well my friends I may be departing this section of the forum after today :-(

I was on a 2 lane highway (one lane each way) making a turn from my lane going south into my moms work which is legal, there is a hill right behind me and it is kind of slushy out..so I have my blinker on and I see a semi comming down the hill and im like ok he'll slow down, I cant make a turn because of on comming traffic, I look in my review mirror I notice hey this guy aint slowing down, i go CRAP i start to go buy my tires spin a bit cuase of the slush so I cant go anywhere what do you know I get reended by a semi truck going 50 cause he didnt put on his brakes once. I fly out, rear window shatters i get a mild concussion no other injuries thank god, I get out 60+ feet from where I was back the truck up a bit (truck still running, tranny ok) look at the drivers side of the bed totaled, but i think the frame got bent down which insurances usually dont cover it if that happens. i can maybe get some pics if i remember, but anyhow so this guy gets out of his semi and yells at my mom who comes running out of her work to see whats going on, and is like HE SHOULD HAVE MOVED and she's like HE WAS TURNING, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO STOP! well another guy who just got a new to him tacoma went into this guy and he comes out and is liek dude are you ok and im like shock thats it, and the truck driver was like i was only going 35 and this guy was like man he was going A lot faster than that and I didnt see his brake lights until he hit you, not once which made me go into him. fire truck comes, paramedics come, and they check me out, i got some shoulder pain and a mild concussion from it well i guess another guy called my moms work and said he saw the semi hit me and he was going way fast and didnt slow down, he honked his horn like 10 ft from hitting me, I couldnt do anything at all but spin my wheels i didnt have enought time to try and get out of the slush cause he hit me so hard. Cops took our statement, I got sent to the hospital, was there and the cop came and gave me my liscence and registration and insurance and said just so you knoiw we issued him a citation, he's at fault, and I guess they had the truck driver there for awhile cause my dad came to pick me up from the hospital, I just got home maybe 30 minutes ago. So I am heartbroken becuase the truck is worth a lot to me but not to insurance, I hope it can be repaired no frame damage, even if it is "totalled" I will keep the truck becuase it has sentimental value and hopefully restore it sometime when I get the money. SO I have no idea what is gonna happen, we were down to two cars as it was (i live with my parents as I am only 18) my dad and moms truck, and my truck since our suburban's tranny is shot after 300,000 lol now we have one car, and I 3wont have a car cause insurance will supply a rental but the truck is in my dads name not mine so i was "borrowing" it. All I know is this guy was lieing the second he came out of the door saying he slid was only going 35, his BIG semi wasnt jack knifed or anything, no signs of a slide, and his passanger side hit my drivers, but only the bed to the end of the wheel well is damaged (still dunno about the frame) the tires are ok, my mom drove it ok off the street to the parking lot, probably will drive it home (15 miles) in the next couple of days. but I did totally screw up his bumber and put it into his tire almost :-). but my mosm friend who took me to the hospital used to work for insurance and she said t ruck drivers do it a lot, just plow into people becuase they try and get out of it, but she said with how worried he was she thinks it was his last offense and probably will be fired I dont know. But I am just praying the beast is ok, I am ok for now i'll see about the mornings. man fun day got an A on my finals, and then a nice big accident ahah :-) :-\ oh well

hope my truck is reparable

 

sounds like you had a bad day alright. i am a trucer myself and they dont stop on a dime, but if he never used the brakes then i would guess he wasnt paying too good attention. maybe going to fast for coniditions. sounds like he did try to go around you but tried too late hard to say. but that stinks your truck got messed up.

 

Glad that you are OK....that's the main thing. A truck can be repaired/replaced. Just a thought, you could always look for an old truck for cheap and when you get the money to fix yours, you could use the replacement truck for parts.

 

your still alive,and it sounds like your ok (if your home the same day from the hospital and on the computer,your not too bad off) im sure your upset about your truck ,but to the people that love you,the truck is the least of their concerns.if insurance pays out the truck as a total right off,buy it back from them and fix it if it means that much to you.your 18 years old,you will have lots of time to buy, and to bond emotionally with other trucks as you get older in life. the key here is your still alive,to do this!!! i hope you heal up fast,and keep on truckin'.

 

yeah I know, it was my grandpa's truck and he gave it to me so it has you know that sentimental value. But the trucker couldnt have passed unless he wanted a head on collision with someone. The cop said he just wasnt paying attention the slush shows he never skidded or attempted to brake and that was that. But I am ok im really sore tonight but thats alright I am thankful I am alive lol. I think im going to get another truck, and just slowly repair that one as I get time and stuff.

 

Sounds like you are worried about the trucker not taking the blame. Doesn't work that way. It is up to him to stop, doesn't matter if you slammed on the binders and threw out an anchor right in front of him. HE has to maintain an adequate stopping distance. The fact that you were stopped in the middle of the road is irrelevant as long as you were making a legal left turn. What if you had broken down and couldn't move? Don't let his insurance company buffalo you. If they are going to total the truck tell them you want it fixed or a replacement in equal condition. The burden is on them not you. They will try to intimidate you, get a lawyer and holler about your injuries. I went through this with a 64 Mustang convertible. The other guy's insurance company wanted to give me $450.00 for it because it was so old. Believe me when I called my lawyer into the case they coughed up quick. They know what a lawsuit can amount to in a case of obvious negligence like this. The trucker was probably on his cell phone.

