I fell asleep on the wheel and busted up the whole side of my 2010 accord against a highway rail. The car needs body work including frame work it seems, as the right door and the front right wheel alignment has been a little bent out of shape.

I have never been in this type of situation before and need some advice, from knowledgeable people only please. Am I supposed to take care of the damages through insurance? If so am I supposed to tell them that I fell asleep on the wheel or are there other ways? Or Am I supposed to go to a local body/frame shop? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

Pictures would help. Sounds like there is extensive damage though. It will be in the thousands and thousands of dollars to repair. So I would get insurance involved.

Also telling them the truth is a must since there is no police report to document an accident.

 

In most states, if the damages is over a certain dollar amount (varies according to state, for example $700, etc.) a collision/accident report or form needs to be filed with either the DMV or a law enforement records center (depending on state). This generally is separate from a police report if filing with the DMV.

Your options would be to pay for the repairs in full yourself or go through your insurance company. From the description, the costs may be cost prohibitive to pay in full yourself; so, insurance company is probably the route.

If you go to the insurance company, they generally will ask whether you have a police report and if you filed the proper form with the DMV, etc. Many insurance companies will help you fill out and filed the form with the DMV.

You should tell the insurance company what actually happened, as there isn't anyone that hit you where they could recoup funds from for the damages. It has to be from whatever insurance coverage you have. The insurance company may give you instructions/recommendations for body shops, etc.

 

You can tell them you were just driving along, and suddenly this guardrail came out of nowhere and hit your car!

Seriously, there may be variations in how insurance is handled by state, but I would think if you talk to your insurance company and explain what happened, they would give you the option of filing a damage claim with them (and risk increasing your insurance premiums) or fixing it yourself. As others have mentioned, it's probably a matter of how much $$ for repair you are willing to put up with.

This should fall under your collision coverage on your car policy ... it's under collision because the indicent happened while the car was being driven. And you will be assigned fault for the incident because you were driving the car and there were no adverse conditions (i.e. missing construction signs, etc) or other people or drivers involved. If you do not have collision coverage then I don't think you'll get anything from your insurance company ... nor will they raise your premiums.