Hey prius chat. This is my first post. I have been lurking all the threads of people posting accidents. So I figured why not play the guessing game with my car and get useful. Long story short, I was at a red light and was rear ended. I saw the guy coming and could only approximate his speed as 35-45 mph but he did not hit his brakes. I was taken away from the scene via ambulance and was later given a temp diagnosis of "severe whiplash". My neck extending from the cervical portion to lower lumbar were giving me trouble with pain. So now it gets interesting, turns out this is a workers comp case. I am a Licensed nurse for two hospitals in SoCal and do home visits. Therefore I was considered on the job when injured. The accident occurred yesterday 11/4/13, WC doc is suggesting I stay off work at least till Monday, I agree with him as well. After reading through large amounts of posts from multiple threads I have thoroughly scared myself. I am worries that whatever damage has taken place will have lasting impacts, mainly regarding the battery. Attached are some pictures of the accident. What's the chance for a total loss? This is my first ever accident after 8 yrs driving. Also just to note my wife and I took a trip to pick up some valuables from the inside of the car and I noticed when I opened the hatch that the carpeted area was protruding quite a bit that I was almost unable to shit the hatch. Possible damage to undercarriage?
IMO looking at the photos , won't be totaled , a body shop with insurance appraisal person Will decide thar , I would be more concerned with your physical injury ... I would Demand a MRI before I would sign off , neck back injuries show up on MRI better than Reg X-ray ... So sorry to hear of the accident get well soon
Thanks for the replies, you guys are fast. In regards to obtaining a lawyer, I've already called and spoke to one however it didn't seem prudent to my needs as he was only concerned with getting me more money while on workers comp. I am "injured" as far as my neck and back go but beyond that I feel as if it will pass with rest and therapy. I am mainly concerned with my car and post accident function. I have read good and bad stories regarding prius rear end damage and having trouble time after the accident has been repaired. I'm not sure how I could go about getting my ins to lean towards paying out more or totaling. Again it's my 1st accident.
Car looks banged up; the real bumper is under the bumper cover and it, and the one-time-use shock absorbers that are built into it are likely toast. But that's what insurance appraisers are for. If you're lucky, the frame won't be bent. It's quite possible that it is. I believe the Prius is vaguely a unibody construction, so a bent frame is serious business. Body shop people have frame straighteners that can, sometimes, get a car back into near-original condition. But since you were able to get the hatch open, that's actually a Good Sign. I note that the traction battery is located under the rear seat. It's possible that the regular 12V battery got hit, but the car would have to be a lot more mangled than what I see in the pictures to get to it. Good luck! KBeck
It doesn't look like the other guy was doing 35 - 45 mph. If they were, there'd be a lot more damage. My wife got rear ended severely about 20 years ago and suffered similar injuries to you. The real pain and injury may not manifest itself till the next few days due to the inflammation of injured tissues. Did they give you Percoset (Tylenol with codeine)? They called it a cervical strain injury. Take advantage of any physical therapy and massage therapy they offer you. Before the accident, she used to enjoy riding extreme rollercoasters. However, ever since the accident, she can only endure one ride, and then she suffers neck pains and headaches the rest of the day. To this day, she still suffers some neck pain now and then even though it's been about 20 years now. SCH-I535
There was also some braking effort as the front dived down under the prius. I hate when people text and drive. My prius was rear ended once while stopped at red light, but with much less damage.
I do not believe that this being a possible WC case precludes you dealing with your insurer and going after the person who rear ended you. I would consult one of those 1 800 accident specialists you see advertising on TV all of the time. I also agree that it seems improbable that the car rear ended you traveling at 35-45 MPH. That damage looks like 15 MPH tops and the car behind at least braked prior to impact.
Lawyer NOW!!! You need to get fixed first. Having endured 5 spinal operations myself, 4 of them in the cervical area, you are in for some pain. Forget Chiropractor, MRI first, good spinal surgeon to read, and fix if necessary, your neck! You do not want to kid around with this. I hope you are at least wearing a neck collar now! Being WC, you may have just retired! Good Luck, lets hear from you on the outcome! OUCH!!! Been there....
Agree! Car is just a car and can be repaired or replaced, but people can't be replaced and repairs can sometimes take time and money, so do consider the lawyer. I would hope the insurance company would at the very least agree to restore your car to "like new" status using genuine Toyota OEM parts . Hope you do recover soon!
