Lexus LSxxx. Since I have a habit of constantly checking my rearview mirror, I noticed a GM pickup truck approached me at a rather high speed, too fast that it wouldn't have enough braking distance before it rear-ended me. Just when I thought of moving to the other lane to avoid him, the truck jammed into my SLK320. In turn, my car bumped into the Lexus, bounced back, rolled and slightly bumped the Lexus again.
The guy in the pickup truck came out and said that he was trying to call someone on his cellphone, missed the red light and the two cars in front of the red light, and found his front bumper on my rear.
The speed limit was 35mph there, he did not attempt to brake at all, so I can speculate that the truck was coming at around that speed. With that said, the damage appears to be relatively minor, thanks to MB sturdy body:

But of course, damage of a SLK trunk has its own catastrophic effect.

So the problem now is that the Lexus felt two impacts, first one when the truck hit me from behind, the second one when my car rolled towards him, which is something that will count against me. [V]

Any insurance experts out there who can explain to me what is going to happen?

What are some of the things I should watch out for at the body shop with trunk and fender damages??

 

[Palmateer]

The roof mechanism is REAL sensitive to rear end damage. There may be a lot more $$$$$ to the repair than you initially thought.

 

[slkpwr]

the second impact will not be counted on you.. you rolled onto the Lexus because you lost control of the car with the first impact. Note that you already stopped when the pick up hit you and non of that would have happened if you didnt get hit.

 

[430]

slkpwr - 1/28/2005 4:07 PM

the second impact will not be counted on you.. you rolled onto the Lexus because you lost control of the car with the first impact. Note that you already stopped when the pick up hit you and non of that would have happened if you didnt get hit.

The accident will in fact be counted against the SLK320 driver. In terms of insurance he was too close to the vehicle in front of him. I agree that it is stupid and wrong to charge the SLK driver when clearly the driver of the truck was at fault. But that is the way it works.

 

[YellowSLK230]

430 - 1/28/2005 4:33 PM

slkpwr - 1/28/2005 4:07 PM

the second impact will not be counted on you.. you rolled onto the Lexus because you lost control of the car with the first impact. Note that you already stopped when the pick up hit you and non of that would have happened if you didnt get hit.

The accident will in fact be counted against the SLK320 driver. In terms of insurance he was too close to the vehicle in front of him. I agree that it is stupid and wrong to charge the SLK driver when clearly the driver of the truck was at fault. But that is the way it works.

We had an accident where a heavy F-250 class truck hit a van behind us and knocked the van into our rear bumper. Within 2 days, the insurance company representing the F-250 contacted us and volunteered to repair our bumper. He observed that his client was at fault and if WE were to being action against the van driver, he would in turn only sue the F-250 driver for the damages to us caused by the F-250 driver's negligence in hitting him, so they were contacting us directly. The "fault" lies with the person doing the negligence, not the array of intervening victims which bounce off each other due to his negligence. In our experience, of course, and by most, if not all, vehicle codes.

 

[slkpwr]

430, not sure how it works in GA but i was in an accident b4, it was 4 car chain reaction i was the third car (second from the last car that got hit) all repairs/total losses were claimed to the van that started it all.. i just checked my driving record on jan. 18 and there's nothing on there, also the accident didnt affect my insurance at all. on the police report i was 3 feet away from the car in front of me which is pretty close.

 

[Kirill]

430 - 1/28/2005 4:33 PM

The accident will in fact be counted against the SLK320 driver. In terms of insurance he was too close to the vehicle in front of him. I agree that it is stupid and wrong to charge the SLK driver when clearly the driver of the truck was at fault. But that is the way it works.

Are you sure about that one ? I think rule in such accidents the last person to rear end (how's rear wasn't touched) is at fault for not keeping the distance.

 

[Kirill]

YellowSLK230 - 1/28/2005 5:27 PM

The "fault" lies with the person doing the negligence, not the array of intervening victims which bounce off each other due to his negligence. In our experience, of course, and by most, if not all, vehicle codes.

Good thing i am taking a LAW class now

We just had a discussion on a similar case at school.

The case was:
Guy #1 doing 100MPH, GUY #2 tries to get out of his way hit a pedestrian. The driver at fault is #1 because his negligence causes it.

It's a truck's fault.

 

[Kirill]

BTW - Sorry to hear about your accident.

Smart things to do now - is to call your dealer\ask around and find not a good bodyshop, but the best bodyshop and get an estimate from them. Check out shop's work (if they wouldn't let you - leave). If its not your dealer's shop - check on what kind of cars they work. Insist on taking your car to the shop you like. Insist on using new parts only (insurance will try to get you "quality used parts" from junkyard). Some bodyshops give you "Lifetime warranty" - that's good idea to have. Video tape your car before giving it to shop - it will be your only proof if bodyshop will damage something.

After bodyshop will take your bumper off - i think there is some impact absorption structure that may need to be replaced as well

Check on bodyshop progress at least weekly. Check painted parts under different light (sun, halogen, luminescent) there can be shift in paint tone if they didn't match paint properly\or used cheap paint.

Make sure that insurance will pay for rental car as long as your car in a shop (usually they want to pay for only 30 days)

And remember - there is no such thing a good lawyer

 

[bodypainter]

Your insurance company won't care whose fault it was. They care if you were cited and if they have to pay any claims and/or lawyers.

