So wigged out

[Heather]

My sister had a similar incident occur. She rear-ended a large older car on an off-ramp. (She was at fault, no question, going too fast for that ramp . . . but it’s a regular sod of a ramp and has a very dangerous merge.) The front of my sister’s car crumpled like a tin can, but there was only a dent on the other car (which says something both for crumple zones and for older construction). There were three people in the other car. At the scene, the officer asked everyone if they were OK. Everyone said that they were fine personally, although the daughter was concerned for her elderly mother. And eighteen months later–when the statute of limitations was due to run out–all of a sudden my sister received papers saying that she was going to be sued for injuries and emotional trauma suffered by one of the passengers. This was after the insurance companies had already been talking and everything was supposedly worked out.

Basically, Dad hired a lawyer and the mess got taken care of. We suspect that the people in the other car decided that they were “entitled” (God I hate that word) to more money than the insurance company gave them, and tried to intimidate my sister into either another settlement or a court battle. If we hadn’t had a good lawyer, things could have gotten really ugly, because those bastards wanted a fortune. It was Southern California, after all.

The irony of it all? My sister had some heart problems following the accident, caused by her hitting the shoulder strap of her seatbelt. Apparently the physical shock caused internal scarring around some nerves that affect heart rate and blood pressure. She had quite a few visits to the doctor and some fairly expensive diagnostics to pay off. And quite a scare, too. Lord only knows if the passenger in the other car honestly had any after-effects, but my sister certainly suffered the injury and emotional trauma that the other person claimed. Rum world, ain’t it?

[NirvanaCat13]

I am currently in a situation with two car accidents, (neither of which I was at fault) but currently have a case open on both accidents for personal injury. Here is the deal: If a person is injured, they have 2 years in which to settle the case with the insurance companies, or to request arbitration in court to try and settle matters. Insurance companies will drag their feet trying to get medical records and between attourneies it can take years. My first accident was in July 2005 and I JUST got a counter offer for settlement from the insurance company. I have already had to request arbitration, which means that if we can’t settle out of court, we will have to be heard in front of a jundge. Just because you request arbitration does not mean that it will go to court, it just means that the two years are up, and you have to request arbitration to keep the case open. Hope that makes sense, and helps!

[Alyssa]

mimitrek wrote:

It sounds like your insurance company’s attorneys will be handling this, even if you are served with a lawsuit. I think they sent you the letter just so that you’d be aware of the situation, it doesn’t mean that their attorneys aren’t still involved in the case.

I was in a similar situation a few years ago. I rear ended someone at a stop light at a very low speed (~5 mph) because the person in front of me stopped suddenly and I had probably been too close to him. Anyway, there wasn’t any damage to either of our cars except for some scratches on the bumpers, and no one was hurt. Both of us had the same insurance company, and we both filed a report on the incident. I didn’t hear anything for several months, and then my insurance company told me that they had been unable to settle the claim and that the person might be filing a lawsuit. As it turns out, the reason that they couldn’t settle the claim was because this person claimed that he had gotten whiplash from the accident, had to see the doctor numerous times, and also claimed to be unable to work for some large number of hours. Basically he was trying to use this incident to defraud the insurance company.

Anyway, he decided to sue me in small claims court, and served me with papers. I told the insurance company, and they took care of everything. They had their experts prepare a big report detailing the damage, extrapolated speed of impact based on the observed damage, etc. as well as other documents, which were brought to the court by the insurance company’s representative. I had to show up also to give my testimony to the judge, but that was about it. That guy lost and eneded up looking like a fool.

So don’t worry, I think the insurance company will take care of everything. But for your own peace of mind, you should give them a call on Monday and confirm that with them.
Someone rear ended a me and a friend at a stop light. The light has just barely turned green and he rear ended us in her car. I did end up getting whiplash and I was transported to the hospital by the ambulance. I had to go to the chiropracter 3 times a week..need less to say bills were piling up. I tried to get a lawyer to sue the person that hit us and the lawyer wouldn’t take it be he felt the chiropracter was making me go too many times and plus it was a low impact hit. My insurance wouldn’t pay for any of it. So I was on the other side of the stick and it really sucks when no one will take your case or will pay for it. I hope you get things sorted out pegasi.

[Mimi]

dragonessjade wrote:

So I was on the other side of the stick and it really sucks when no one will take your case or will pay for it.

That is a bad situation…and it does illustrate the other side of the story.

I was curious, how much damage was done to both of the cars involved, and did the ambulance take you to the hospital from the scene of the accident?

[Alyssa]

mimitrek wrote:

dragonessjade wrote:

So I was on the other side of the stick and it really sucks when no one will take your case or will pay for it.

That is a bad situation…and it does illustrate the other side of the story.

I was curious, how much damage was done to both of the cars involved, and did the ambulance take you to the hospital from the scene of the accident?
Well I think my friend’s bumper had to be replaced and his car was fine because it was a older car. And yes, the ambulance did take me to the hospital from the accident.

[Jodi]

I got rear ended by a 16-year-old driver in July 2005 and my insurance company cut me off of benefits. I took it to arbitration and, for some weird reason, lost. I have two years worth of chiropractic and therapy bills. I sometimes walk with a cane and have chronic migraines from the accident. How can I not need medical care? I have a lawsuit pending. At this time, I just want the bills paid for and maybe a little more so I can afford to keep going. I understand that side very well, and it stinks.

[Author]

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