Insurance claim nightmare

You run, don't walk to the nearest shyster lawyer you can find. You complain of latent pain in your neck. The lawyer sends you to some fly-by-night sawbones who says that you have soft tissue damage. (this is key because it is virtually undetectable in an X-ray thus not easily refuted) Shyster then files suit against the moving company and names their insurance carrier, the broker, the company and the driver as responsible. You will have a very generous settlement within a few weeks. 33% will go to the shyster. Sad that it must come to this, but frequently it is the squeaky wheel that gets greased.

I don't normally reply to posts in this group because Ford trucks aren't my expertise. But I feel compelled to with this one.

The way this should have worked out is as follows:

1) Accident. 2) Police Report (this establishes the facts of the accident as a matter of public record). 3) Your insurance company inspects the vehicle and authorizes repairs. 4) You pick up your fixed truck and your insurance company pays the body shop. 5) Your insurance company goes after the other insurance company for the cost.

From what you have posted here, it sounds like you probably didn't get an accident report, which means that liability isn't cut and dry, in fact it is your word against the other guy provided there are no witnesses to offer testimony in either direction. It also sounds like you are dealing with the other insurance company directly, which means you are getting the runaround because they don't take you seriously and there is no reason for them to pay you a dime (what are you going to do, sue them? that's what your insurance company should be doing for you!). The people you are dealing with get paid by the moving company to make sure you don't get a dime.

Considering the accident happened more than a month ago it is going to be difficult to improve your situation.

Do you have a police report? If not, were there any witnesses that you can get a hold of? They will have to sign sworn statements either at the local cop shop or with your attorney. That's going to be step one, the next is to get your insurance company involved ASAP.

Tom.

Teacher? Yea, that figures.... I hope you get greased really good by a shyster lawyer some day.... you deserve it. Bob

Hey, my response was tongue in cheek. Not to be taken literally. Had he gotten a police report and got his insurance agency involved from day one, he wouldn't be in the fix he's in. I was using sarcasm and making reference to the dejur her in Mexifornia (formerly The Peoples Republic of Kalipornia before Gov. Gumby and the state assembly sold us to Mexico) Chill out will ya, I hate shysters and the bastards who manipulate the courts to enrich themselves.

"JDub" wrote in news:MeK8b.438749$uu5.77873@sccrnsc04: snip snip snip

CALL THE ATTORNEY GENERAL NOW.

I hate to tell you this but your case is weak because you have no police report. If your eyewitness doesn't show up in small claims you could be out of luck. You should have called your insurance company when this happend if only for good advice. I hope it works out for you.

__________________________________________

"Take All the Rope in Texas, Find a Tall Oak Tree, Round up All of Them Bad Boys, Hang 'Em High in The Street... for All The People to See"

Toby Keith

Now that's funny!!

Some things you forgot: gotta also get a sleazy chiropractor to give you $500 per 1/2 hour massages to drive the bogus claim up. The shyster lawyer will certainly know one. The shyster will will also know a doctor who will certify that the stubbed toe that you had when you were a kid was the result of the accident.

Settlement will be completed within the next 5-7 years.

Sorry about that, I thought you were serious. Bob

No problemo (I'm practicing my Spanglish just in case we get Bandito Bustamonte for Gov.)

OK Cruise, you owe me a new keyboard, mine's been sprayed with Diet Dr Pepper...

• * * Matt Macchiarolo
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You can do all this without a lawyer, depending on the $ limit of your Small Claims Court. Get your estimate, add the cost of a rent truck (you really should rent one) and any other out-of-pocket expense -including work time loss- and file suit on the insured and insuror in small claims court. They will settle quickly.

