This is just great, I've been doing the best I can to help her get her life turned around when this happend.  I had just found out that when her grandma offered to buy her a car that her aunt made my girlfriend sign a paper saying the amount would be deducted from her inheritance.  What a loving family.    Anyway she moved from Florida back to Kentucky to be with her mom who has MS really bad but in the mean time she's been having problems finding good employment.  She's a certified massage therapist but all the places that are hiring either pay her $8 an hour while charging the insurance company $200 an hour or they "good" places will give her $25 of a $60 massage.  I just found out over the weekend that because things were tight she only had liability insurance...on her brand new car.  I told her she needed full coverage and she asked me if I could cover her initial payments yesterday to get the coverage.  Money is tight for me right now so I was trying to find a way to do so.  That brings me up to this after noon.

I received a call that she had been rear ended.  When I get to the scene her car is 30 feet past the road she was trying to turn on, she was standing by it shaking.  It turns out she stopped to turn, the car behind her stopped to turn, the vehicle behind her didn't stop in time and hit the second car pushing it into my girlfriends car.  Then a full size pickup came flying up behind, left skid marks all over the road and smashed into the third car pushing crumping the trunk and putting it where the back seat was, it also smashed the third car into the second car sending glass everywhere, and caused the second car to hit my girlfriends car for a second time, the resulting impact also threw the second car about 10 feet ahead and my girlfriends car about 30 feet ahead.  Lastly a fifth car smashed into the back of the truck which was already permantly attached to the third car.

To make matters worse it turns out that my girlfriend didn't pay her last insurance bill and her insurance is expired.  Luckily she wasn't cited for it but it's going to hurt her when dealing with all the other insurance companies.  So now we have to wait and see how the police wrote up the accident and if they vehicles listed as contributing to the accident were insured.

My girlfriend was taken to the hospitol by ambulance and x-rayed.  The doctors didn't see anything that was broken but said there was strain to her neck and back.  She seems to be doing ok at the moment, we'll know more in the morning when she tries to get out of bed.  She is crushed emotionally because her car/her inheritance is trashed and it was going to be used as collateral to get her own massage therapy office opened so she wouldn't have to keep giving 60% to 90% of what she makes away to someone else.

Hopefully things will work out.  I've talked to my lawyer friend and he said multiple impact wrecks are very hard to deal with because everyone blames everyone else for the damage.  It all depends on how the police report is written, who is insured, and how aggressive their insurance company is.

Sorry to hear something like that happen.I hope everything goes good.

Holy shit man that sucks. Look at it this way. She could be dead.

I hate wrecks I got in enough this year and still dealing with them months later.  

I hope you end up dealing with a decent company, Southern General was SLOW but decent.  Progressive are bastards.

Quoted: Holy shit man that sucks. Look at it this way. She could be dead.

Yeah that's what I told her but in a nice way.  I told her at least she was able to stand and wasn't bleeding.  It didn't really sink in until we were at the autoyard where her car was towed and she saw some other wrecks were vehicles where folded in half from hitting a tree.  Other than the pick up her car suffered the least amount of damage but it's still not driveable.  It won't shift into a different gear and the rear end is crumpled under.

What kind of car was it?

Quoted: What kind of car was it?

It was a 2003 Nissan Altima.

Quoted: What kind of car was it?

The car that got crunched by the truck was an Infintiy.  The EMS guys said it was a really good car because it held up very well in the accident...even though the trunk was in the back seat.  That driver also went to the hospitol but was only complaining of a sore wrist.  I'm sure his neck and back will be sore in morning though.

swire
First I'm happy shes ok.
I REALLY don't want to come across as cold but,
if money is tight, why buy a 2003 car?
New cars are a money pit. You LOSE money the
second you drive off the lot.
She could have gotten a decent used pickup or suburban or
something tough and cheap and easy to repair.
Dude buy her a 10 year old F-150 or something.
They don't cost that much compared to an altima and they are
tougher than shit.
Seeing how her own family isn't as kind as you are to her
maybe you might want to consider it.
Please tell her she is in our prayers.

