So, a car hit my house...

FWIW, wrecking balls start at about 1000 lbs.

A 4000 lb wrecking ball would be close to the limits of what a K-MAX helicopter could work with.

An SUV is a quite capable battering ram.

It weighed a bit less than it did a few seconds before the accident(s): it shed both headlight assemblies, one in my yard, one in the next door neighbors about 100' apart from each other and large random chunks of Equinox along a 300' path to my house!

I wonder what hitting (and cutting down to a stump) a telephone pole does to the initial speed before the 300' drive to the house?

Doesn't sound like 30 mph to me.

300 feet=

and after cutting down a telephone pole...

In reply to ebonyandivory:

Should be able to do the math to see how approximately how fast the car was going at the point of impact since you now have the distance one of the projectiles went before coming to a stop. The weight and height of the headlight are both known as is the distance it flew.

2014 Equinox should have a black box. You should be able to get data for at least the last 5 seconds or so of driving time. That should include velocity data.

That's pretty interesting!

10" thick concrete moved "this many" inches (then moved back some".

It'll never happen but I'd guess the needed information is there.

ebonyandivory wrote: I wonder what hitting (and cutting down to a stump) a telephone pole does to the initial speed before the 300' drive to the house?

Probably less than you'd think. They're dry wood, designed to shatter, for this very reason*. There's a pole at the edge of my front yard. One Sunday morning, I found pieces of it scattered across my driveway. Unless the driver stopped to clean up his mess, it didn't do much damage to his car.

From the tires tracks left, it appeared to have hit just inside the right headlight. I'm sure the drain pipe (and most likely airborn) did more damage than the pole.

*Power company guy told me that, as the crew was sinking a new pole.

Yep. I don't know specifically what kind of wood it is, but I can tell you from hundreds and hundreds of poles hit that they snap like toothpicks when hit by a car.

RealMiniParker wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: I wonder what hitting (and cutting down to a stump) a telephone pole does to the initial speed before the 300' drive to the house?

Probably less than you'd think. They're dry wood, designed to shatter, for this very reason*. There's a pole at the edge of my front yard. One Sunday morning, I found pieces of it scattered across my driveway. Unless the driver stopped to clean up his mess, it didn't do much damage to his car. From the tires tracks left, it appeared to have hit just inside the right headlight. I'm sure the drain pipe (and most likely airborn) did more damage than the pole. *Power company guy told me that, as the crew was sinking a new pole.

yea we had one hit a block from our house, the bottom half just shattered into a million pieces and the van that hit it looked like it had less damage then a deer strike would cause

but i do think you get bonus points if you manage to take out the bottom half and keep the top half hanging by the wires.

Klayfish wrote: Yep. I don't know specifically what kind of wood it is, but I can tell you from hundreds and hundreds of poles hit that they snap like toothpicks when hit by a car.

Dude, you should probably stop hitting telephone poles. I know it's satisfying, but you'll get caught some day.

dculberson wrote:

Klayfish wrote: Yep. I don't know specifically what kind of wood it is, but I can tell you from hundreds and hundreds of poles hit that they snap like toothpicks when hit by a car.

Dude, you should probably stop hitting telephone poles. I know it's satisfying, but you'll get caught some day.

Ever seen that episode of Road Runner and Wile E Coyote (I think that's what it was, and other cartoons have done it too) where he knocks down one pole and it in turn pulls 40 other poles down with it, the last one is supposed to land on the Road Runners head and pound him into the ground like a hammer on a nail? Well, I've been trying for years to replicate it and am starting to think cartoons aren't reflective of real life. Very disappointing.

Those tiny grey toothpick poles aint' from around HERE! Out on the left coast they are made from giant green trees pressure blasted with creosote heavy metals and nuclear waste until they are hulking oozing black gateways to The End. People kill themselves (or someone else kills them into) them all the time. No splinters. Nope. The cars splinter.

Klayfish wrote:

dculberson wrote:

Klayfish wrote: Yep. I don't know specifically what kind of wood it is, but I can tell you from hundreds and hundreds of poles hit that they snap like toothpicks when hit by a car.

Dude, you should probably stop hitting telephone poles. I know it's satisfying, but you'll get caught some day.

