Anybody have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

[roadman]

Re: Anyboyd have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

Did she or you accept a payment before you claimed there was back pain? Never accept any payment or sign anything until you are sure it includes everything that you believe that you are entitled to. Accepting payment can waive your rights to any future claim.

No, we did not accept any payment.

My wife asking for more was at the end of the line.

You have a good point as that is why insurance companies want to cut you a check right away.

[NDAlum]

Re: Anyboyd have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

Man the insurance company of the other driver said he'll check back every 3 weeks to see how I'm progressing with rehabilitation. I was told the company was rather liberal as they generally take on high risk drivers so I think I'm in a good position to be "made whole".

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Anybody have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

I was an insurance claim adjuster for a few years and pretty much dealt with rear-enders every day.

Since liability has been accepted by the other company, things should be fairly smooth. However, you said that this company tends to take on a lot of high risk drivers, so just be a little weary as in my experience, these companies can be the hardest to work with...but it sounds like they have been good so far, so maybe you got lucky.

You have two claims:
1) Propery Damage
2) Bodily Injury

These claims should be settled seperately and the payment of one does not impact the payment of the other. So when you take your car into the shop and they pay the bill and you sign that release, it has no impact on your injuries...just make sure to read the release to make sure.

As far as your injuries, they should settle with you once treatment is complete. They will not pay the bills as they come in. It will be a one time, lump sum settlement. A lot of times, if you are treating for a lengthy amount of time, the doctor/chiro/physical chiropractic can put a lean on the settlement to make sure that they are paid.

The insurance company is only going to pay you for what they believe is "reasonable". If you were hit by someone going 5 MPH and the only damage to your car is a few scratches, don't expect to get rich...We probably would offer somone a few hundred bucks for the appointments, your lost wages and some for pain and suffering.

As long as the injuries "match-up" to the damage on the cars and the severity of the accident, you should have no problems. They will also take prior injuries into consideration, etc.

As far as hiring a lawyer...my thoughts are this: If you believe the settlement offered to you is fair and reasonable then I don't see a need. In my experience, having a lawyer rarely raised the amount that we valued the claim at and in the long run, the person in the accident ends up being worse off or only slightly better off as the lawyer then gets a piece of the pie. We were fair in our offers and when we were sued, we rarely settled and usually won in court.

If you do get a lawyer, make sure they are good. So often I'd talk to a lawyer to settle and it was obvious they were looking at the case for the first time. After that happens, all credit goes out the door.

Typically a Bodily Injury claim was paid at 2-3 times necessarry and relevent medical bills. So on $1,000 in bills, you're looking at a settlement probably at say $3,000 in total so you are left with $2,000. So even if you get a lawyer involved and he gets you $5,000. He's probably going to take 1/3 and after you pay your medical bills, you are looking at $2,350 or so. Everything gets much more drawn out and you end up with an extra few hundred dollars..if you are lucky.

Obviously there are exceptions to every rule, but your accident sounds pretty standard and not too severe if there are only cracks to the bumper. Bumpers are made to collapse and airbags in the other vehicle are made to go off at only moderate rates of speed

Here is what you should be paid for on the Bodily Injury Claim
1) Fair and reasonable medical bills (does the injury claimed and treatment rendered match the severity of the accident???)
2) Lost wages/other costs incurred (did you miss work?, did you have to drive out of town for treatment?, did you have to purchase any prescriptions or braces?
3) Pain and suffering? Obviously you were inconveniced, but how much? Was the pain so unbearable that you missed your kids baseball games or had to cancel vacation plans, etc.

All of those things should be considered when your claim is finalized and a settlement is offered.

Don't feel like you have to accept their first offer. There is almost always some room to negotiate up and their first offer is probably going to be on the low side of their range. Just know that the adjuster you are dealing with probably only has a low range of authority when it comes to settlement and will likely have to take any higher requests up the ladder for approval.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: Anybody have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

Wow, that is some great "insider" info trev. Thanks a lot!

[JBH3]

Re: Anybody have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

I came to a complete stop at a red light and I was rear ended by another vehicle. I have minor neck pain and there are a few cracks to the bumper of my vehicle. ('07 Infiniti M45 Sport)

All of that is being documented in the report and the driver of the other vehicle has insurance.

What steps should I take to gain restitution from this crash?

