need help and advice
 

Ok folks, long story. read if you feel you can give positive input and provide me some help.

Most folks here know that my wife has been seriously ill a long time. Next week she is scheduled for open heart surgery. I was laid off aug 29th and Mon night (sep 8) i was rear ended by another driver.
Now, this driver has claimed complete liability so his insurance company has been out to do its work and offer settlements.

I have a 2003 Olds Alero, blue book value appears to be about 4k. The insurance company wants to call it totalled. I owe 8k to the bank on the car.

I suffered significant back and neck soft tissue damage/strain. I'm in quite a bit of pain but that is expected to subside with about 3 weeks of therapy and followups. The medical adjustors offered 2k to me today.

Because of the loss of vehicle and pain from accident, i've had to cancel or reschedule job interviews as well as turn down one offer of work because of my immobility.

I'm in the state of Texas so any lawyer types who are familiar with property and personal injury law are requested to please advise.

I'm on a time crunch because of the wifes scheduled surgery. I feel i'm about to get royally screwed with a settlement but I also feel that my damages isn't enough to warrant a lawyer.

please respond and advise.

Thanks

DK, I sincerely hope your wife comes through her surgery with flying colors and is healthy and as good as new after her recovery.

First off, I have to admit that I know absolutely NOTHING about auto insurance companies and lawyers in this kind of situation. My state of Michigan is No Fault, which has it's own set of rules (I also don't totally "get").

The first thing I have to say from personal experience is DO NOT TAKE ANY MEDICAL PERSONELS ADVISE ON RECOVERY AND DO NOT ACCEPT A SETTLEMENT BASED ON A PREDICTED RECOVERY!!! I understand not feeling a lawyer is warrented (in our case we couldn't afford one). I was rear-ended in 2000 after I made a completely text-book stop at an itersection on a yellow light. I glanced into the rearview mirror 2 sec's before the asshole slammed into me and I instantly reacted by twisting towards the passenger seat to try to protect my dog from flying into the dash. Didn't happen, poor baby and poor me.

I went through x-rays and an MRI and they said they couldn't find any injury. No fracture, slipped disc, dislocation or anything was found. I went through 3 weeks of PT. It's now 8 yrs. later and the doctor's have never found anything wrong with my back but I have lived with chronic and (mostly) acute back pain ever since (I can go anywhere from a week to a couple of mths with dull instead of acute pain but it's always there). Just because you have the "initial" PT does not mean you are injury free.

The second thing I wanted to address was the whole blue book/insurance value/what you owe. I realize that new vehicles lose quite a bit of value the minute they're bought and driven off the lot. To my inexperienced ass (and I am totally talking out my ass), given that "their" client has admitted total fault, I personally wouldn't want anything less than what was still owed to the bank for the car, regardless of the "blue book" value. I'm quite sure the law will dissagree with me (I'm assuming the 4K value was "before" the car was totalled, dur) and I don't know if you are in a "no fault" state.

Hope something in my rambling made sense and/or helped! Good luck to you and your missus!

Ali

DK,

I'm sorry to hear of your situation. For what it's worth, all I can really offer is my sincere well wishes, thoughts and prayers.

Good luck, I wish you all the best.

Sorry you're having to deal with all of this.

Wishing you both the best on your wife's surgery and your own healing.

Although you think your damages are minimal, it sounds like you should be entitled to some form of disability payment, either through your insurance company or settlement. I'm no pro but I would definitely consult with an attorney. You don't need more headaches at this time, especially with no job or cash flow, so see what you may be entitled to.

Take care, huh?

Whatever the insurance company offered you is almost certainly less than you're entitled to, especially if they know that you're in the middle of a rough patch. I wouldn't sign anything without first consulting with a lawyer that specializes in insurance/personal injury. And if you haven't told the other driver or his insurance company about your other troubles, don't.

Why do you feel rushed to make a decision because of the surgery?

Why don't you let a lawyer decide if it isn't enough? Most will give free counsel for the initial consult.

I got a settlement on my totaled car (rollover) in about a week, while I waited quite a while to submit my medical claims (until treatment was over). I was in chiropractic treatment for months and finally got my claim totally submitted (the insurance guy first assigned to my case changed jobs, so I got stuck in a transition space for about a month when I was trying to figure out who to talk to) about a year after the accident. Received payment a month later, for all of my bills plus about $3.5k for my pain and suffering. I probably should have had a lawyer on my case, honestly, since the pain lasted so long and the insurance company fucked up the process for my claim.

If I were you, I'd try to wait it out and not take a predicted medical payment. What happens if that money doesn't cover future treatment and/or you have long-lasting damage/pain as a result of the accident? You're fucked! In Ohio, anyway, lawyers get access to police accident reports and send out "feelers" in the mail. If that's the case in Texas, you might want to call the phone number(s) on one of their postcards/letters.

Good luck! Being in a car accident is one of the worst feelings ever. I've had two cars totaled and another rear-ended, all literally about a week before I was leaving for college after summer break. It makes repairs/replacing a car a lot more stressful when you have a time limit and a need for transportation.

I'd bet money you have a slightly misaligned spine as a result of the torsion in the accident. I have the same problem. Nothing to be done about it except using highbacked chairs that I lean way back in to take pressure off the muscles, which get sore from constantly trying to realign the spine to where it should be.

And that's a lesson to dksuddeth too - you're exactly right, he's probably got soft tissue or other injuries that won't fully manifest for awhile. Get a personal injury lawyer. They work on commission, not retainer, so you won't be out any money. They'll also bully the other guy's insurance company for you - you can generally add several grand to the payout the minute the ins. co finds out a lawyer's involved.

2K is like spitting in your face. My mom had "no injuries" from an accident almost 10 years ago and her neck still hurts almost daily. Lawyer up; talk to everyone you know and find a good one, most will be no cost if you don't win. If you're still in pain a week later with back and neck pain and it's hampering your job search, you're probably going to have recurring medical costs for years and a jury will likely find that you're entitled to something in the 20-30k range plus legal costs based on typical settlements around here.

I hope it all works out well for you and your wife, the last thing you should have to worry about now is money.

DK, how's it going? Let us know how you are, we are pulling for you.

Best wishes and God bless.

It's a very busy week trying to get the wife prepped for her surgery. I'm still in pain, but because i'm so busy, it doesn't affect me until I lay down to sleep or getting up in the morning. I imagine that this weekend is the one i'm going to feel it the most.

no news on the insurance front yet, probably because they are dealing with Galveston and the damage by Ike.

well it is now official. I hate insurance companies, careless drivers, high risk car dealers, and money grubbing farking lawyers.

I got rear ended, no damned fault of my own, lost my car to damages, can't get any money to get another vehicle, no lawyers are willing to take my case on contingency because there isn't enough damages for them, and what it would cost to pay a retainer will probably be the amount i'd get in a settlement any way.