Another Rear End Accident Story
The scenario:
On 07.29.19 travelling southbound on I-69 at MP 221.6 outside Anderson, IN. This is in a construction zone, with a posted speed limit in the work zone of 55MPH. There is a Y configuration for the lanes, the right lane going one direction, the left lane going another direction, and the construction in the middle/closed lane. There was a previous/similar construction zone about a mile prior to this one.
A UHaul truck stops suddenly in the middle of the Y median. The car directly behind it, and directly in front of me, brakes to keep from hitting the UHaul, as she has nowhere to go. I also brake to keep from hitting the car, and appear to have avoided it, when I hear a crash behind me, and am pushed forward into the car by a Freightliner semi who rear ended my trailer. We all get out of our vehicles to see if anyone is hurt; there are no injuries. No airbag deployments either, we were going approximately 40-45MPH. We all move our vehicles out of the roadway, and I call 9-1-1 to get law enforcment to respond. We all also exchange information, with the exception of the UHaul driver who left the scene. I take lots of pictures of the damage to my 2007 GMC Sierra SLE 3500 dually and my 2007 Keystone Outback 25RSS trailer.
Indiana State Police Trooper arrives, takes a look at all the vehicles, gets all our information. Provides me with an instruction sheet as to how to get a copy of the report, and states that the driver of the Freightliner is 100% at fault, that he had a duty to be far enough back as to avoid an accident. Driver was cited.
I asked the trooper if he thought it was safe for me to drive my rig, he took a look at it (he's a trailer guy too), said it looked like everything was OK to tow, but recommended a local RV dealer if I wanted to have it checked out. Took it to that dealer, they said the hitch and bumper on my GMC would need to be replaced, and that they could sell me a hitch. They also recommended a local Chevy dealer to check out the bumper. Drove over to them, they said the bumper would definitely need to be replaced, and emailed me an estimate. I asked both of them if the rig was safe to drive, to go back to Colorado, neither would give me a definitive answer. Thought I was going to be stuck there for a few weeks.
I called Liberty Mutual again, they said I could go to a local collision repair place and get an opinion, and gave me the names of 2 in the Anderson area. Went to one of them the following day. Appraiser there said the frame was good, the bumper, though damaged, was still tight, and that the hitch also appeared to be tight, though bent downward due to the angle of the bumper. He said there was a hitch place near by, if I wanted to get another opinion, so went over there as well. Guy there inspected the hitch, said that it looked tight, thought it was missing a nut and that part of a bolt had been sheered off, but was still in tight condition. I asked both if they thought the rig was driveable back to Colorado, both said yes.
The Freightliner driver drives for Watkins and Shepard Trucking/Schneider National Carriers and has Old Republic Insurance. He had already called in a claim when I called them, they said it would be 24-48 BUSINESS HOURS (presumably meaning 3-6 days) before a claims adjuster would be assigned and contact me.
In addition to the damage to the bumper of my GMC, the trailer sustained significant damage. The rear bumper was pushed up and inward, peeling back off the support strut, the spare tire carrier was pushed into the rear wall of the trailer and in to the interior of the trailer, where a step was damaged, along with both of the benches for the dinette. The rear slide out handle was damaged, and the slide out will not slide completely out. Appears that part of the roof support also has come loose, and there is damage to a cabinet in the slide out. Both of the stairs for the door entries were also damaged, making it difficult to deploy the stairs, and the rear door doesn't close correctly. That is what is visible, I don't know if there's damage underneath.
Was able to make it home to Colorado safely (3 days coming back), got back here on Friday, 08.02.19. Now awaiting contacts on my various claims. GMC will be handled by a collision center near by. The trailer will have an inspector come out a see if it's repairable or will be totalled. I'm also going to call a service I've used before and have them inspect it as a disinterested 3rd party, to give me an approximation on repair costs. And YES, I do plan to, at minimum consult an attorney.
My insurance processor said that, in the event that the trailer is totalled, they would pay off the lien on the trailer and they go after the other driver's insurance, for my deductible among other things. They would also pay the collision center direct, again minus deductible, for the repairs to the GMC.
My guess is the trailer is totaled, as the entire rear portion of the trailer would need to be replaced as well as removal of the rear slide out to even make any repairs.
My questions:
My insurance pays off my trailer lien then presumably goes after Old Republic for that payment, plus my deductible for both vehicles. But who pays for loss of use? I've made reservations at a variety of campgrounds for the remainder of the summer/fall, that I will now have to cancel, and will only get a partial refund. Also loss of use, who pays for the trailer storage that I paid for in advance? I have 5 months of storage paid for and nothing to store, if it's totaled.
There is also the "making it right" part of this. Indiana is an "at fault" state, so with the other driver being 100% at fault, it seems to me that his insurance company is responsible to make this right, yes? I didn't ask to be in an accident, their driver was negligent, and now they should cover the cost of a replacement trailer, yes?
Hope to have some answers later this week, but it's so frustrating to be in limbo, playing a waiting game. I know, it's likely to be a long drawn out process.
