Car accident yesterday evening

[Orangedreams]

Somebody crashed into the back of me and DH yesterday. We were driving down the road and we were slowing down and indicating (in good time) to turn left then then next thing we know the car behind smashed into us from behind and we came off the road into some bushes.

I’ve never been in a car accident before and it’s really shaken me up to the point I can’t sleep. It was so, so scary😞 Is it normal to have this reaction to a car accident?

He needs to report it to his insurance company regardless of how the repair is paid for. It's a legal requirement. And yes - I would go through the Insurance. It's not his call to make

Yes entirely to be expected.
Go through insurance.

Perfectly good advice already given here, hope you feel better soon OP. The shock alone is the worst thing.

That looks like it will be written off, you absolutely must go through the insurance.

You will be shaken up, it is only to be expected. He looks like he was going at some speed to cause that amount of damage.

Once you call your insurance they'll ask if you were injured and arrange for you to see someone, but seek medical attention as you would normally if you need it.

Go through insurance, this looks like a write off with the damage to both the rear and front. I had accident damage to rear and front stationary last year as a van pushed my parked car into another car when their handbrake failed. The damage was over £3k worth and wasn't as severe as yours from the photographs.

Don’t rush to settle with your insurance either. Make sure you know your injuries are fully resolved. If you are still suffering fatigue, flashbacks, aches when the time comes to settle, then wait.

I have fibromyalgia which may well have been triggered (at least in a last straw kind of way) by a crash.

Some people actually bother to read OP’s updates and comment based on those

You are injured. In no way should you NOT go through the insurance.

I was rear ended and had similar pain to yours. I had a year of physio and £1700 compensation. The repair looks expensive too. More recently I was in a high speed crash and had major surgery. Luckily it was all on my dash cam. I'm still not sleeping and frightened to drive again. The car was a write off. You can claim for the stress OP as well as injuries. It's unfortunate that you didn't call the police as they would have assessed whether he was driving carelessly or not and established blame.

Go through your insurance and get yourself to a minor injuries unit this morning to get a record of any injuries.

This, the most important but also your car is likely to be written off by insurer. If you don’t go through insurance you might be offered a repair which may be unsafe and/illegal.

The problem is, he could kill the next person he may crash into. Anyway I think it’s a condition of your insurance with some companies.

I’m off to a&e. I’ve woken up feeling really rough. Awful headache, dizziness and ringing in my ears

Absolutely tough on him. Please do not allow him to bully you, it must go through insurance and why should you care if his goes up? I bet he’s done something to his car that he hasn’t declared as well.
My DCs have told me about someone in their school year that has done exactly this and they’re wholly unimpressed. I would have no qualms in reporting anything like this through insurance either.

Sounds like you’ve got concussion, hopefully you are seen quickly at the hospital.

@Orangedreams Hope you don't have to wait too long in A&E

Hope you are ok. Absolutely normal to have a reaction to a car crash.
I'm still reacting to one from nearly a year ago (and the terrible driving by the driver meant I knew something was going to happen).
Absolutely gorgeous through the insurance and possibly even report to the police.

How have you gotten on at A&E?

@JamesWebbSpaceTelescope Back at home now. They said concussion

Concussion will start to get worse before it gets better as mentioned above. Did they give you any pain relief?

They didn’t give me anything they just said to take paracetamol, drink plenty of fluids and rest

I asked for a stronger pain killer from the GP, but see how you go on the paracetamol. Tale ibuprofen as well if you can.

Yes completely normal. I went into the back of a stationary car at about 10-15mph and I was a wreck. Very shaken up and just felt off sorts when I got home. The worst of it lasted the weekend, but still didn't feel right for a week or two. I'm also still a bit nervous about driving but will get there!

At least the fact of his insurance whacking up should make the young idiot drive a lot more carefully in future.

And as pps have said, that is not a minor prang! The cost of fixing it will be
££££, assuming that they don’t call it a write-off!

Definitely go through insurance. My brother in law was in an accident and agreed not to involve police. They exchanged details, only for it to turn out that the other person had given false info. Car had been stolen. Always involve the authorities.