| Mushman |
Hey Everyone,
I guess the MDX isn't indestructible. I was on my way home yetserday and gong straight through an intersection and some young inexperienced driver made a left right into the side of my MDX. My both front airbags came out.
The airbags burned the hair off my right arm and I still have burn marks on my arm. ANd it broke the band off my New Omega Seamaster watch on my left hand. My left shoulder is also in pain from the impact - getting X-Rays this week.
The bummer is the person who hit me has no insurance and inspection on his car. Now I have to go through my insurance and get a lawyer to sue him. If anyone can shed some light on this situation, I could really use some advice.
Thanks and enjoy the pics. These aren't for everyone so please hide the eyes of all women and children.
Mushman |
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| hammermdx |
| Bummer, rest up and good luck with the X-Rays. |
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| Captain MDX |
| OUCH!!!!!!! Sorry to here that. The damage even cause the front left wheels to scratch and misplace???? Hope you only have miner injuries and didn't break any bones. btw, your car looks a lot like Paul's MDX. |
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| Mushman |
Paul's MDX and mine are almost identical...
And, we work so close to each other... |
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| Mushman |
| Bye bye sweetie... |
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| Captain MDX |
| Hehe. Is this your car before the accident :D???? |
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| RonH |
Da** man, that's a bummer. Hate to see ANY vehicle like that.
Wish I could shed some positive light on the insurance problem, but I didn't fair very well when I was last hit be someone without insurance. My accident involved a whole rear wheel and rim flying off an semi trailer when we were rounding a sweeping curve in opposite directions. I'm in the outside lane and one second, clear skies ... next second, a wheel the size of the car rolling at me ... not cool. I veered and it took out the whole side of the car. Trucker stopped, but the company he worked for didn't have insurance, and from the look of the truck, I wasn't surprised. My uninsured motorist coverage on my ins policy covered my car, and the end result of the lawsuit was that since the company was going out of business (how convienent) and didn't have any cash, the judge ordered them to allow me to go to their company and claim "equipment" to recoup my losses. In going there, my only real option was to take a semi or dump truck or the like. Problem was a) everything on the lot looked as if it had a combined total value of about $25, and b) I didn't want to hassle driving a giant dump truck home to try and sell. Can you imagine what the neighbors would think with THAT in the yard?
Hope you have better success!! |
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| riseboi |
Mushman,
Sorry to hear about your accident. Be sure to take care of your injuries. In regards to your insurance, check to see if your UM coverage provides for bodily injury as well as property damage. Some states do not necessarily provide for both. In addition, if your UM converage does provide for both and you file a claim, you may lose your option to sue (subrogate) against the responsible party. As I work in insurance, these were the first things that came to mind when I read your post, but don't quote me on them. My best advise would be to contact your insurance carrier to file a "notice" to be advised of your options. Best of luck. |
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| JMT2003 |
Follow through aggressively!!!!:mad:
An UM on a motorcycle who is Under-aged and has no license Hit my in-law.
The car ended up with 6K in damages.
No Big deal you think.... But what takes the cake is the SOB has the audacity to sue for his hospital bills.
My in-law may now have to file for bankruptcy because his bills are far above her coverage.
This incident moved me to increase my coverage.....
From 50K to 100K for just an additional $32 for a six month coverage.
A small price to pay:cool: |
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| EXCALIBUR |
Mushman,
Sorry to hear about your misfortune. These are the types of MDX pics we do not like to see too often. Take care and good luck.:29: |
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| laborlitigator |
Not that I'm an expert in PI but I believe that if you if your state does not have UM coverage, you will have to file the claim through your own. However, your rates should not go up based on such.
Glad to see you're OK. |
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| BlueStreak |
File the claim with your carrier. They will subrogate against the driver to recoup their cost. If you want to get a lawyer to sue the other driver, contact your carrier first and let them know your intentions.
Be reasonable (firm but honest) with your claims adjuster. Remember to document EVERYTHING, as the ins company does this. This includes EVERY phone call, meeting, etc.
