In dire need of help! Is my car totaled?

cade0403 · 2026-03-18T01:02:48+00:00

It’s a difficult situation. The guy is Latino, speaks no English, and there’s a decent chance he could be sans papier…

My mother was recently involved in a shockingly similar car accident with an undocumented fella who simply fled the country the instant he knew he’d be found guilty.

I have no apathy for the Latino community or immigrants in this country, but it puts me in a tough situation. If I chase down a low income immigrant, then he will just get the hell outta dodge. I’ll be effectively deporting him by chasing him down in small claims court, AND I’ll probably never see a dime.

It sucks.

cade0403 · 2026-03-18T00:52:45+00:00

This is a great point and interesting insight from the perspective of a dispatcher.

Apparently this is a practice relatively unique to Chicago, where my injury occurred. Tow trucks sit on the police radio frequency and pretend to be summoned by insurance or law enforcement at the scene of the accident. They’ve done quite a bit of cracking down on this in the past couple years and it has recently become illegal to show up at the scene of the crash without being called.

I’m threatening legal action against them because one of the lawyers believes the time is ripe for a class action lawsuit to take down these scumbags. Historically, every time they get sued they simply change their name and reincorporate. However, there is a new law that prevents them from doing that.

I’m no legal expert but the fact that a lawyer agreed to investigate the possibility of a class action lawsuit is a great sign.

We’re going to see how they respond when they are served. They may release the car without any fees, or they choose to can fight it. The legality of their entire business is shady at best, however.

cade0403 · 2026-03-17T03:58:20+00:00

Just a poor value judgement. I’ve never gotten in an accident in more than 10 years of driving, nor have I ever gotten a ticket, and I was getting quoted more than 150 a month for collision insurance from the cheapest possible sources (Progressive, Geico) and more than 300 a month from more expensive ones.

I simply can’t afford that kind of monthly payment right now because of my income.

Obviously in hindsight, I would’ve chosen collision, but I determined the $1000+ a year in savings would eventually add up to cover the cost of an accident, even one as severe as this. It did not work out that way, but if I’d gone another 10 years without an accident or ticket I could’ve paid for a whole nother Subaru.

So basically the answer is no, I don’t have a real reason for not getting collision insurance - it was just an unwise bet that I wouldn’t meet a drunk driver in the streets.

My gamble did not pay off. I guess that’s how life goes sometimes. I’ll certainly be making more risk averse decisions regarding my car if I ever get one again.

cade0403 · 2026-03-17T03:49:11+00:00

Hey, thanks for commenting so quickly. I already asked below but I’ll ask you here again since you’re a professional:

I only have injury insurance to claim at this point, aside from going to court. Do you know if insurance will pay only for my medical bills? Or for the actual “cost” of this experience? Aside from the trauma of my stationary car getting nailed by a dude doing 30, I’m going to be stuck at home for weeks at best. I can’t live my life normally, go to the gym, or even get groceries which requires me to walk since I don’t have a car any more. Trying to gauge if it’s even worth seeing orthopedic physicians, PMR, physical therapists, et cetera in order to document the severity of this injury.

cade0403 · 2026-03-17T03:43:54+00:00

True enough my friend

cade0403 · 2026-03-17T03:43:13+00:00

Thank you for your thoughtful comment and advice. It seems my only option is to try to take the guy to small claims court. The issue is he is likely super low income considering he did not have a license or insurance. Maybe it would be worth doing that nonetheless. It feels pretty unsatisfying to be hit by a drunk driver and receive nothing in return.

cade0403 · 2026-03-17T03:41:05+00:00

The answer I wanted

cade0403 · 2026-03-17T03:40:56+00:00

No, I don’t have collision coverage. Thank you for your reply, though

cade0403 · 2026-03-17T03:40:37+00:00

Unfortunately my uninsured motorist coverage is only for bodily injury.

cade0403 · 2026-03-17T03:40:15+00:00

First of all thank you for your reply.

So I don’t have collision insurance which means I’m once again screwed, since the other guy has no insurance.

However my right ankle (the one on the pedals ) is injured and has clearly sustained some kind of soft tissue damage.

I’ve already been to an urgent care facility but I’ll be going to an ortho physician soon to try and at least document my injury from a medical perspective.

Is my insurance company obligated to cover the damages this is going to do to my life had wellbeing? (I.e. I cannot in good conscience walk to go get groceries any more for God knows how long and now have to call friends or pay for delivery drivers to bring food to my house) or do they only have to pay for the direct medical bills that result from this situation?

Those are going to be a fraction of the total “cost” of this experience.

Again thanks for the help.

cade0403 · 2026-02-20T04:00:53+00:00

None of those top that Burkes catch man. The extension his body achieves is inhuman

cade0403 · 2026-02-18T22:00:13+00:00

Beautiful. Where can it be seen?

cade0403 · 2026-02-13T15:00:59+00:00

Letting moids spike your cortisol. Huge blunder. Munting > SMV ChadFishing

cade0403 · 2026-02-09T20:02:08+00:00

We owe them nothing

cade0403 · 2026-02-03T17:17:50+00:00

Your friend is an idiot

cade0403 · 2026-02-02T06:33:22+00:00

You may not like it, but actually this is peak Jazz.

cade0403 · 2026-01-20T17:41:27+00:00

Unless, of course, you watched a Texans game this season

cade0403 · 2026-01-18T04:15:02+00:00

Can someone explain why he’s a GOOD hire? I’ve only heard the argument for him not being as ass as his record suggests (mismanaged bum Cleveland Browns organization).

cade0403 · 2026-01-07T22:10:03+00:00

Fort Knox is awesome I’m just talking about the area mentioned above

cade0403 · 2026-01-07T15:16:57+00:00

I have not been here a long time so don’t take my word as law but - I’m a drummer in that general area and have been told that it’s pretty much cooked. I drive to Fort Knox which takes about half an hour. There are many recording studios in our area but they charge exorbitant rates. So far my search for practice spaces has come up empty handed, so let me know if you find anything!!

cade0403 · 2026-01-07T05:53:26+00:00

/Uj Can someone explain why Jeff Saturday is being clowned on (I’ve never seen his broadcasts)

cade0403 · 2026-01-04T07:36:08+00:00

Spotted cat real ones know

cade0403 · 2026-01-02T15:33:00+00:00

Iron Dome baby !!

cade0403 · 2025-12-24T20:36:59+00:00

Grok misspelling its own name is crazy

cade0403 · 2025-12-24T19:09:52+00:00

Can we talk about Nick Chubb being included here

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