Got T boned turning in to parking lot

[85Ram50]

Still shook up. Dam kid hit me so hard it spun me 90 degrees. I'm surprised there isn't more damage. We are going to be arguing over who is at fault. Seems pretty clear. She wasn't paying attention as she was far enough away for me to turn in. She tried to claim she was going to turn in and I turned in front of her until I pointed out that she hit me behind my rear wheel at full speed. I don't think she gets it yet. She and her passenger said they were not hurt. I'm a little shocky but its calming down. I was soaking wet and freezing when I got home after spending an hour at the scene. We are at the mercy of the insurer which is the same company. They determine who is at fault. Cops don;t come out to no injury accidents. It also popped my hood and now the radio stations have a lot of static which drowns out what is on.
Worst part is that they dam kids were in a new Mercedes. It still had the temporary plate in the rear window. And the driver did not have her license with her.

[xboxrox]

Seems you're OK..? Pay close attention to what your body might be trying to tell you for the next couple a days ~ personal injury attorney & well documented hosp & doctor visits build the (usually 3 year) case before your attorney solicites a settlement from insurance co... Don't go it alone, if you really want to be made whole then you MUST have your own attorney working for YOU... NO ONE NO ONE NO ONE from any insurance company will be working on doing you ANY FAVORES..!
Good Luck & God Bless
Never Give Up

[85Ram50]

Seems you're OK..? Pay close attention to what your body might be trying to tell you for the next couple a days ~ personal injury attorney & well documented hosp & doctor visits build the (usually 3 year) case before your attorney solicites a settlement from insurance co... Don't go it alone, if you really want to be made whole then you MUST have your own attorney working for YOU... NO ONE NO ONE NO ONE from any insurance company will be working on doing you ANY FAVORES..!
Good Luck & God Bless
Never Give Up

Thank You
I got T boned in my 99 Passat 10 years ago last May. Almost folded it in half. Never got a settlement, well I rejected the 2 k they offered. That is when I found out my medical record is a work of fiction and the only legal recourse I had was to ask the shyster doctor who wrote it to edit it with the truth. Lawyers weren't any better. I didn't heal, or stop having pain and symptoms until about this time in 2017.
If I hit the lotto first thing I do is move back to CA.

[xboxrox]

85Ram50 ~ fight em guy ~ almost forgot ~ the 1st thing insurance adjusters are trained to do is claim damaged vehicles are TOTALLED that way they only have to deal with the SALVAGE VALUE of the vehicle... YOU MUST gather a copied set of records of all your receipts for maint MODS upgrades etc for your truck to have on hand for your attorney or the insurance company... Be warned, the salvage value of these trucks is somewhere between $50 & $100 not much my friend... YOU MUST ALSO begin a web search & print out of all sales of similar trucks as yours... YOU NEED to prove that your truck is not totaled and prove it's real value... YOU MUST also get 3 body & paint estimates for repair (do not be greedy if all 3 are too high $$$ the insurance company will total your truck & offer to let you buy it back from them for pennies on the dollar...)
Life -- "Ain't it Grand..."

[tortron]

was the wheel hit at all? if so expect the bearings in the diff to have suffered from it.
Check alignment of the diff in the spring hangers they can get knocked out of alignment and drive like a banana

doesnt look too bad eh.

[xboxrox]

Oh yes, good point tortron, does the wheel still rotate true ? Did any wheel balancing weights get knocked off?

[85Ram50]

I didn't notice anything unusual driving home. I'll go in to the tire store and have them balance the wheels and see of there is damage. I do not have collision only liability.It wasn't as nice then as it is now. I can see down into the corner below the light and above the side marker. I don't think she hit the wheel as there is no scuffing on the paint. It was the middle nose of the Merc that went under and hit the spring where the helper spring is. I looked for the name of them on RA and they no longer list them.

[xboxrox]

85Ram50 ~ perhaps the Mercedes driver would be willing to pay your repair expenses without involving or making a claim to the insurance company ~ might be the best way to go no warranty tho but also no chance of insurance premium increases for all parties?
Hoping for a good outcome --
George
EDIT: WAIT A FEW DAYS TO MAKE SURE YOUR BODY IS NOT INJURED ~ no medical help later if you hush settle...

[geezer101]

Great, just great... So you have an idiot girl grandstanding in her new Mercedes, unfamiliar with the car and not paying attention in bad weather. What could go wrong The damage only appears to be cosmetic. Lucky nobody got hurt (so far...) Yeah, fight 'em

[B-Line]

Glad you are ok and that the damage isnt worse. All fixable.

[85Ram50]

Thanks I'm mostly bummed out more than anything else and worried they might convince someone I am at fault. IDK what it will cost for a new plastic front end on the Merc but I'm covered for that if they turn it on me.
The driver was not even related to the owners. The owners kid was in the passenger seat. They were probably texting or watching vid on their phones.