 

yeah we are getting a lawyer, and the cops are blaming him so it doesnt matter what he says we have like 5 witnesses. and the lawyer is going to just make sure we get the right equal value for it. I dont care that much about the truck I just was kinda AH about the whole thing. I am happy I am ok. But I am not letting this guy get off the hook he was the kind of guy who if he could have just driven off he would have. But now its dealing with insurance and stuff, and we talked to geico and they said do you have receipts for how much you put into that truck and I am like yeah I do so they aer like thats good cause if it is totaled we will get full value for it and if i chose to keep it they will just deduct the salvage value for it. So we will see how it plays out and all, I just was in shock all last night and just :-\ cause right now im in a lot of pain in my head and neck and shoulders so I have to go back to the hospital or doctors becuase if I dont and I turn out to have a lot more injury than first noticed im screwed haha

oh what a day :-) good thing the engine and tranny still work in the truck ahah and it did drive

 

If you still have pain make sure you don't sign a release just to get your money. The insurance company will want to settle as quickly as possible and will push for a settlement with a release. When you sign you give away your rights to further treament for pain. Back injuries can be a lifelong thing so make sure they are taken care of.

 

well I have not even dealt with the insurance company yet, I have been to the hospital once and I think i am going back because my shoulders and arms are in so much pain I cant put pressure on them, my head is horrible like yesterday and now my neck is just i cant move it much cause of how much it hurts. no I am going to make sure I dont get screwed so it will take as long as it can because I know people who have said yeah im in this much pain and just signed off things from the insurance and have been in trouble but me I am not going to do that causae I dont want it to come back a bite me. so I am going to have to get a head scan according to the dr to make sure there isnt any internal swelling ro anything

 

Very glad you are ok! First and foremost! Yeah sounds like a trucker that just didn't pay attention until the last second. Sadly some are like that. (thankfully not all!! But more then a few to make life hell)

Get someone to make contact with HIS insurance company, and the company he works for (if a company truck? The company might be the one holding the insurance policy for the fleet) Explain in detail what happened...better still--have your lawyer call their insurance company--be sure they mention the police report--his getting the ticket--and the police officers ID/district/township. Last time I got rear-ended by a van? I called the insurance company myself, and they tried to B/S me into thinking it was a bogus claim. (the one that hit me? NEVER contacted their company to report the accident) It was not until I mentioned "Oh yes, Officer **** (can't remember his name) with Badge ID from the village of Waterford witnessed the accident and I have a copy of the police report. Would you like me to fax it to you?

That shut 'em up with their smart-fanny talk very quick. $3,200 later? (plus rental fees for two weeks) I got my company work van back.

Be happy for the good truck drivers---but like life? Always a few lemons mixed in.

S-

 

What he said......Do NOT allow them to force feed a settlement on you. Once you sign the release? That's over and done for you--need to make 100% sure you are 100% first and foremost.

S-

 

Jeez man that sucks i would of gave him the gears for not stoppin what an idiot!!!.. hope your truck is repairable too

 

Thankfully you walked away from it (so to speak). Not many people can say they were rear-ended by a semi and lived to tell about it.

Good luck keeping the truck on the road! It sounds like you're determined, and most of the time that's all it takes.

 

If he had that type of attitude and was driving a big truck like that in that kind of weather, he should lose his job and his license. I can't get over how many people don't think they're responsible for their own actions and want to point the finger at someonelse for their own mistake. I would think differently if he were driving at a more reasonable speed for the conditions and accidently slid into you.
As bad as it is, it could have been worse. No matter how badly the truck is damaged, it can still be fixed with enough time and money. Here's some incentive: I was watching the History Channel last night as they were lifting a world war II bomber out of the atlantic ocean where it crashed and had been since the 40's. And they intend on restoring that. Best of luck on your recovery.

 

I contacted a lawyer today, and he said that this kind of accident will be taken to court (he was a swift driver, both insurances know about the accident but are waiting for the police report) he said it'd go to court if he disputes it which he wont win, he got his COD taken from him and I guess the other kid in the accident called me last night to see how I was and said the officer had the truck driver there for an hour or more yelling at him and cited him and gave him a ticket, took his drivers liscnce and he said the truck driver changed his story like 20 times, but I have a feeling he's going to and try to say stuff like my tail lights werent working which I check every single day before I go that all my lights work :-) and they were people are witnesses. It doesnt matter this guy is screwed, but I am not like after money and stuff, I want the reasonable correct settlement me not getting sewed, and I want to make sure I am ok, because I can barely move my neck it is so stiff, and I am in crap loads of pain and stuff, my lower back is starting to hurt so I have a doctors appointment and stuff. I want this done right. Yes I am uterly happy I was able to get out of the truck right after getting hit. I might be going to pick up the truck or looking at it today or tomorrow. I'll get some pics