Here is what I have lined up for tomorrow:

#1 - See a chiropractor for my neck injury
#2 - I already have a tune up planned for tomorrow, so I'm going to have them take a look at the damages. Well what they can at least. The bumper might need to come off to diagnose the interior damage, if any.

Questions I have:
*In reference to giving a verbal statement to an insurance company, I would rather give a written statement. Is that acceptable?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

DO NOT IMMEDIATELY SETTLE!

A lot of times the affects of these injuries are not felt until long after the crash occurred...sometimes 3 months or longer. TMJ is a common side-effect/injury from this type of accident, and often isn't realized until long after. Depending on how bad it is (TMJ) can make the healthcare costs rise....

I knew someone who was rear-ended, the accident did some damage to her neck, and she settled...only months after the accident a very bad case of TMJ set in, and an extensive amount of dental work was required. Having your neck and spinal cord whiplash violently completely throws your alignment off.

Wait a good long while till you settle man.

[NDAlum]

Re: Anybody have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

Thanks Trev!

First off, I didn't get hit hard at all. I did not expect my neck to even hurt. My lat and neck started getting stiff & sore so I bowed out of work. With that said they did take x-rays, and I do have a slight tear in a ligament in my neck which is going to take some time in rehab to correct back to near normal. I am shocked that's the case, but it makes sense because of how I was looking in my car and I 100% had no idea I was about to be hit.

I spoke with the personal injury claim adjuster today and he is just going to monitor. I plan on being as reasonable as possible with everything. I am not going to be a jerk, but I do want to be compensated for the inconvenience put in my life. Also when I drive I'm now paranoid that I'm going to be rear ended.

My chiropractor is on the board here in NC so he does everything 100% professional.

Based on my injury Trev do you have any advice? I don't want the lawyer, I just want my car to be in the condition it was prior to the accident and I want all my medical bills covered. On top of that I want the inconvenience covered. I mean driving to and from the chiropractor and using up valuable personal time is not something I want to do but it's necessary for my job. I have too much of a responsibility for the well being of others to not get things treated. Also want my lost wages covered.

[Scottdau]

Re: Anybody have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

It doesn't take much to hurt a neck. Did you see this coming? They say when the body is relaxed they can take an impact better. It is when you brace for it, is when you do more damage. The body is a crazy thing.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Anybody have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

Based on my injury Trev do you have any advice? I don't want the lawyer, I just want my car to be in the condition it was prior to the accident and I want all my medical bills covered. On top of that I want the inconvenience covered. I mean driving to and from the chiropractor and using up valuable personal time is not something I want to do but it's necessary for my job. I have too much of a responsibility for the well being of others to not get things treated. Also want my lost wages covered.

If they think your medical bills are reasonable, I would imagine you would receive a settlement offer for your Bodily Injury Claim for 2-3 times that amount and that may or may not include your lost wages, which you are owed. (so it could be 2-3 times + lost wages or it could be 2-3 times, which would include lost wages). Regardless 1/2 to 1/3 would cover your medical bills and the remainder would cover all of the incidentals (the lost wages (if included), the pain and suffering, the inconvenience of having to travel to and from appointments, etc.).

My fear is that they may think the tear in your neck ligament is pre-existing as that seems to be a sever injury from a pretty minor loss, but really if you have no medical history that shows such an injury previously existed, they would have an impossible time trying to prove that. What was the damage like to the other vehicle?

By law the car has to be be repaired to prior condition, which reminds me of another law; you have the right to choose your own body shop to have the vehicle repaired. They can suggest one and often times they will try and sell you on the fact that they work directly with a shop, which can make things more convenient, but you can choose your own shop...it may even be the one the suggest. Also, you are owed a comperable rental vehicle for every day that your vehicle is in the shop. Because you drove an Infinity, you could concievably go to Enterprise and get something better than a Chevy Malibu.

Just a reminder, the damage to the car should and will be handled independantly from the injury.

[matt8204]

Re: Anyboyd have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

I think you will need a few estimates from the other party's insurance company.

Also, in the state of Wisconsin, if you are on the road and you are involved in a car accident and it's not your fault, you are still at 10% fault for being on the road.

My wife was in an accident that totaled our car and she had back pain and was pregnant. She asked about future back pain and they said the settlement was enough.

So, you might ask them to cover future neck pain if it persist.

