Car Wreck!!!

[JMO 0]

Ok I have a question for you, I was in a car wreck in nov. of 05, where a kid rear ended me. I thought it was nothing till about a week later. My neck was killing me so i went to the chropractor for about a month it was not getting better. so i went to the pcp and they did xrays and gave me some meds. I eventually went to a sports dr and had physical therpy. well in all this my hubby contacted their ins. to let them know about our claim. The claims adjuster is rude and NEVER calls us. I have sent about 30 faxes to her and when I ask why she didn't call she is like "I didn't get the faxes.." ahhhh i just want to scream. I have been done with drs. for over a month and she has just now offered me a settlement after my husband called her boss and went off.. 1800.00, 500. 00 of which has to paid back to my personal ins. that leaves me 1300.00, 600.00 of which was my out of pocket expnces. so now we are down to 900.00. I am not happy with this so my question is, how do i go about asking for more. I don't want to get an attorney but I will. 900.00 is not much to me when i think about how bad i was hurting and gas money to a from the dr. I just think they need to come off more.. Has anyone delt with this before? if so any advise would be appreciated...

Thanks

[DonnaB 3]

Figure out how much you want and tell them. Be prepared to justify the amount. Don't forget to include the amount of time (time is money) it has taken you dealing with the insurance. The amount you spend on faxes and emails - you're paying fees to support that technology. Just figure it out and ask for it. That's all you can do.

[FunnyDuddies 6]

Also, send everything return receipt mail, rather than fax. that way she can't claim she never received it. Also, make sure you send a letter to your local insurance commisioner, cc'ing them. Let the insurance company know how upset you are with her service, and that you are really feeling jilted. That way if they decide to drop you after all of this they will think twice. It is really important you do not let her walk all over you with this. some ins claim adjusters are fabulous!! But some are real sticks in the mud.

[Wheetsin 714]

We just went through the insurance process in April after someone hit my husband head-on. My husband had a lot of pain, and some significant injuries, but his perspective was - it was an accident, money doesn't make the pain go away, so all he cared about was recovering his actual expenses. I can't give any advice on how to fight for more money.

Have you tried contacting her other than fax? Be assertive, but not aggressive. Maybe a request to speak with her manager is in order. Maybe a call to the 1800 line of the company, via a service rep. That's how we were able to get our initial communication going. At one point commuication stopped so I called our rep, just for advice, and she said take it as far as you have to go.

[Wheetsin 714]

BTW if the 500 is for your deductible, you'll get that back as soon as your company recovers the money from the at-fault's driver -- that's not money you pay out and never see again.

[Nana~ 4]

That sucks, Going thru a 2 year court case now ourselves when a man in a Caddy T-Boned us in front of a cop my hubby has 3 herniated disks..2 years later were still fighting...

Best of luck!

[JMO 0]

I was not really worried about the money at 1st I was ok it was an accident... no biggie but their ins. lady has been such a pain my hubby is now like what??? you want to give me what?? and my dr. says this is something that can be reinjured easily. I don't know what to do I just what it to END!!! lol

thanks

[gentlespirit 1]

I would see a personal injury attorney. The first consultation is usually at no charge and many get paid only if you get a settlement. That makes it in their best interest to work hard for you, as they get a percentage of the final amount.

I just went through this with my son, and while he didn't get a huge settlement (he ends up with $3600), without an attorney he wouldn't have gotten anything...they would have just ignored him.

Just my 2 cents...

Emily

[Elisabethsew 50]

The fact that this could be a life-long problems dictates that you need to get an attorney ASAP. Don't bother communicating with the insurance company anymore, let your lawyer do it for you. Jack is a chiropractor so he might have some valuable advice for you.

[BeacheeGirl 0]

I'm going through this RIGHT NOW! Was rear-ended two weeks ago, was in immediate pain and have been going to a chiropractor every day. I got a personal injury attorney last week who takes a 1/3 if I get a settlement, nothing if I don't..

[Kat817 19]

I was hit, well rear ended, back in September las year. She hit me going pretty fast, they figured about 40-45 mph, I was stopped. It shoved my knee between the dash and the metal speaker panel on the drivers door. The paramedics knew my knee was a problem, and it was in the accident report. My insurance said that was very helpful, having it noted. I had surgery to repair the knee, and the ortho Dr.'s who did the surgery refused to bill the 3rd party insurance, so my own insurance had to pay it and then subrogate (sp?) it from their insurance company. Both insurance companies are big nationwide ones. Well I had a $10,000.00 limit on my med. coverage, and when I went through it, I had to pay the ortho's out of pocket. I recovered ok, moved on, they said they were waiting for all the other bills to come in and for me to finish my PT before they would settle. So, fast forward a few months, and I was thinking about Lapband surgery, and insurance had denied me twice, so we were contemplating financing it. We needed to see how much of our savings we were going to get back when they settled the ins. claim. They called one day when DH and I were driving down the road discussing a 401K loan for my band. They offered us an amazing settlement we thought. It paid my bills, and bought my band. By the time I pay for 5-6 visits with my fill Dr. here in the states, it will be about even! Many have told us we could have gotten much more, but that felt so greedy, I was not expecting this! It was an answer to my prayers!!!

