Auto Insurance Claims: FLIPPED TRUCK, hyundai elantra, rib fractures

Question
HELLO I OWN A 2002 HEAVY TRUCK BOUGHT IT NEW HAS 40000 MILES KEPT PERFECT AND WELL MAINTAINED LOVE THE TRUCK OK FRIDAY I WAS BROADSIDED BY A HYUNDAI ELANTRA HE RAN A RED LITE AND HIT ME AT ABOUT 55 MPH TRUCK FLIPPED OVER TWICE LANDING UPSIDE DOWN LUCKILY I WALKED AWAY UNHURT EXCEPT BRUISED AT SORE DRIVER WAS TICKETED FOR RUNNING A RED LITE AND EXCESSIVE SPEED GOT TWO WITNESSES ONE IS A STATE TROOPER WHO WITNESSED , TRUCK IS TOTALLED WILL I ONLY GET BOOK VALUE TRUCK WAS PAID FOR AND I AM OUT MY TRUCK ITS NOT FAIR TO BELEIVE I WILL BE NOT GIVEN A NEW TRUCK WHAT ARE MY LEGAL RIGHT CAN I SUE I CANNOT AFFORD TO LAY OUT THE BALANCE  PLEASE HELP ME

Answer
Hi John,
I'm sorry tto hear of your misfortune.  Since the truck flipped twice and landed upside down, the odds are extremely strong that your injuries are more than just soreness and bruising.
Sometimes it takes weeks or months for a chipped disk in your neck or back or a heriniated disk to manifest itself into pain.  If you wait that long to secure medical treatment, the insurance will attempt to deny your claim because of the time factor, saying that yur injury could have come from other causes since the accident.
I also know of many cases where the airbag caused rib fractures.

You need to go to the Emergency room on Monday and get a full check-up including x-rays, MRI and possibly a CT scan.  Based on thier findings, they will refer you to your physician for proper treatment.

Having an injury claim will usually increase your chances of getting a more rapid and more fair settlement for the truck.  The insurance company wants to look 'nice' in order to more easily settle your injury claim.

Settling a total loss is a negotiating process, just like you went through when you bought the car.  They wanted to sell at a certain price and you wanted to pay less, so you negotiated to somewhere in the middle.

This time, you are selling and the insurance company is buying.
They will start with a low offer, you will demand the highest amount possible and after a few days or weeks they will come up and you will go down and reach a fair agreement.

In the meantime, you need to do some work to establish the fair value for your truck.  Go to the following sources and make hard copy prints when you find trucks similar to yours.....kbb.com.......
autotrader.com.....nada.com.....
Also check your newspapers for dealer and private party ads and visit a few dealers for a written quote on what price they would ask for your truck based on it's condition before the accident.
Present copies of these to the insurance company to justify your settlement demand.
While you are doing this, the insurance company has hired a private firm that will research for vehicles similar to yours in a 50 mile radius.  Their list of prices will be much lower than yours because in many cases the quoting dealer doesn't even have the vehicle, he is just stating his lowest "sell for" price.  Go look at some of the trucks on the list and you will find that they are not in rhe represented condition.  You can use your "good" list against their "bad" list to increase the settlement value.

Just keep in mind that settling is a barganing situation and you may have to lower your price 2-3 times and the insurance company may have to raise their offer 2-3 times before you can agree on a fair amount.

I hope that you find this information to be of help.

Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area