Opinions/thoughts/suggestions?
On 07.29.19 travelling southbound on I-69 at MP 221.6 outside Anderson, IN. This is in a construction zone, with a posted speed limit in the work zone of 55MPH. There is a Y configuration for the lanes, the right lane going one direction, the left lane going another direction, and the construction in the middle/closed lane. There was a previous/similar construction zone about a mile prior to this one.
A UHaul truck stops suddenly in the middle of the Y median. The car directly behind it, and directly in front of me, brakes to keep from hitting the UHaul, as she has nowhere to go. I also brake to keep from hitting the car, and appear to have avoided it, when I hear a crash behind me, and am pushed forward into the car by a Freightliner semi who rear ended my trailer. We all get out of our vehicles to see if anyone is hurt; there are no injuries. No airbag deployments either, we were going approximately 40-45MPH. We all move our vehicles out of the roadway, and I call 9-1-1 to get law enforcment to respond. We all also exchange information, with the exception of the UHaul driver who left the scene. I take lots of pictures of the damage to my 2007 GMC Sierra SLE 3500 dually and my 2007 Keystone Outback 25RSS trailer.
Indiana State Police Trooper arrives, takes a look at all the vehicles, gets all our information. Provides me with an instruction sheet as to how to get a copy of the report, and states that the driver of the Freightliner is 100% at fault, that he had a duty to be far enough back as to avoid an accident. Driver was cited.
I asked the trooper if he thought it was safe for me to drive my rig, he took a look at it (he's a trailer guy too), said it looked like everything was OK to tow, but recommended a local RV dealer if I wanted to have it checked out. Took it to that dealer, they said the hitch and bumper on my GMC would need to be replaced, and that they could sell me a hitch. They also recommended a local Chevy dealer to check out the bumper. Drove over to them, they said the bumper would definitely need to be replaced, and emailed me an estimate. I asked both of them if the rig was safe to drive, to go back to Colorado, neither would give me a definitive answer. Thought I was going to be stuck there for a few weeks.
I called Liberty Mutual again, they said I could go to a local collision repair place and get an opinion, and gave me the names of 2 in the Anderson area. Went to one of them the following day. Appraiser there said the frame was good, the bumper, though damaged, was still tight, and that the hitch also appeared to be tight, though bent downward due to the angle of the bumper. He said there was a hitch place near by, if I wanted to get another opinion, so went over there as well. Guy there inspected the hitch, said that it looked tight, thought it was missing a nut and that part of a bolt had been sheered off, but was still in tight condition. I asked both if they thought the rig was driveable back to Colorado, both said yes.
The Freightliner driver drives for Watkins and Shepard Trucking/Schneider National Carriers and has Old Republic Insurance. He had already called in a claim when I called them, they said it would be 24-48 BUSINESS HOURS (presumably meaning 3-6 days) before a claims adjuster would be assigned and contact me.
In addition to the damage to the bumper of my GMC, the trailer sustained significant damage. The rear bumper was pushed up and inward, peeling back off the support strut, the spare tire carrier was pushed into the rear wall of the trailer and in to the interior of the trailer, where a step was damaged, along with both of the benches for the dinette. The rear slide out handle was damaged, and the slide out will not slide completely out. Appears that part of the roof support also has come loose, and there is damage to a cabinet in the slide out. Both of the stairs for the door entries were also damaged, making it difficult to deploy the stairs, and the rear door doesn't close correctly. That is what is visible, I don't know if there's damage underneath.
Was able to make it home to Colorado safely (3 days coming back), got back here on Friday, 08.02.19. Now awaiting contacts on my various claims. GMC will be handled by a collision center near by. The trailer will have an inspector come out a see if it's repairable or will be totalled. I'm also going to call a service I've used before and have them inspect it as a disinterested 3rd party, to give me an approximation on repair costs. And YES, I do plan to, at minimum consult an attorney.
My insurance processor said that, in the event that the trailer is totalled, they would pay off the lien on the trailer and they go after the other driver's insurance, for my deductible among other things. They would also pay the collision center direct, again minus deductible, for the repairs to the GMC.
My guess is the trailer is totaled, as the entire rear portion of the trailer would need to be replaced as well as removal of the rear slide out to even make any repairs.
My questions:
My insurance pays off my trailer lien then presumably goes after Old Republic for that payment, plus my deductible for both vehicles. But who pays for loss of use? I've made reservations at a variety of campgrounds for the remainder of the summer/fall, that I will now have to cancel, and will only get a partial refund. Also loss of use, who pays for the trailer storage that I paid for in advance? I have 5 months of storage paid for and nothing to store, if it's totaled.
There is also the "making it right" part of this. Indiana is an "at fault" state, so with the other driver being 100% at fault, it seems to me that his insurance company is responsible to make this right, yes? I didn't ask to be in an accident, their driver was negligent, and now they should cover the cost of a replacement trailer, yes?
Hope to have some answers later this week, but it's so frustrating to be in limbo, playing a waiting game. I know, it's likely to be a long drawn out process.
Opinions/thoughts/suggestions?
