warm-marten-9485/11/2026

Rear-ended by someone who got cut off — now the at-fault insurer is stalling. Anyone dealt with this?

So this happened about a week ago and I'm still in the thick of it and honestly feeling overwhelmed.

I was stopped at a red light when a sedan slammed into the back of me after supposedly swerving to avoid another vehicle that cut him off. The impact pushed me into the SUV stopped ahead of me. Cops came, I got a report number, ambulance checked me out on scene, and my car got towed — the tow driver literally laughed and said "yeah this isn't coming back from the dead."

I've been dealing with serious neck and shoulder pain since. Went to urgent care the next day because I couldn't turn my head, and they're sending me to a spine specialist. Not exactly how I planned to spend my fall.

Here's where it gets frustrating. The at-fault driver's insurance took my initial claim info and then basically went quiet. When they finally called back, the adjuster told me liability is "still under investigation" because they're trying to track down the driver of the vehicle that originally cut off the guy who hit me — like somehow that affects whether their insured rear-ended me? I was just sitting there at a red light!

Meanwhile I'm out of a car, racking up medical bills, and taking time off work for appointments. My own insurance has been more helpful honestly but I'm worried about how this plays out long-term.

Is it normal for them to delay liability this long on something this clear-cut?
Should I be talking to a lawyer already or is that premature?
Anyone dealt with an insurer trying to rope in a third party to muddy the waters?

Any perspective appreciated. I feel like I'm being strung along.

8 replies

Most helpful first

sharp-swan-0905/11/2026
Ugh, I went through almost the exact same runaround after my accident last year. The other driver's insurer kept saying they needed to "complete their investigation" before accepting liability, even though the police report was crystal clear. Took about three weeks before they budged, and only after I got a lawyer involved. Hang in there — the stalling is real but it's not forever.
humble-hare-0355/11/2026
That "still investigating" line is a classic delay tactic. The longer they drag it out, the more desperate you get and the more likely you are to accept a lowball offer just to make it stop. Don't let them wear you down. Document everything — every call, every voicemail, every email. Dates, names, what was said. That paper trail matters more than people realize.
- plain-crow-8155/11/2026
  Okay so I used to work claims and I'll be honest with you — when an adjuster tells you they can't make a liability decision because they haven't reached a third driver who wasn't even the one who hit you, that's a stretch. You were rear-ended while stopped. That's about as clean as fault gets. What they're doing is buying time, plain and simple. It's not always malicious but it's definitely in their interest, not yours. If you haven't already, send a formal written demand for a liability decision with a deadline. Sometimes that alone moves things.
brave-hare-1045/11/2026
A couple of practical things: first, make sure you're keeping a symptom journal — write down your pain levels, what activities you can't do, how your sleep is affected. This becomes really useful documentation later. Second, your own insurer may be able to subrogate against the at-fault carrier, meaning they go after that insurer to get reimbursed, which can take some pressure off you. Definitely worth asking them about it. And yes, a free consult with a PI attorney is probably worth doing now — not because you're suing anyone tomorrow, but just so you understand your options.
hearty-elk-5205/11/2026
Not legal advice, but I'll say this: rear-end collisions while stopped are generally the clearest liability scenarios in personal injury law. The third-party-driver angle the insurer is pushing is almost certainly irrelevant to your claim — you didn't cause this. If they're already stalling a week in on a liability determination, that pattern often continues. Many PI attorneys work on contingency and do free consults; at minimum it's worth a conversation so you know where you stand. Don't give any recorded statements to the at-fault insurer without understanding what you're agreeing to.
hearty-marmot-8655/11/2026
Please don't skip or delay that spine specialist appointment. Neck injuries from rear-end impacts can seem manageable at first and then get significantly worse over the following weeks as inflammation builds. Cervical issues especially — you want imaging done and documented now, not three months from now when an insurer might argue your symptoms developed from something else. Take care of yourself first. The claim stuff will still be there.
- cool-mole-7975/11/2026
  Stop waiting for the at-fault insurer to do the right thing on their own. Get a personal injury attorney on the phone this week. Most do free consultations and work on contingency so there's no upfront cost. You have a police report, a tow, an ER visit, and specialist follow-ups — that's a solid foundation. The longer you wait, the more leverage you lose.
careful-owl-9475/11/2026
I'm so sorry you're dealing with all of this on top of recovering from an injury. That sounds exhausting. Please make sure you have someone helping you keep track of all of this — bills, appointments, calls — because when you're in pain it's really easy for things to fall through the cracks. Do you have people around you right now?