The Shoulder
The Shoulder
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City vehicle rear-ended my mom, now their insurance goes silent — are we just stuck?

This whole situation has me so frustrated I don't even know where to start.

A few weeks ago my mom was stopped at a red light when a city utility truck came up behind her and just… didn't stop in time. Full-on rear collision. The driver was totally apologetic at the scene, which honestly made us think this would be simple. Police came, made a report, everything seemed straightforward.

Here's where it gets complicated. My mom doesn't speak English fluently and she was pretty shaken up, so she kind of just nodded along when people were talking to her. She didn't fully understand what forms she was signing or what the officer was explaining. When I finally saw the report myself I noticed some details that don't match what she remembers happening.

We filed a claim through the city's risk management office — apparently that's what you do when a government vehicle is involved instead of a normal insurance claim — and that was over three weeks ago. We've called four times and left messages twice. Nothing. Total silence.

Her car has some bumper and trunk damage, and she's been having neck stiffness and headaches ever since. She hasn't gone to a doctor yet because she's worried about the cost if this doesn't get resolved.

Questions I keep circling back to:

  • Does the city have some kind of legal protection that makes it harder to make them pay?
  • Should she see a doctor NOW even without knowing who's paying?
  • Is there a deadline we're missing by just waiting for them to call back?

Any advice from people who've dealt with government vehicles or slow-responding claims would mean a lot right now. We feel totally in the dark.

12replies

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12 replies

  • 8
    cool-marten-502

    Oh I felt this post in my chest. I dealt with a county vehicle situation two years ago and the silence from their risk management office was absolutely maddening. What finally got someone to pick up was sending a formal written letter via certified mail — suddenly they had a record they had to respond to. Don't just keep calling. Put it in writing and send it somewhere they can't ignore.

    • 0
      honest-parent156

      Going through something similar right now. Did following up actually move the needle for you?

  • 7
    clear-marten-235

    Not legal advice, but this is worth knowing: claims against government entities often have much shorter deadlines than regular injury claims — sometimes as little as 60-90 days to file a formal "notice of claim" before you lose the right to sue at all. This varies by state. Do not wait around hoping they call back. At minimum look up your state's government tort claim deadline this week. This is genuinely time-sensitive in a way a normal fender-bender wouldn't be.

    • 9
      calm-passenger127

      Solid advice. Getting it in writing is the part most people skip.

  • 7
    clever-stoat-550

    Please get your mom to a doctor NOW, full stop. Neck stiffness and headaches after a rear-end collision can be whiplash, and whiplash that goes untreated in the first few weeks often turns into a much longer recovery. Beyond her health, having medical documentation that starts close to the date of the accident matters a lot if this becomes a dispute. Waiting makes both the injury and the claim harder to deal with.

  • 12
    quiet-seal-471

    The silence isn't an accident. Whether it's a city risk office or a private insurer, slow-walking a claim is a known tactic. The longer they wait, the more they're hoping you'll either give up, miss a deadline, or your mom's symptoms will go undocumented. Don't interpret no response as "they're working on it" — treat it as adversarial from day one.

    • 14
      patient-finch-697

      Two things need to happen in parallel right now: your mom sees a doctor this week, and you consult with a personal injury attorney — most do free consultations. Government claims have quirks that can bite you hard if you're navigating them alone. You don't have to hire anyone, just talk to someone who knows your state's rules before another week goes by.

    • 4
      steady-dreamer164

      Going through something similar right now. Did following up actually move the needle for you?

  • 11
    tidy-wren-663

    A few practical steps that can actually move this forward:

    1. Get the full incident report if you haven't already — not just a summary, the full report with any witness info. 2. Send a certified letter to the city's risk management office outlining the date, what happened, the damage, and your mom's injuries. Keep a copy. 3. Look up your state's tort claims act — seriously, Google "[your state] government tort claim notice deadline" and read it carefully. 4. Document everything now — photos of the car, a written timeline, her medical visits.

    The certified mail thing really does shift the dynamic. They have to log it.

  • 6
    hearty-stoat-250

    I'm so sorry your mom is going through this, especially with the language barrier making everything more stressful. It's so unfair that the burden falls on you to chase them down when their vehicle hit her. I hope you get answers soon. Make sure she knows her pain matters and she shouldn't just push through it.

    • 7
      honest-optimist378

      Seconding this. The same approach worked for me last year.

  • 13
    tidy-stoat-159

    Government claims genuinely work differently from standard auto claims and the people handling them know most claimants don't understand the process. Risk management offices are often understaffed and they absolutely prioritize files where someone is clearly organized and persistent over files where they think the person might just go away. A certified letter that references the incident report number, lists the damages, and mentions you're aware of claim filing deadlines will get you moved to the top of someone's pile faster than any phone call.