 

[Kühl Carbon]

Laws vary greatly from state to state on this type of accident. In Michigan, as long as you were at a complete stop and not rolling at all, the pick-up truck driver is 100% liable for all damage caused by his negligence. Everything that happened after the initial impact is considerded to be his fault.

 

[Shinigami]

There's some very, VERY good threads on this in the Miata forum. You really should go check 'em out as some of the advice people give is a gold nugget.

Especially concerning yourself, you need to monitor yourself for body ache. It usually comes a few days later, and when it does, you could (and should) have suitable coverage so that you can get back at the guy who did this to you. Medical bills can end up disastrous...

Sh1t, that sucks, I feel for you man []

 

[SledDog]

Wow, glad you are ok, but like Shin said, watch yourself. I got rear ended a couple of years ago by a Toyota minivan - I was sitting at a stop sign, she never slowed down - versus my Yukon. That is quite a jolt, so watch yourself. Feeling some tightness in your neck or back now could very well be from the accident.

Darn, Kirill is good isn't he - but I'm scared now that he said he's taking law classes. Like others have said, things vary from state to state. If you got wacked at 35 mph, no matter how things play out ultimately the Ford driver was at fault and would ultimately bare the burden. Even if you were rolling at a few miles an hour, say 5 mph, that is still a 30 mph hit that would cause you to lose control. You are only estimating his speed right? He may have been moving faster.

Shini, got any links to those threads you are talking about?

 

[DEATHERAGE]

I think you will be held acountable if the ticketing officer rendered it your fault. If you fight it and go up aginst the officer you are going to lose.

well ive lost every time ive faught the good fight because then your no only fighting the insurace company in court your fighting a police officer and that my friends is a B I T C H

 

[DA_SURG]

If you're ever going to fight it out with an officer in court, just schedule the court date on one of his training days.

 

[Shinigami]

SledDog: go to www.miataforum.com and click on the car talk (or na/nb forums). Then quickly scan the pages 'rear ended' and so on.

 

[Kirill]

DEATHERAGE - 1/29/2005 4:14 PM

I think you will be held acountable if the ticketing officer rendered it your fault. If you fight it and go up aginst the officer you are going to lose.

well ive lost every time ive faught the good fight because then your no only fighting the insurace company in court your fighting a police officer and that my friends is a B I T C H

Actually ticket isn't that important. I really enjoying my Law class Judgment of a traffic court can't be used in a civil one you going to have against Ford driver for damages. What can be used is your testimony in traffic court - so always watch you mouth. You rather not say anything and be found guilty (plead not guilty) in traffic court and than win damages in a civil.

Don't rely on all this - i didn't even had a midterm yet

And i know people who fought an officer and won. But that wasn't for 100 in 55 zone.

 

[Kirill]

Darn, Kirill is good isn't he - but I'm scared now that he said he's taking law classes. Like others have said, things vary from state to state. If you got wacked at 35 mph, no matter how things play out ultimately the Ford driver was at fault and would ultimately bare the burden. Even if you were rolling at a few miles an hour, say 5 mph, that is still a 30 mph hit that would cause you to lose control. You are only estimating his speed right? He may have been moving faster.

That's actually a Business Law class for my MBA program (going for second masters degree)

Basically Ford's driver negligence caused an accident. There was no negligence on SLK side. As i said to Deathy, even if you loose in traffic court and will pay 70$ ticket, you can win in civil and get damages from the Ford's driver.

Again - Never admit you are guilty in court !!! Your testimony can be used, judgment - can't.

Regarding your injuries - when you have even a small accident - worst thing is if you see it coming and stiffen up - and impact causes much more damage to your muscles. That's why some people come out OK out of accidents and some have lots of back pains.

 

[Shinigami]

Kirill - 1/30/2005 9:52 AM

Regarding your injuries - when you have even a small accident - worst thing is if you see it coming and stiffen up - and impact causes much more damage to your muscles. That's why some people come out OK out of accidents and some have lots of back pains.

True. I was in one, and did not expect it. Never had back injuries and it was definitely a harder impact then the one the creator of this thread experienced.

Guess I was lucky...

 

[2001SilverSLK320]

Kirill - 1/30/2005 9:52 AM

Darn, Kirill is good isn't he - but I'm scared now that he said he's taking law classes. Like others have said, things vary from state to state. If you got wacked at 35 mph, no matter how things play out ultimately the Ford driver was at fault and would ultimately bare the burden. Even if you were rolling at a few miles an hour, say 5 mph, that is still a 30 mph hit that would cause you to lose control. You are only estimating his speed right? He may have been moving faster.

That's actually a Business Law class for my MBA program (going for second masters degree)

Basically Ford's driver negligence caused an accident. There was no negligence on SLK side. As i said to Deathy, even if you loose in traffic court and will pay 70$ ticket, you can win in civil and get damages from the Ford's driver.

Again - Never admit you are guilty in court !!! Your testimony can be used, judgment - can't.

Regarding your injuries - when you have even a small accident - worst thing is if you see it coming and stiffen up - and impact causes much more damage to your muscles. That's why some people come out OK out of accidents and some have lots of back pains.

Kirill, I'm getting an MBA an well. Where are you getting it from and what do you plan on doing once you graduate? It's looking like I have the week from you know where, I have a huge operations management test on tuesday, a international business test on wednesday, a postioning case analysis due on Sunday, and tons and tons of reading.. it's exciting.. haha