I normally dont recommend this, but...she needs to lawyer up.  A personal injury lawyer should be able to get her car fixed, her medical bills paid, and some pocket cash left over.

Quoted: I normally dont recommend this, but...she needs to lawyer up.  A personal injury lawyer should be able to get her car fixed, her medical bills paid, and some pocket cash left over.

Definitely. If she shows up to meet the insurance people with  a lawyer, they will through her some money just to avoid a lawsuit, quite possibly.

Glad to hear she's OK.  My girlfriend just got rear ended in my 99 Olds Alero two days ago, same type of wreck.  Someone comes along at 45mph, not paying attention, hit the guy ahead of her, who then plowed into my girlfriend.  Sore back and neck, but the car was still straight and drivable.  Just gouged the hell out of the plastic rear bumper cover, wrecked the muffler, and killed my hazard switch and turn signals.  The guy behind her had his front end folded up accordion style, the girl who caused it all gave us phone number for her insurance Co. (progressive) and her own number, which both turned out to be bad numbers.  Next step will be to get a copy of the PD report and go after her ass.


 

At least she's OK -- a few aches maybe, but nothing serious from what it sounds like.

Been there, done that with getting rear ended and being pushed into the car in front of me.  Not fun.

Lawyer up, hope for the best.



SWIRE....just tell me that she wasn't bouncing around like the chick in your avatar....THAT looks painful

Quoted: swire First I'm happy shes ok. I REALLY don't want to come across as cold but, if money is tight, why buy a 2003 car? New cars are a money pit. You LOSE money the second you drive off the lot. She could have gotten a decent used pickup or suburban or something tough and cheap and easy to repair. Dude buy her a 10 year old F-150 or something. They don't cost that much compared to an altima and they are tougher than shit. Seeing how her own family isn't as kind as you are to her maybe you might want to consider it. Please tell her she is in our prayers.

Well this is one of the things she did before I met her.  Her aunts have screwed her over multiple times.  At the time she bought the car she had a good job so money wasn't that tight.  She's wanted to start her own business and I mentioned that she should sell her car, get a used car, and use what is left over to start her business.  She wouldn't have any of that, she said her car was "the only thing she had" and that her grandmother would get really upset if she sold it.  Not to mention that her aunts would probably flip out and try to make her life even worse.

Unfortunately her family did a horrible job raising her and teaching her about taking care of herself, so she's pretty much was having to learn everything the hard way.  I've been teaching her and having her learn about personal finances as much as I can.  Unfortunately we have a long way to go as her credit looks like a train wreck.

HOLY VTL 309 VIOLATION BATMAN!  She wasn't insured?  That doesn't mean a damn thing when collecting from the other cars at fault.  The first guy who hit will be responsible for the cost of her car, I wouldn't worry too much.  But it WILL take her awhile to get the money, unless she signs off on being willing to forgo any civil claims.  In fact, find out who the party's insurance carriers are and talk to the Police about which cars were at fault, then file against those car's insurance companies.

I wouldn't sweat it, unless no one else has insurance.

EDIT:  In my jurisdiction, a VTL 309 carries a mandatory $500 fine and loss of license for one year.  Your GF might have just gotten really lucky and didn't know it.  Just tell her to reverse the cranial rectal inversion and get her car insured and keep it insured.

Quoted: I normally dont recommend this, but...she needs to lawyer up.  A personal injury lawyer should be able to get her car fixed, her medical bills paid, and some pocket cash left over.

I have a very good friend who is a personal injury lawyer and I've been working with him.  He said the situation that she is in is about the worst possible and there is no guarantee that her car will be fixed.  Also since her insurance was expired she even worse off.  Typically it's your own insurance that covers your medical bills and pays for any lost wages.  If the truck which caused the most damage doesn't have any insurance, then she is pretty much screwed because she wouldn't have uninsured motor vehicle insurance.  Also, the third car can claim they only tapped the cars and the forth car is the one that caused all the damage.  The fourth car can say it was the third car that caused most of the damage or that it was the fifth car that pushed him into the other cars.  This will take awhile to sort out.  Hopefully everything ends up like you said, she gets her car back, bills paid, and has some cash left over.