Keep us posted how you make out. Advice is just a post away. |
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| TheWorm |
Sorry about the crash, Mushman. Hope your recovery is a speedy one.
Some good advice here re: insurance, etc. While riseboi's comment re: subrogation is probably correct, IMO most of the UM stuff is more like RonH's story demonstrates: the sad truth is that uninsured motorists usually don't have a damn thing worth suing them for anyway. The drunk/uninsured/suspended-license/red-light-runner who hit me (when I had my Jeep) had nothing but a freakin surfboard and probably a boombox. Fortunately, no one was injured and my insurance handled everything, including my rental car.
Curious, did he tell you he was uninsured @ the scene, or was it a "I don't have my info with me, and by the way, my friend has a bodyshop so I'll get you taken care of without going through 'our' insurance companies...wink wink" deal? If I hear that one again, I might have to administer a beatdown.
Feel better soon. |
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| greatscot |
Sorry you had to go through this Mushman, real drag.
I am impressed though that you had the presence of mind to take some pictures right away, they may help. I think I would be inclined to set my legal beagle on the creep, people who drive w/o insurance drive up the premiums of us who do have it in the first place. Make his life uncomfortable until this is resolved. Good luck and keep us posted on how you and the X come out on the other end. |
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| Mushman |
Greetings all,
I happened to have my trusty Canon S230 with me that day. Great compact camera and I would highly recommend it.
Thanks to everyone for their advice. I have never been such a situation and just do not want to get screwed. I did file a claim with my insurance company today - which is GEICO. They will repair my car using my no-fault portion of my coverage and try and contact the last company which did insure the other car (State Farm) to see if they can get anything out of them.
I picked up the police report on Saturday (9-13-03) and they told me that the person was summoned for no inspection, no insurance, and his car was impounded. I did not know this at the scene since I left with my brother (who came to pick me up) and go to the body shop to handle all the paper work.
Another thing I found out when I got the police report - the person driving the car (22 year old kid) is not the owner. The owner is someone else who does own a private home.
If anyone in the NY area can highly recommend me a lawyer, would appreciate it.
You guys really helped me out 2 years ago when I almost lost my wife in the World Trade Center on 9/11/01. I never really ask for help, but your kind words made me feel so great at thattime when I had nobody to talk to. Your advice here just makes me proud to be a member of this club. Thanks all.
Mushman |
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| BLACK-BLING-MDX |
| Hey Mushman, you have great resolve my friend. About the lawyer, since LaborLit lives in NY, and he is a lawyer, he might have some connections that he could hook up for you. LL? |
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| TheWorm |
Glad to hear they impounded the car. Some justice in that, for sure.
IIRC, NY State has vicarious liability laws that make the OWNER of a vehicle liable for anything that happens with its operation, whether or not the owner is driving (presuming the owner gave permission or allowed the driver to have the car, as opposed to it being stolen). That means the owner is on the hook. (this is also the reason so many leasing companies don't lease in NY anymore -- because THEY were held liable for damages that the lessee might've caused).
Obviously you want the car fixed ASAP and should do so. But do keep in mind that medical problems can and do show up after a period of time (sometimes months). What you might be dismissing as "I feel fine" or "just a sore arm" could end up being more than that. So I'd discourage agreeing to anything that might limit your ability to be reimbursed (or to sue the driver/owner) for future medical expenses and the usual pain n suffering. |
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| DEZRVIT |
| Thats terrible, and I was feeling bad cuz I had to get a rock chip fixed this weekend. Hope you are OK and good luck. |
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| shootist |
quote:
Originally posted by Mushman
...GEICO. They will repair my car using my no-fault portion of my coverage and try and contact the last company which did insure the other car (State Farm) to see if they can get anything out of them.
.Mushman
Mush:
You're a little confused on the insurance coverage parts. Don't worry- after this experience is over, you will have become an expert.
Your "collision and comprehensive" coverage will pay to have your car repaired, and you will pay your deductible. Your "no-fault" coverage will pay your medical bills, if any.
