Rear Ended and Looking for Advice (2020 TRD Off-road)

Oy vey. Sorry to hear that. Also, good call--definitely prudent to avoid airing details in a public forum before the claim is settled (take it from a defense attorney). Good luck.

 

When you talk to anyone, never say you're fine. If they as if you're ok, reply I don't know, haven't seen my doctor yet. Might want to contact a lawyer. It sounds petty but the insurance companies have a whole team of them to screw you. They are out to make money, and keep it out of your pocket. The insurance company must pay for your legal fees too.
We had to learn this the hard way. And do get checked out, Whiplash is a real thing.

 

Advice: Get an attorney. Happened to me in my 2nd gen tacoma, 2006. It was perfect and running just fine. I was at a stop on the freeway due to half a dozen cars in front of me completely stopped, and driver behind me didn't see the need to use their brakes. Totaled. Get representation right away especially if your back or neck is feeling tweaked.

 

Figured I'd update this for those unlucky enough to find themselves in a similar situation in the future.

The short version is: my truck was totaled, my insurance paid me enough to buy a new one (which they recouped from the at-fault party's insurer), and the other guy's insurance also paid for my loss of use/the cost of renting a replacement vehicle while I waited for the new truck to arrive (after significant wrangling/back-and-forth letters).

My takeaways/lessons learned:

• The dash cam is a worthy investment. The dongle + Garmin mini set-up is a piece of cake and pays for itself in peace of mind. True, I was rear-ended and probably wouldn't have had much difficulty showing I wasn't at fault. But my collision involved multiple vehicles (I was hit from behind, pushed into traffic, and hit again). It's not hard for me to imagine the at-fault insurer trying to cast doubt based on the complexity of the accident in order to share or avoid liability. My dash cam footage made that impossible.
  
  
• I'm from a no-fault state but now live in an at-fault state, and I wasn't certain of the best approach with my vs. the other guy's insurers. I immediately informed my insurer of the accident, but I told them to temporarily hold off while I waited for the at-fault party's insurer to accept liability. The at-fault insurer gave me the run-around for about a week, so I went ahead my own insurance.
  
  I should have done this from the beginning. The at-fault party's insurer ultimately took two months to accept liability, and that's with dash cam footage clearly showing what happened. They were extremely difficult and combative. I could have saved myself a lot of trouble and a bit of time by letting my insurer do that initial work for me.
  
  
• I consider it lucky the truck was totaled. The situation may have changed by the time you read this, but getting parts and repairs in winter '21/22 was a nightmare. Forget about demanding new/OEM parts--you'd be lucky to find a shop with availability to even start work within a month or two, and you could easily wait 4-6 months to get back up and running with used and/or aftermarket parts. Buying a new truck was a pain, but a better alternative overall.

Thanks to all responders for the well-wishes, advice, and bittersweet welcome to TW.

 

Hey man I’m in a similar situation. Any advice for negotiating a settlement? Did your truck have any mods?