That's absurd, especially when it comes to being rear-ended. What are you supposed to do? I can see splitting blame in other instances (you have control of your car, you have to do everything possible to avoid an impact) but to me, there should not be any gray area in rear-end impacts. The person in the rear was obviously way too close to the car in front of him if he caused an accident. Many times, you're just sitting at a stop sign or a red light and someone slams into you from behind because he/she simply was not paying attention.

[NDAlum]

Re: Anybody have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

If they think your medical bills are reasonable, I would imagine you would receive a settlement offer for your Bodily Injury Claim for 2-3 times that amount and that may or may not include your lost wages, which you are owed. (so it could be 2-3 times + lost wages or it could be 2-3 times, which would include lost wages). Regardless 1/2 to 1/3 would cover your medical bills and the remainder would cover all of the incidentals (the lost wages (if included), the pain and suffering, the inconvenience of having to travel to and from appointments, etc.).

My fear is that they may think the tear in your neck ligament is pre-existing as that seems to be a sever injury from a pretty minor loss, but really if you have no medical history that shows such an injury previously existed, they would have an impossible time trying to prove that. What was the damage like to the other vehicle?

By law the car has to be be repaired to prior condition, which reminds me of another law; you have the right to choose your own body shop to have the vehicle repaired. They can suggest one and often times they will try and sell you on the fact that they work directly with a shop, which can make things more convenient, but you can choose your own shop...it may even be the one the suggest. Also, you are owed a comperable rental vehicle for every day that your vehicle is in the shop. Because you drove an Infinity, you could concievably go to Enterprise and get something better than a Chevy Malibu.

Just a reminder, the damage to the car should and will be handled independantly from the injury.

Alright well my job is based on reasonableness, so I think I can understand where they are coming from.

Also, there are two claim adjusters I'm working with (injury & auto) so they are independent.

The damage to my car is minimal to be honest, but it can be argued that Infiniti's hold up better against impact (which they do). I was definitely jolted in the driver's seat and suffered a neck injury. Oh and with my car they have to take off & repaint the entire bumper. You can't touch up my paint.

I just hope everything goes smoothly. Maybe I should keep those 25 ads from lawyers I received in my mail last night...just in case.

To me the injury matches up and is reasonable. The neck is vulnerable and I have evidence of the injury. I'm not limited too much in my life by it, but it's there and could possibly lead to another injury.

Like I said, I don't want to get rich. I just want things taken care of because had the other driver not been negligent, this thread would not exist.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: Anybody have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

Like I said, I don't want to get rich. I just want things taken care of because had the other driver not been negligent, this thread would not exist.

I hear you, man. I think everything you've said sounds fair. And another tip, which probably seems obvious, but most people forget. The nicer you are to the adjuster, the easier things will be. In my experience, people that are rude to adjusters are going to get nickel and dimed by the adjuster. People who are cool and easy to deal with are going to get a more generous offer. Your dealing with a person who literally gets yelled at and deals with upset people all day long, so any breath of fresh air will be remembered.

Another thing, which is unfortunate and sucks for the people involved, but just a part of life is the fact that for everyone involved in the accident, this is a big deal. It's stressful, a bit complicated, intimidating, frustrating, etc. But for the adjuster, it's just a job. It will never be as important to him as it is to you. At any given moment he probably has 75-125 claims and every day he is probably getting 3 or 4 more. His job is to get them resolved fairly and promptly; it is what he is graded on. It just really sucks because to the people involved it is probably the most important thing going on and for him it's just one of 100 other things going on. The balance just isn't there...and unfortunately the complaints he hears from one person, he is probably hearing from everyone else. This is why, it pays a bit, to be nice.

The damage to my car is minimal to be honest, but it can be argued that Infiniti's hold up better against impact (which they do). I was definitely jolted in the driver's seat and suffered a neck injury. Oh and with my car they have to take off & repaint the entire bumper. You can't touch up my paint.

I get this too. A year or two ago we were driving home from work in a 4Runner and got rear ended by an old Mid-80's, 10,000 pound, steel bumpered Suburban. It hammered us pretty good, but the only damage to our vehicle was some identations of where his license plate screws hit our bumper. I seriously thought the back end of our car was going to be smashed in. They just make cars better now days than they used to.

[NDAlum]

Re: Anybody have good advice after getting in an auto crash?

I really appreciate all the time you've taken to give advice. It has been incredible and I am very thankful.