Ever seen that episode of Road Runner and Wile E Coyote (I think that's what it was, and other cartoons have done it too) where he knocks down one pole and it in turn pulls 40 other poles down with it, the last one is supposed to land on the Road Runners head and pound him into the ground like a hammer on a nail? Well, I've been trying for years to replicate it and am starting to think cartoons aren't reflective of real life. Very disappointing.

Cartoons aren't real?!?! I feel I've been lied to........

updates? I would love to see some in progress pics of the repair

So, accident in July, got a joke of an offer from Liberty Mutual (close to $12k with an estimate close to or over $40k).

Hired a Private Adjuster and couldn't wait for him to get on the case.

Almost 7 months later, offer is still 1/2 of the estimate and after coming to our senses, moved on the from the adjuster and are waiting for a return call from Liberty Mutual.

After so many friends stories with MUCH happier and much quicker resolutions, we're left to fight for ourselves.

(Keep in mind that the girls insurance company will ultimately pay, not our homeowners company Liberty Mutual, our house has been insured by them for over 40 years)

Any advice?

Old_: view is the same as July save for plywood screwed to the house with exapanded foam to keep out the weather.

May be time to hire a lawyer.

It was time hire a lawyer months ago. No excuse for a 5 month wait with a car sized hole in your wall and weak foundation. You aren't even past the estimate stage yet?......not a single repair has been made? You have way to much patience for this run around crap.

Jesus. Came in to see the repair process, and left completely baffled that it's not even been touched.

Hire a lawyer, immediately. Insurance will out-wait you 100% of the time. You will not get resolution without daily antagonizing/chasing/threatening. You've been in a damaged home for close to 6 months.

Contractor and our ex private adjuster have been in contact with each other periodically and it kept resulting in "I can't fix the house for that amount"

Zero repairs because we're afraid that the foundation excavation, cutting and removal and the new one being poured (three separate companies) will use up most of the money they initially offered and we'll be stuck with all the other work.

Liberty Mutual as we speak are telling us they'll pay for one side's vinyl siding and 1/2 the front so the front won't even match ITSELF let alone the side matching the rear etc.

Just a mismatched house automatically lowers its value and WE DIDNT HIT THE HOUSE WITH A berkeleyING CAR.

spitfirebill wrote: May be time to hire a lawyer.

A grizzley bear of a lawyer at this point.

So there seems to be a consensus here and I agree. I'm not well-versed in these legal issues.

I think there are a few adjusters here that can add their experiences. I'm interested if they'd agree with "us".

Couldn't disagree more about hiring the lawyer, but that's up to you. No matter what they advertise on TV, they won't get you some huge cash award. Nor will they speed up the process....or call the insurance company daily to harass them. In fact, they typically slow the process down, by a good bit. There are always exceptions of course (maybe the attorney is a family friend, etc...), but 98% of the time, they make the process go at a snails' pace. What they will do, for sure, is take a very large portion of your settlement. But if you want to get one, do.

No offense, but private adjusters are a rung below plaintiff lawyers who advertise on TV. I'm not surprised you got nowhere there.

There has to be some disconnect here that I'm not aware of. The carrier for the vehicle should have sent an appraiser to assess the house. They should give you an estimate. You supply said estimate to the contractor of your choice. If there is a disagreement than contractor discusses with estimator and agreement is reached. It's a very similar process to having your vehicle repaired. I do this all the time. It rarely goes sideways like you're describing here. Something's missing here...not saying at all that it's you, but something isn't right. Perhaps Liberty Mutuals' estimate is taking depreciation, but without seeing it, I'm just shooting in the dark.

Other option is to have your homeowners' insurance cover it. They will then pursue Liberty Mutual in subrogation. And yes, despite what a lot of people want to say, that's why you have insurance.

Hate to even suggest this but.. maybe a local news consumer reporter could shame the parties into action.

Hole in the house for nearly six months and it's winter... and Christmas. Shame, shame, shame on 'em. Tugs on heart strings.

I don't understand. You have a contract with liberty and maintain that by paying them. They then insure your property in the event you incur a loss. You've had a loss, and its now on them to make your house back to pre-incident condition. Seems like a open and shut case here to me. But I'm not a lawyer.

I'm one to avoid lawyers and let things work themselves out, a extremely laid back, habitual procrastinator you might say. But I'm mad for you. I'm mad at your situation just reading it. Im in a way, even kind of mad at you even for letting it drag on this long. You need help getting this settled, now. .... Eff that company. Suffice to say I will never do business with Liberty.