Shop found hidden damage after teardown — supplement still pending, anyone been through this?

Yes! Almost exactly this happened to me last year. Rear-ended at a stoplight, looked minor, but the shop found damage to the rear impact absorber and some suspension components once they got it up on the lift. Supplement took about 8 days to get approved. The adjuster did push back on some of the labor hours but the shop negotiated directly with them and I didn't have to do much. In the end everything got covered — just took longer than I wanted. The waiting is the worst part honestly.

Since you're going through the at-fault driver's insurance, just be aware their adjuster's loyalty is NOT to you. They might drag out the supplement approval hoping you get frustrated and settle for less, or they'll try to substitute cheaper non-OEM parts in the repair. Ask the shop specifically what parts they're requesting and whether the insurer is pushing back on any of them. Get everything in writing if you can.

I used to handle exactly these kinds of claims. Here's the honest reality: supplements on structural damage get more scrutiny than cosmetic ones, especially on older vehicles, because the adjuster has to weigh repair cost against the vehicle's actual cash value. If the total repair bill starts creeping above roughly 70-75% of what they've valued your truck at, some insurers will start leaning toward a total loss instead of approving repairs. I'm not saying that'll happen — just that it's worth knowing the math in the background. Ask the shop if they have a sense of where total repair costs are landing relative to what they think the truck is worth.

One thing that can help: ask the shop for a copy of the full supplement they submitted. You're entitled to see it. That way you know exactly what's being requested and you won't be blindsided if the adjuster comes back approving only part of it. Also, since you mentioned it wasn't your fault — document your rental situation carefully. If approval delays are extending your rental beyond what insurance initially authorized, that's a reimbursement conversation you may need to have. Not legal advice, just process stuff I've seen trip people up.

Call the at-fault driver's insurance directly and ask for the claim handler assigned to your vehicle damage. Get a name and a direct number. Supplements can sit in a queue forever if nobody's nudging them. Politely but firmly ask for a timeline on the appraisal decision. Being proactive moves your file to the top of the pile more often than not.

This is a bit off the vehicle side of things, but — were you checked out after the accident? Hidden structural damage to the truck sometimes means there was more force in the collision than it looked like from the outside. I've seen people shrug off neck and back stuff right after a crash and then really feel it weeks later. Just worth mentioning while you're dealing with all the repair stress.

When you say "frame reinforcement" damage — did the shop specify whether it's actual frame/unibody damage or just a bolt-on component? That's a pretty big distinction. Bolt-on reinforcements are usually a straightforward supplement approval. Actual unibody or frame damage is a different conversation entirely and some insurers get really difficult about it. Worth clarifying with the shop exactly what they found.

At least the shop caught it before they put the truck back together, right? I've heard stories of people driving away with undetected structural damage because the shop just patched the surface. The fact that they did a proper teardown and flagged it means you're actually in a better spot than you might feel right now.