GET A LAWYER

DOCUMENT EVERYTHING

DO NOT ACCEPT THE FIRST LOW-BALL CHECK THEY SEND YOU AS IF YOU CASH IT YOU'RE THEN DONE.

Glad to hear that you survived and don't seem to have been seriously injured.

If it were me I'd hold off hiring an attorney. You have a couple of things in your favor: (i) since you were rear-ended, there's no dispute that the other guy was at fault, and (ii) there isn't much room for dispute about the amounts you're trying to recover - it's not as if you're trying to claim a lifetime of medical expenses, or vast amounts for pain & suffering.

On the other hand, an initial consultation with an attorney won't set you back very much (if anything), and you may get some education about the insurance claims process.

You should definitely at least consult with a lawyer. Any worthwhile one will do so for free, and you have nothing to lose by doing so. If you would like a recommendation for a lawyer in the Utah area, PM me (I'm a California lawyer). There are likely ramifications that only a lawyer would be able to point out -- especially because you have at least minor injuries.

What state was the accident in?

What state do you live in and what state did you buy insurance in?

Pics of the gear?

This is strangely reminiscent of the "to PAS or not to PAS" thread. Glad you're ok man. That crunched up trunk could have been horrific if it was a few feet closer to the front of the car. I think waiting until you get flack from the insurance company (if and when that happens) to seek counsel is appropriate. If you get a rental, a car that is equivalent to the one yours was, your gear paid for, and are compensated for any and all medical expenses and lost wages, PLUS a punitive sum for pain and suffering (this last one is important and is usually standard, they should give you SOMETHING), then you should be all square. If they seem shaky or reluctant on ANY of the above, then seek counsel, but don't pay for an initial consultation.

The most important thing is this:

Welibbapayanuddaday. Submitted By: Jake Jones on Jan 28, 2013

The flow of traffic was 20mph and the guy smashed into you at 80mph. It doesn't look like you were on a highway either, so that speed was likely way over the limit. You have a witness that followed the guy because he was driving recklessly. You were injured bad enough to affect your quality of life for a long time, and possibly forever (minor pains and discomfort sometimes never go away). It's pretty obvious that you'll win any kind of settlement, but how much of one is really the question. Unless there are actually lawyers on here that specialize in this type of work, I wouldn't take advice from anybody online.

The one thing that's already been pointed out though is that you're probably going to be limited by the guy's insurance policy. If he has only basic insurance, you could very likely be maxing it out. If he has a large policy then there's flexibility, but I have no idea how all of it works. If you can find lawyers that offer free or very cheap initial consultations, I would definitely check one out.

As for the climbing gear, I'd be curious to see pictures just for the sake of knowing what it looks like after such an accident.

Glad you're OK. That was definitely a close call...

I was hit by a car and it ended up rolling my car. My bike was on top and so it was totalled. My old soccer coach was a lawyer so he helped me draft a letter stating what I wanted in terms of a re-payment. We sent that to their insurance company.

They paid for my car, pain and suffering damages, and for a new bike. For the bike, I went to my local job and asked them for a price quote for an acceptable replacement.

That lawyer letter surely helped. It allowed me to look serious

Be sure to have the alignment of the atlas in your neck checked. Mine went out in a similiar accident and it made the right side of my back progressively weaker.

As far as legal goes, I'd take the advice of the one person who posted that is a lawyer.

Just read JLP's post and do that.