patrick.net

The insurance for the driver who hit you should payout whatever the standard rate is for a total loss on your vehicle. I believe it's usually tied to the resale value without the accident, but could be mistaken. Should be super simple open-and-shut case, but if adjuster gives you shit, consider getting a lawyer, just so you don't have to hassle with them. Although for a lawyer, their cut comes from the medical side, not the vehicle payout. Did your wife go to the chiropractor and massage therapist?

WookieMan says

We owe $30k,

The silver lining: congratulations on being able to get out from under that debt.

My Toyota truck was hit while parked on my street, the kid was drunk and it was a company truck.

The company insurance company totaled the truck and made me a low offer.

I didn’t accept it, and found ads for trucks similar to my truck.
You should go online and see what vehicles comparable to yours are selling for, use this as a guide.

I also called the company and said “I don’t mind going to small claims court and rolling the dice. Your employee damaged my truck and your insurance company doesn’t want to pay me. Ask your insurance company why you pay them premiums for years and they won’t pay a claim?”

I got more money and bought fenders and found a bed from the junkyard and rebuilt the old truck.
Later my friend came over with a compressor and painted it a Ford paint he had lying around his garage.
I drove the only tan Toyota truck around for a few years.

Edit:
Another time I had another Toyota truck and I was hit by a reckless (Mexican) driver, my truck was totaled.
I mentioned to his insurance company that I had just paid for extensive work on the engine a few weeks before.
I had receipts and I was paid more money (about the value of the repairs). I was happy.

This thread is useless without wreck pics.

Tell your wife to get medical attention Pronto. Do not wait.

I was rear-ended once and felt I was ok. I called the other driver's insurance company to get an estimate and they told me to bring the car in any day mon-fri between the hous of 9-5. I told them that in order for me to do that, I'd have to take time off work so I needed them to come to me or give me a weekend appointment. They said no can do. Well, fuck them...I went to a Dr. and a lawyer same day. It ended up costing them about $5-6 grand more than needed. Assholes.

I would expect them to give you the value of the car (but not initially)

Your job will be to listen to the offer and then give them a stack of printouts of car sale ads across the country that match your make/model/year/mileage. Also reference Kelly Blue Book.

Accept nothing less than the midpoint of those figures.

WineHorror1 says

Tell your wife to get medical attention Pronto. Do not wait.

I was rear-ended once and felt I was ok. I called the other driver's insurance company to get an estimate and they told me to bring the car in any day mon-fri between the hous of 9-5. I told them that in order for me to do that, I'd have to take time off work so I needed them to come to me or give me a weekend appointment. They said no can do. Well, fuck them...I went to a Dr. and a lawyer same day. It ended up costing them about $5-6 grand more than needed. Assholes.

Whiplash is a MAJOR ticking time bomb. If it was bad enough to total the car, you should get her an MRI ASAP. Brain injuries manifest over several days, and by the time she's feeling bad, the damage has already been done. If the brain is injured, it swells, but there's nowhere for it to go, so it squeezes itself against the inside of the skull until blood flow is cut off and grey matter starts dying. She needs anti-inflammatory medication ASAP if she's brain-injured.

Negotiate for replacement value. Prepare comps. Insist on being made whole, i.e. getting enough dough to go out and buy an equivalent truck from a used car dealer.

WineHorror1 says

I'd have to take time off work so I needed them to come to me or give me a weekend appointment. They said no can do.

That's ridiculous. Every insurance company should have a field adjuster who can come out and inspect the vehicle.