Your insurer, GEICO, will then "subrogate" your claim, and try to collect from the other party for your repair costs. If they are successful, you will also collect back all or part of your deductible.
"No fault" laws say that everybody pays their own medical bills, unless the injury is permanent or serious. A broken bone is a permanent injury, as is a permanent disability of some sort.
If your injury is permanent or serious, you can sue the other responsible party for damages, over and above the repair costs.
Here's the kicker: you have "uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverage" since you're in NY. If you thought about it, you bought more than the state minimum. (You will now). If the other driver and owner have no assets, your own insurer responds to your loss under your UIM. They actually step in and defend the other driver and owner. You in effect would be suing GEICO under your own UIM policy.
The other owner / driver probably does have assets. If they are meager, then GEICO still defends under "Underinsured" clause.
This is not legal advice. Only your attorney can give you legal advice. This is not professional advice of any sort. I'm just a guy chatting on the internet, and free advice is worth what you pay for it. |
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| Mushman |
Hey,
I will take any advice that I can get. I am so new to this type of thing and just don't want to get screwed and want that person to pay (not for profit purposes) but to teach them a lesson and scare the crap out of them.
I will be in search of a lawyer this week.
Mushman |
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| Loose Cannon |
Mushman,
Don't the Lynbrook police usually take care of the locals?
Loose
p.s. I live really local to you. |
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| Mushman |
Great advice Loose.
I am in New Hyde Park and the incident happened in Garden City not too far from Roosevelt Field.
Mush |
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| hammermdx |
| I was looking at your pictures again and it made me realize that since there is a sensor in the passenger seat for the side airbag, why wouldn't manufactures use a sensor for the front passenger air bag too? What's the point in having the passenger air bag deploy if no one is in the passenger seat? It's just an additional expense to get it replaced, isn't it? |
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| Loose Cannon |
| That looked like sport-time in Lynbrook. Is there another sport-time. |
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| Mushman |
The picture in front of Sporttime is not a pic of my MDX. I believe someone was reminding me what mine looked like before the accident. I do appreciate it.
I will have to go finedPaulMDX to get memories back of my beloved X. Are's are just too identical.
My incident happened in fron of Target. I guess the MDX was the real 'target' last Friday.
Mushman |
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| Captain MDX |
quote:
Originally posted by Mushman
The picture in front of Sporttime is not a pic of my MDX. I believe someone was reminding me what mine looked like before the accident. I do appreciate it.
I will have to go finedPaulMDX to get memories back of my beloved X. Are's are just too identical.
My incident happened in fron of Target. I guess the MDX was the real 'target' last Friday.
Mushman
Well than don't go to target next time or else you are going to be the target. |
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| Pauls MDX |
Mushman, I feel your aggravation for the accident. Captain MDX that wasn't nice posting my pic after he had such a misfortune. I am totally shocked to see this!! I know exactly where it happened. It totally sucks that the other party had no insurance and I'm not sure on how to go about recovering as much as possible. I would consult as many professionals to get advice. I am in total shock to see this, so much damage to such a beautiful twin to me. Best of luck.
Pauls MDX |
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| Mushman |
Paul,
Any advice you have or contacts you may know would be highly appreciated. You may have my number or email address to contact me, if not just PM me and I can shoot it over to you, if you have any advice.
I didn't mind the pic thing, everybody looks at situations in a different manner and I always entitle everyone to their opinions without judging them.
That individual was a complete jerk and never even apologized on the screen. Just called his mommy and let her handle it. Thanks god the cops got their before his mommy did or he may have made up a story based on what she may have told him to say.
Oh well, will keep everyone informed. Has anyone had a similar incident with Geico? Just curios to see if my rates may go up. Tha police report is 100% in my favor and I have a 9 year clean driving record.
Thanks,
Mush |
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| wmquan |
quote:
Originally posted by Mushman
Oh well, will keep everyone informed. Has anyone had a similar incident with Geico? Just curios to see if my rates may go up. Tha police report is 100% in my favor and I have a 9 year clean driving record.