Key words |> The driver admitted fault, I have eyewitnesses, not to mention that I |wasn't |> even moving when I was hit, so liability is cut and dry. |>

|> I called the insurance company and left voicemail that evening, just over |a |> month ago. The next day I had an e-mail exchange with the insurance |company, |> sent them a photo of the damage, and had the body shop fax an estimate on |> the third day. |> I was told that repairs would take a couple of weeks. |>

|> I had no luck wading through voicemail, so I asked about a rental truck |via |> e-mail and got no response. I borrowed my dad's '89 Mazda B2000. It barely |> runs, has no heat or AC, no room to lock up my tools, can't handle the |> payloads I haul at work (I'm a stone mason). In short, it get's me to |work, |> but causes a great deal of inconvenience once there, requiring the office |to |> re-schedule and juggle job assignments. |> Not to mention I had to repair the failing brakes. I'm struggling to make |my |> mortgage payments at the moment. I don't need this. |>

|> Two weeks go by, and I prepare to pick up my truck. Come to find out that |> the insurance company I've been talking to is the insurance *broker*, |> representing the moving company, but not the insurance company responsible |> for my claim. Confused? I was. I still don't get why the broker would ask |me |> to fax them an estimate if it isn't their responsibility to fix my truck. |> Then I find out that work on my truck hasn't even started because the |> insurance company hasn't authorized it yet. |> Finally, the insurance company becomes aware two weeks after the |acccident, |> and sends an independent adjuster to look at my truck. Work starts, and my |> truck is repaired and ready a full month after the accident. |>

|> Add insult to injury: |> I go to pick up my truck, and the body shop tells me that the adjuster |said |> I would receive a check in the mail. Obviously I hadn't, and the body shop |> refused to release my truck. |> After several attempts, I finally get a hold of a real person at Vanliner |> insurance and they say they are still investigating, that no one had the |> authority to promise me payment or authorize repairs! |> I again inquire about my rental truck and she responds that her report |says |> nothing about my truck not being driveable and implies that I should have |> been driving it this whole time. |> The whole door is mangled, it won't open, the window is gone, I can't |secure |> my tools or keep the rain out, and I'm supposed to drive it while they |give |> me the run around? I don't think so. |>

|> I live in Washington state, and it looks like I've got a solid case in |small |> claims court if I need to, but it just shouldn't have to come to that. |>

|> I guess I'd like any general advice or pointers on how to proceed from |here. |> Resources on the web, a more appropriate discussion forum, or whatever. |> Thanks, |> Josh |>

|>

|>

| |

Rex in Fort Worth

At the risk of enraging the other members of the group, the advice to sue is probably the right answer. I had a similar incident, except that I got a vertebrae broken. The run-around the company gave you is the normal, out-of-State trucking firms have brokers in-State so then can do business here, and any claims drives up their insurance costs and can cost the driver his livelyhood. For all intents and purposes, these out-of-State #$%$%#s might as well be uninsured motorists. They strung me out until the statute of limitations was up, I almost didn't get the paperwork filed in time. Once my lawsuit was filed, they settled pretty quick, I expect most people just give up. If I hadn't had the police report, and the fact that the police gave the truck driver a ticket at the scene, I definitely have been up a creek.

Go see a lawyer first, they don't charge much for a consultation.

Me thinks the lady doth protest too much....

What's he supposed to do instead? Gripe about the real culprits that are making the whole sleazy process profitable? You know who, all his fellow 'mericans that bothered to be jurers and hand over all that money in the past and now's got everyone spooked? :/ Huh, Dr.? ;)

Nah, it more fun to poke fun at the professionals, ok? ;)

Alvin in AZ

And don't forget to get the Insurance Commissioner for the state of Washington involved. A gentle letter from him to the insurance company will help grease the palms.

Hi Josh. My brother used to sell auto insurance and he told me that you need to locate the Insurance Commissioner for your state. You may try the yellow pages under the state agency headings or you may try a search on the internet. The point is, you contact the office of the insurance commissioner. Update them of what sort of problems you are having and the run around, not to mention the cost to your business dealings.

Any company or agent who gets a call from the Insurance Commissioner is going to regret the day they started screwing you around. Now while insurance agencies are not known for their blazing speed, a call from the commissioners office will certainly grab their attention. After all, the commissioners office holds and regulates their license to operate.

Go get em tiger! and take no prisoners.