Hi, I was involved in a 3-car accident in my 2009 Honda Accord. I came to a complete stop on the highway. About 7 seconds later, I saw the middle driver traveling fast and slam on her brakes. The rear driver hit the middle driver hard, and pushed the the middle car into my car.

The airbags did not deploy. There are some scratches on the bumper and a small crack, maybe the size of a nickel. I've taken a photo of it. Is this worth fixing? I don't care about the scratches but I'm worried if the crack will expose the inside to rust. Should I pursue the rear driver's insurance? I have to report whether the vehicle damage was above $1,000.

Also a little off topic, should I go to a lawyer? I had a little bit of neck pain while at work (I work on my feet for 12 hours) but I've had minor whiplash before. I'm not sure if this pain is new or old.

 

I don't think the hole in the cover is going to cause or create any higher levels of rust than normal.

As far as the rest, it is a hard call to make over the internet. Something you'll have to think about and decide on your own.

 

That's the plastic bumper skin? It was never watertight to begin with, so any metal structure underneath isn't going to be any more or less wet during the next drive in the rain. Did the collision scratch through any painted metal parts underneath? I can't tell from the photo.

Also, that plastic material (IMHO) doesn't seem very prone to continuing to tear after the initial damage. My daughter's 2007 Civic got something like that about 5 years ago and it hasn't grown any bigger.