BTW, she's doing ok this morning.  Still in a lot of pain and didn't sleep any last night.  She's able to move around though which is a good sign.

Quoted: HOLY VTL 309 VIOLATION BATMAN!  She wasn't insured?  That doesn't mean a damn thing when collecting from the other cars at fault.  The first guy who hit will be responsible for the cost of her car, I wouldn't worry too much.  But it WILL take her awhile to get the money, unless she signs off on being willing to forgo any civil claims.  In fact, find out who the party's insurance carriers are and talk to the Police about which cars were at fault, then file against those car's insurance companies. I wouldn't sweat it, unless no one else has insurance. EDIT:  In my jurisdiction, a VTL 309 carries a mandatory $500 fine and loss of license for one year.  Your GF might have just gotten really lucky and didn't know it.  Just tell her to reverse the cranial rectal inversion and get her car insured and keep it insured.

She's reported that she was hit twice.  From what I saw at the scene the third car bumped her but it was the fourth car, the truck, that was going way too fast, left really long skid marks, and pushed all the vehicles down the road.  I talked to the officer writting up the report and he said Kentucky is a no-fault state and he wouldn't be issuing any tickets.  He did say he would write down the vehicle 1 and 2, which from my understanding are the contributing cause of the accident.

My lawyer friend was really suprised that she wasn't cited for not having valid insurance.  She had an insurance card but they must not have looked at the expiration date which was 8/4/2004.  At least she seems to have gotten lucky in this respect.

most people do not have sore necks until they talk to a lawyer...

Quoted: Quoted: I normally dont recommend this, but...she needs to lawyer up.  A personal injury lawyer should be able to get her car fixed, her medical bills paid, and some pocket cash left over. I have a very good friend who is a personal injury lawyer and I've been working with him.  He said the situation that she is in is about the worst possible and there is no guarantee that her car will be fixed.  Also since her insurance was expired she even worse off.  [r]Typically it's your own insurance that covers your medical bills and pays for any lost wages.[/r]  If the truck which caused the most damage doesn't have any insurance, then she is pretty much screwed because she wouldn't have uninsured motor vehicle insurance.  Also, the third car can claim they only tapped the cars and the forth car is the one that caused all the damage.  The fourth car can say it was the third car that caused most of the damage or that it was the fifth car that pushed him into the other cars.  This will take awhile to sort out.  Hopefully everything ends up like you said, she gets her car back, bills paid, and has some cash left over. BTW, she's doing ok this morning.  Still in a lot of pain and didn't sleep any last night.  She's able to move around though which is a good sign.

In my experience (I've been in my share of accidents too) that's BS. It's not your fault or the fault of your insurance company that you get hurt and have to miss work. It's the fault of the person(s) who caused the accident and they (or their Ins. companies) should be held culpable...At least in my experience. Glad to hear your GF is doing well though and good luck with getting this straightened out.

Sorry to hear about the accident. I hope everything turns out OK for you and your gf.

Get a lawyer.  And if she can make $20/hr doing massage that is a good deal.  My first real job I had a Master's degree and was making $12/hr.  

GunLvr

First, glad she is OK, and hope no long term injuries appear from this.

Whether she will get her car paid for depends upon state law, whether the person(s) at fault have insurance or not, etc.  Lawyer up and see what you can find out.

Dont worry about the inheritance, just enjoy the time she has left with her grandmother.  Seriously, I have seen people get in all sorts of family drama over a few material possessions or a little money from an inheritance.  Politely decline any offers from the grandmother to buy another car (if one is made), simply because it gives the aunts something to latch on to.  Once her grandmother is gone, tell the aunts to go pound sand.  People like that arent family.

$25 an hour isnt that bad, she may need to work a while or pursue other means of financing her own shop.  If a 20,000 car is enough collateral to open her place she should be able to find that.  20k aint jack for opening a new business.  Does her mom own her house, can she get a business or personal loan, etc.

Good luck.