Current Events > First time automobile accident. Asking for a friend.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Three way intersection.
One car turning left from stop sign.
Gets t-boned on the driver's side.

Took info. Filed police report (may take a week) . Called insurance (who says to wait to be contacted). Towed car home (it is totaled).

Who's fault? What happens next? How much expected to pay?

I don't know the local traffic laws, but I'd very much imagine the driver turning from the stop sign is at fault. You don't go through one of those until it's completely clear, ever.
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Which car was your friends?
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Sounds like the car coming from a stop's fault, failure to yield. Unless it was a 3 way stop and the one didn't stop at all or simply excessively speeding and it'd be their fault.

What you do now is play the insurance limbo. Usually you'll deal with both sides, unless someone doesn't have it. If that's the case someone's screwed. Had someone total the family car without insurance, had to get an inferior car while they just got a 500-1000 dollar fine for not having insurance and we restart payments... good times.

All I can say is hope you aren't the one that blew a stop sign or failed to yield. From there it's entirely down to the insurance companies trying to screw both you and each other over for the lowest amount possible. In both cases I got to experience last year it took roughly a month to get sorted out. Neither were my fault and I wasn't present during the second.

As for how much to pay, it comes down to the company and deductable. If the car is truely totalled then you'll get some sort of return for it or replacement. If it's determined salvagable by the inspecter they'll determine who the best repair shop is based on lowest price, so I'd recommend consider looking for a great repair center nearby if possible if you want them to do it specifically. They'll pay the cost of repair.
As for deductable it's roughly 100-250 depending, but either way you'll have to pay something.

The person at fault will probably face a raise in insurance or possibly even termination if they're repeat offenders.

Yeah whoever blew the stop sign is at fault entirely
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All of you guys must not live in LA. People frequently blow the stop sign.
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dave_is_slick posted...

All of you guys must not live in LA. People frequently blow the stop sign.

Still most likely won't make them immune from it. If the car was fully stopped and then departed it'd be failure to yield. If the car from the left(I assume based on left hand drive) blew a stop of their own or was speeding it'd be their fault.

Bout 2 years ago I blew a stop sign. They snuck it in where one wasn't before for decades and there was no traffic. It was hidden behind a tree and leaves, only saw it because of the opposite side's back. I stopped roughly in the middle in confusion. I wouldn't have been exempt, possibly warned.

I've been pulled over for speeding though, and relooking at the street the only sign/indication is at the intersection, so you'd literally have to look away from oncoming traffic or the sidewalk and spot it at a terrible angle. Not a single one for at least a mile, meanwhile they have 4 on the other direction of traffic.

3 way or T intersection?

if its a T intersection, then only one of the roads should have a stop sign. if you fail to yield to oncoming traffic at a stop sign then you're generally at fault.

if your friends not at fault (or hurt) and the other guy's got insurance suggest he talks to their insurance company directly. trying to get your own insurance company to handle the ordeal, even when you're definitely not at fault, is like pulling teeth. easier to just talk to the other guy's insurance.
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Was it a 3 way stop or just the one turning?
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T Intersection. My friend is the one who was totalled.

sLaCkEr408___RJ posted...

T Intersection. My friend is the one who was totalled.

Got bad news fam
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Well assuming no stop signs for the other drivers your friend is clearly at fault. He should have yielded to already moving traffic. The only case he might be able to argue is if the car that hit him was going excessively fast.
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The other party didn't seem to have insurance. What does this mean

sLaCkEr408___RJ posted...

The other party didn't seem to have insurance. What does this mean

F to pay respects

dave_is_slick posted...

All of you guys must not live in LA. People frequently blow the stop sign.

i'm gonna guess you haven't gotten to try that excuse out yet because i don't think it'll go over as well as you thought in your head
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Your friend will be found to be at fault. A similar thing happened to me a few years ago. The police dont even bother to investigate properly in a case like this, with no serious injuries. Too much paperwork. The other person couldve been drunk and speeding and all they care is that you were at the stop sign so youre at fault. Its bullshit.

Friends car was hit on the driver side wheel. Damage to the bumper and door.

The other car made contact with the passenger seat headlight.

Yeah, if that was at any decent speed the car's most likely totalled, because you're getting into the front steering/suspension components, door, engine, probable crumple zone collapse. Either way it won't be cheap and most likely won't deem it savlagable... at a reasonable price. Since usually if the repair is more than the car's determined value it's totalled. Even if it's just a dumb fender or bumper it can trigger that. It's a whole different mess if you try to make it a salvage title or something, though it's plausible to just pay out of your own pocket. It's dependant on too many factors, such as a motorcycle being 100% totaled simply because it got a hairline fracture in the frame. They'll take off with the engine, trans, wheels, etc because suddenly it's all unsavable. Then it gets auctioned off and cannibalised like our car and many others.

If the other person didn't have insurance then the friend's insurance will handle it all, if it was their fault(and it's sounding like it will be) they'll most likely be railed by the insurance company. Only thing you can hope for is some saving grace like the other party being on drugs or driving recklessly. Maybe they'll go gentle, but probably out of a car and some money based on what I see.

sLaCkEr408___RJ posted...

One car turning left from stop sign.
Gets t-boned on the driver's side.

Stop sign and a left turn is a double whammy, at least where I live. Even if there's a stop sign in the opposite direction (or a red light in the opposite direction), there's a responsibility to make sure there is no oncoming traffic. Both drivers would share responsibility in that case.

That said, even if your friend is at fault, insurance should completely cover the other car with no responsibility to pay on your friend's part. It would also cover your friend's car minus the deductible. Depending on how long you've been under your insurance, it might not even increase the premium. YMMV.
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Serious Cat posted...

It would also cover your friend's car minus the deductible.

The only problem here is if it's truly totalled or just them assuming it. If they decide it's totalled then it comes entirely down to the company and how they handle it. For example they'll determine the current market value and base it on the condition, mileage, etc and how much was still owed on it. They'll give what was left due, still charge for a tax(forget which) and the deductible. If this is the case you're out of a car and the money spent making payments for it is now into the void. Now payments restart on a new vehicle.

If they replace the full value or car, then he better be thankful, since not all do it and the first sucks.

* Should also note the first example isn't some rando small insurance company in the corner of nowhere. State farm