[geezer101]

At least you had insurance. You would be deep in it if you weren't covered...

[85Ram50]

Went to the place I bought the tires. Pretty much the only business I trusted in town. I told him I got hit and wanted him to check the balance. The guy crawled under looking for something. I asked he said the dot code because my tires looked old. I told him when I bought them (04) and he said he can't even remove them from the truck. I was not happy but I just left. They are 16 years old, have about 24K on them and look just fine to me and ride fine too.
Next place I just asked to get the rear two balanced. They asked if I was feeling something and I said no. Two guys worked on it. When the second guy took off the tire the truck almost tipped off the lift forward! They had lifted it too far back. Someone helped him lower it so the front wheels could hold it.
yadayadayada the guy comes out to me with an estimate for "We recommend two tires" and tell me he found the source of my vibration, my driver side tire is shot. I told him there was no vibration, I just wanted you to check the balance. I go to look and he tells me the shape (they had aired up the tires before removing them) of it indicates the inside is tearing. I say just balance it and put it back on he tells me he can't. They put the spare on and I paid for one tire to be balanced. The one that got hit took a .075 weight.
I came home put the other tire back on, the misshapen look was gone from it and the pressure was at 37psi like I keep it. My home made spare tool worked fine getting it from the ground all the way back up tight. At least they only charged me for the one balance.
The fish rots from the head.

Edit- Drove it 40 miles on the highway and there was no indication that anything was wrong. It hasn't driven that well in a Looong time. I think that the flywheel with the missing 3rd pin for the pressure plate was off balance enough to cause me problems and that old alternator was probably not providing steady uninterrupted power.

[B-Line]

All over a simple tire rebalance? Sorry to hear bud.

[geezer101]

I can see their point but if it drove in ok, it'll drive out the same way. I see more of this kind of extortion taking place in workshops now. A while ago I got a screw through a tyre and the shop reluctantly fixed it saying "it's too close to the side wall, it's not going to hold up..." That was the start of the year and I have BEAT on the tyres in the hills since then and haven't lost a single pound of pressure from any leaks

It sucks that it drives well now - only after getting hit by some moron

[85Ram50]

I'm pretty sure it was going to be fine without getting hit. The difference is changing that flywheel, the new alternator and the flush that finally broke through the heater core.

[xboxrox]

How are things going on this 85Ram50..? Hopefully all good

[85Ram50]

Hey. Been busy.
The insurance co. decided 85/15 my fault. I don't know if I could find a lawyer. I've been T boned before in this S hole place, it was clearly his fault, I had witnesses that time and no one would rep me then and I did not heal from my injuries from that for over 7 years. My country is an S hole too full of people with no honor.

[geezer101]

That borders on a defamation suit. A third party is claiming negligence on your part (and it's also the insurer trying to dishonor your policy for losses and damages) I'd demand a letter from your insurer proving you were able to avoid the collision other than not being in the location, and how you had failed in a legal manner as a responsible road user. Are you savvy? I'm not going to be a prick towards you - you got shanked badly by an idiot driver AND your insurer in one foul swoop, but people are now smart and informed enough that they don't need lawyers and can successfully defend themselves in court. If there's a public legal advisory service somewhere, a phone call/email/letter may be enough to get information to help you launch the fight yourself or even search for a pro-bono lawyer to defend you.

Anyone got some leads to help 85Ram out?

[85Ram50]

Thanks Geez I didn't think of that. The message did say I "turned in front of traffic" which stood out to me as meaningless since no one could ever make a left on a busy road and leaves out their responsibility to slow down (which they did not do) if they saw me. It wears one down to be constantly denied fair service. I had forgotten about this aspect of how people perceive me as other and treat me poorly for it in the PNW while living in CA. I never should have left CA.

[geezer101]

I find that 'people in charge' get scared when you show up with someone to advocate for you. The number of times my dad would've been rail-roaded recently without me stepping in and calling BS was becoming a regular thing with his own insurer. I had to do research on the Australian 'Federal insurance policy legislation' to cancel a defunct policy he had been paying premiums on for 6 months. BUT he eventually got it cancelled and his money back (it was a little cheaper than the massive fines for breach of trade/fair business laws...) You'll get a fair outcome once you find their pressure points and start squeezing

[B-Line]

If you have witnesses then consider getting a lawyer. Also was there a police report filed. What did it say?

[85Ram50]

I failed on all fronts here. Thanks for the advice and help though.

[geezer101]

Sometimes the bureaucracy just says no and you're left to take the hit. Sorry to hear that you've had a rough year. Seems as though now people won't get a fair hearing without having to resort to hiring an ambulance chasing shark...

[xboxrox]

I failed on all fronts here. Thanks for the advice and help though.

Welcome back to our Mitsubishi Cyber Space 85Ram50 ~ people suck, even me 1/2 the time ~ hope at least your truck is drivable..?