Hard to say. We had GEICO, got into a "no fault" accident, and they jacked up our rate signficantly despite a long, safe driving record. The hike was so high it was clear they were trying to get us to leave, which we did. Went to Progressive Insurance which was even cheaper.
Currently with Allstate, mainly because we got an umbrella policy to go with our auto and homeowner's.
Like the others here, I hope this all works out well. Glad you're okay. |
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| kuago |
| I knew that area too. I feel sorry for you Mush and your baby. Sue the bastard who own the car and the driver. :3: :3: |
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| Captain MDX |
quote:
Originally posted by Pauls MDX
Captain MDX that wasn't nice posting my pic after he had such a misfortune.
Sorry |
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| Mushman |
Hey Captain MDX,
No apology necessary. I appreciate all the feedback i get. I just would NEVER wish this upon anyone to go through. The accident I don't care about, because it will get fixed, but I care about the bastard with no insurance.
This is now becoming a headache for me to pursue this.
Thanks for all of your feedback.
Mush |
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| Mushman |
Thanks to a concerned member who actually emailed me to see how I was doing. Reminds me that there are good people out there.
I finally did get my MDX back after about 1 month from the body shop (Rallye Body Shop) last Friday. They did an awesome job with it. They had to paint it twice to get the color right. They said it looked good the first time but the boss was not happy with it. Feels good knowing the MDX was one of the cheapest cars there and I felt comfy with them.
A couple of small things now dealing with. When I got it back, I noticed 4 things wrong:
1. Passenger side tweeter grill was burned. Did not initially realize this but happened fromt he airbag. They did not replace it. Rally guy said it is not burned. I said, by looking at the black marks and how crisp and frail it was, looked burned to me.
2. They forgot to put a parking lamp bulb on the front left side (they replaced that without question).
3. Drivers door has a small rip on it (the vinyl on the inside. They say that is a seatbelt tear). I think that is bogus and I KNOW that is bogus.
4. Huge ink stain on the front passenger seat. A worker probably had something in their pocket when they sat down. The guy at Rallye goes we did not do anything on that side. SO I questioned him that he did not replace the airbag and why is their a plastic mat on that side then with footprints. Tried some solvents and it did not come out, will see what they do.
Besides the bulb thing, I have to deal with the other 3 issues then. It is just hard to explain to someone how much a car can mean to me and that I really know every spot and scratch on the car and I know these things happened while in the shop.
Insurance wise - My insurance company, Geico has been great. I am in Physical Therapy for my shoulder. I have hired a lawyer and I actually have to go this week to Geico's doctors for an evaluation. I appreciate offers from other lawyers, but just decided to go with somebody local and recommended.
With all the exercise I got for a month (walking to work and all) I am just glad to get my car back.
Just need to get motivated again. I guess when I get it back to the way it was before the accident all will be better.
I just can't get into it like I used to be, but am sure everyone here will change that for me.
Thanks for asking,
Arun:) |
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| kuago |
| I was going to refer an autobody shop around wantagh area. Where I supposed to bring my green 4dr sedan integra. One of my co-worker backed in to my rear corner bumper, which he paid for it. Anyway, It my friends father in-laws autobody shop. The reason why I didnt bring it to him I wa to far from him. He does a great job. no complaint from my family yet. I end up bring my car to huntington honda autobody shop.:) |
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| Mushman |
Greetings,
The Rallye body shop was pretty good. They are owned by Rallye dealership and work on Acura, Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes. You would not believe the cars I saw and what people did with them.
This shop is very professional and do not cut corners anywhere. All new parts, no aftermarket.
Their body shop is about the size of a Costco and super clean. I was very impressed when I took my car there and, hope I never have to, but would take it there again.
Thanks for the referral to your friends shop. I fmy wife hits the Subaru again, I may be PMing you for the information.
Mush |
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| hondacuraworld |
| Glad to hear that you're okay......hey please let me know if there's anything I can do to help. |
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| tabasco |
Sorry for my humor .........but I noticed in the first posted photo that the accident took place in front of a TARGET STORE.
I GUESS YOU WERE THE TARGET :D |
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