488 My Car was hit yesterday, Person Ran a Red Light

Glad you're okay, Carl. This may well vary by state but most (insured) drivers have an automatic minimum for bodily injury when they cause the wreck. It's the "easy" amount you can get their insurer to settle for without resorting to court. I had an old woman pull right out of her driveway in front of my Porsche 911 years ago (I was doing 45 mph). Car was totaled. Airbag saved me. I walked away. But I must have had a concussion because a few days later I found myself transposing numbers when I wrote them down -- someone would say 451 and I would write 541 without even realizing it. Concussions are a strange thing. MRI was clear. It went away eventually. But on the advice of a lawyer I knew, I leaned on their insurance a little and they cut me a $15k check right away. Anything more than that I would have had to go to court.

Diminished value is a completely different thing, but it really should not affect any injury settlement you might be entitled to. I lived in Rhode Island for a while and three of my neighbors were big personal injury attorneys ... including one of those billboard guys ... and all they really did was take the case, make the call, and get the settlement, then take their cut. They raked in huge amounts of money. If it actually had to go to trial, they would refer to a real trial attorney.

And the woman who hit me? Her minivan took it in the drivers door and ended up across the intersection over the curb in a giant pricker bush. She was okay, I guess, but the firemen were trying to figure out how to get her out of the car around the bush with her door jammed shut, and her husband walked out of their house, totally ignored her and the minivan and stood next to me shaking his head. "Sure was a pretty car," he said.

 

There is going to be a big hit due to diminution of value as this will certainly be on carfax and you should assume a minimum of a 30pct hit for the accident from "street" value even if its repaired to pristine condition - and there is no certainty of that. You may be better off taking the the $220k from the insurance and then selling the car to a salvage shop that will rebuild and wholesale it. The combination of $s may mean your better off and get out of the car without anymore stress and anxiety - unless you think you can win a lawsuit against the other driver for the loss in value of the car. Life is short and I know its a lot of money but do the math and make an unemotional decision that also prices in your mental health. Also in no way will this prejudice your ability to sue for the physical injuries you have sustained - they are independent of each other.

 

I think $220k on a 4 year old 488 spider still ends up as a total. That would make things so much easier.

 

A bit of advice, you need medical treatment right away for any PI claim, delays will work in the favor of the insurance company them asking why you didn't get treatment if you were actually injured plus your injuries need to be documented by medical professionals.

Expect to go to medical treatment 3 times a week for 2 years till the statuate of limitations expires to file a lawsuit by your attorney for the accident. Its like a full time job going to medical appointments.

The courts are basically ignoring Tor lawsuits now since they are so far behind from Covid, they are training Civil Judges to be criminal judge to help with the backlogs of criminal cases. There is no right to a fair trial timeline for Civil cases.

Your insurance company and the defandants insurance company will not take you serious without a lawyer even then they play games, but you are helpless unless you know the law and can file a lawsuit, and yes the lawyers take a big cut yoiu will be taking a loss on this car.

Since the driver was uninsured your insurance will be paying for most of this including any personal injury

 

100% agree with mikeferrari2000..... you should secure services of an attorney ASAP... especially since they want you to repair your car and not write it off....which is the worst possible scenario in your case IMHO.

 

I would take the loss ,accept the 220, count your blessings & move on. From experience mind you-yes! I was hit by a poorly insured motorist doing donuts in a parking lot as a pedestrian while trying to lock my car. His car hit me & my car at 35mph resulting in considerable damage to my car & me. 3 mo (most of it in ICU & step down care), passed on multi times,loss of leg & lots of bills far in excess of the sums you are quoting here . Yes on the current market your car is worth a little more, but time, attorney fee's, mental agitation will take their toll far more.

 

Wait…you lost your leg? Your story is horrifying. Truly sorry for your pain, suffering, and loss.

 

I’ll add that if you start treatment three weeks out there is going to be less acceptance of Chiro by the insurer, you could do some but I would be weary to approve a full 12 weeks. But you should be fully reviewed by an MD/DO and get a full set of diagnostic MRIs. They won’t buck MD for treatment or pain management if you’re having chronic pain.

If the MRIs show anything then Ortho consult makes sense.

 

Yes Chiz I did. Left. Whole point of the post is if you survive the entire matter of the accident, financial loss, loss of belongings etc, though difficult nothing surpasses dismemberment or loss of life plus all of the above. Even here my game plan was pick up what's left , go home, go back to limited practicing, make the best of it,reduce ASAP Mental Anguish with a new game plan. Material things are replaceable, you & family are not. Stress is a Killer. I rewarded myself with a used Ferrari approx 2 yrs later (named it my death car) & became a private pilot.

 

I tip my cap to you sir. You are the embodiment of positive energy. It’s inspiring to see someone simply turn the page and move past a horribly unfair event.

 

100% agree with this post....and the previous post that 'Stress is a Killer' is also 100% accurate... Gary you are an amazing person for all of these reasons, and even more than we are reading.... it really put the OP story in a proper perspective. Health is your Wealth.

 

My money says Vlad at LNC buys it and rebuilds it

Ray

 

So what are your plans? Order a new F8 spider?

 

Yeah, I was going to be shocked if that car wasn’t totaled.....really the best outcome for Bruno.