Both claim adjusters actually thanked me for my detailed record keeping. So that is the best advise I can offer is to document EVERY word of any contact, with dates, times, who you spoke with. Copy everything you mail. Keep copies of all medical bills, phone bills if you call, paystubs with days off or sick days due to the accident. If you buy an ace bandage to wrap your sore wrist, keep the receipt and document it! Keep a quick chronogical run down of what happen when so you can have a better idea of where to locate receipts etc.

Good Luck to you!!!

Kat

[JMO 0]

Thank you kat, My hubby talked to the ins. adjustors mang and told her how we had been treated and he said we had spent hours trying to get in touch with this woman because she NEVER called back, so the mang offered us an apoligy first off which was needed then added an xtra 400.00 for time on phone. We were just so angry because they way we were treated.. I am so happy you healed well, and go figure we are taking the settlement and paying for my DH lapband..

[beachgirl 2]

It feels like I'm reading about my car wreck all over again. August 12, 2004, I'm driving down the road minding my own business in my brand new Jeep Liberty 4x4 and a 16 yr. old girl is averaging her check book while driving and t-bones me. I immediately get out (had my seatbelt on) and collapse to the ground. I ask her if she's okay and she says look at my Mustang, ugggg, I then wanted to choke her. Mine is totaled, she hits me and I'm laying here thinking I'm dying.

They take me by ambulance and do xrays, my neck was killing me. They then send me on for M.R.I.'s and I have ruptured disc at c3/4. So, I am not worried, I have full coverage and so does she, but we live in Kentucky. No fault state. So, my insurance comp. says well you have 10,000.00 PIP, (personal Injury Protection) I had no ideal what that meant. So, we had no health insurance at the time we are self employed. After my own insurance comp. pays my first 10,000.00 then I start getting all of the bills. They said I had to have surgery the next week and within a month I have 92,000.00 worth of bills. We go see a Attorney to see what in the hell we do now and he says, so sorry, nothing much you can do. We can sue her insurance for the amount of coverage she has so they do. To make a long story short, I'm 41, now totally disabled. Haven't applied for it but am, take 6 Loritab 10's a day for pain, surgery didn't help any. I take muscle relaxers you name it. My life as I knew it is over. So, he sues and gets me 60,000.00 to pay on my bills so now we're paying 200.00 month on the rest of the bills that we're paying for a wreck that was not my fault. Go figure.

I hope you have better luck than myself. The pain is horrible, it never goes away. Can't ride on the jet ski anymore, had to sell it, couldn't ride in my husband's suv, had to sell it, can't ride 4 wheelers anymore, can't do crap.

I think this sucks but who am I to say. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me.

Sherri

[JMO 0]

sherri,

You poor thing.. My pain is gone at this point, I am just hoping it stays gone. The docs said i could have problems in the future, and I could have no problems, It a coin toss... I hope you get to feeling better. and good luck on your surgery I will be 15 days behind you... AHHHH I am so excited!!!!

[MoOrLess 0]

I've been down this road and it ain't pretty!!!!!!!!!! I now have 6 herniated disks (3 in my neck and 3 in my lower back) well they 'were' herniated and are now gone.......deteriorated and nowhere to be found. Not even a major rear-ender -- left me in bad shape. I did get a lawyer but he took 45% of the settlement - plus I had to pay all the doctor bills - I wasn't left with much when all was said and done - two years later.

But I agree with Jack - if you don't get an attorney you will be lucky you see what they initially offered you.......find a good one - don't let them rip you off and make sure they 'believe' you - the first jerk attorney did not believe me (nor ask the right questions) and when his female associate took over (thank goodness) she looked into it and realized her boss had not even looked/asked for proper paperwork for all of my expenses.

Hang in there - it is a long road -- and it absolutely CAN re-occur or become worse down the road - I'm living proof! My chiropractor won't touch me anymore - so now it is specialists and my PCP. I have been on disability for years now and it isn't getting better as I get older.