85 Year Old Father Hit by Van

[smart12237]

What is the name of your state? IL

My 85 year old father was walking through his bank parking lot and got hit by a van. He was knocked down. The police and paramedics arrived, and the woman driving the van (commercial vehicle from local hospital) told police she did not see him. He is hard of hearing also. He refused to go to the hospital because he had a substantial amount of cash on him (I know, that was stupid, but too late now) and was afraid that it would "disappear". Two days later, he was feeling a lot of pain on his right side and went to the emergency room of the same hospital that the van driver works for, and they took some x-rays, said there were no broken bones, and sent him on his way. Two days after that, he was still in pain and went to see his doctor, (affiliated with same hospital) who did not order an MRI or anything, just gave him some pain pills. His doctor is never in the office and has lately had a "don't give a ****" attitude, but he is going to try to see him again tomorrow (next time he has office hours) and insist on some tests. He has also contacted a lawyer who told him he doesn't have a case. Come on! Shouldn't the medical bills at least be paid??

 

[quincy]

Your father really should have been checked out immediately after the accident. Shock often blocks pain and someone may feel well after an accident even if they have sustained injury.
Was the driver of the van ticketed?
It would be hard now to ask for reimbursement of medical expenses, because it would be difficult to prove that anything found wrong with your father at this point was due to the accident. He could have taken a fall since then. You could always present bills to the driver, but she would be under no obligation to pay. Her insurance, however, might cover it if she was found responsible for the accident, but if his attorney said he didn't have a case, he probably doesn't.
I hope he recovers quickly.

 

[lya]

What is the name of your state? IL

My 85 year old father was walking through his bank parking lot and got hit by a van. He was knocked down. The police and paramedics arrived, and the woman driving the van (commercial vehicle from local hospital) told police she did not see him. He is hard of hearing also. He refused to go to the hospital because he had a substantial amount of cash on him (I know, that was stupid, but too late now) and was afraid that it would "disappear". Two days later, he was feeling a lot of pain on his right side and went to the emergency room of the same hospital that the van driver works for, and they took some x-rays, said there were no broken bones, and sent him on his way. Two days after that, he was still in pain and went to see his doctor, (affiliated with same hospital) who did not order an MRI or anything, just gave him some pain pills. His doctor is never in the office and has lately had a "don't give a ****" attitude, but he is going to try to see him again tomorrow (next time he has office hours) and insist on some tests. He has also contacted a lawyer who told him he doesn't have a case. Come on! Shouldn't the medical bills at least be paid??

Your father should file a claim against the driver's insurance and should seek consultation with an attorney who has personal injury experience. Day two after an injury is the most common time for pain and stiffness to begin. Day three, the pain and stiffness is worse. Day four, bruises start to appear (the color changes to the blue/purple).

The color of bruises is the best way to document the passage of time and prevent someone from claiming your father fell later. Take photos each day of the bruises; hold the days newspaper or other similarly dated object (not the date on the camera).

Find the right attorney! AND!!!!! Find the right physician for your father, too, one who advertises as treating geriatric patients. Older patients are not the same as other adults and they need a physician who has the sense and the experience to provide care to this special population.

 

[ecmst12]

I highly doubt anyone is going to question that his pain is due to getting hit by the car just because it took a few days to show up; that's normal.

It's also normal not to order an MRI, which costs thousands of dollars, when the only complaint is pain and stiffness after an auto accident. If pain persists for many weeks after treatment with medication and/or physical therapy, then further testing may be indicated, but not at this point.

However, if he is going to be considered "at fault" for the accident, then the driver's auto insurance isn't going to pay for anything and it will be up to his own health or auto insurance to cover the bills. At the time of the accident, was he walking in a designated pedestrian walkway? Was he paying attention to where he was going? Was he walking between cars or cutting across lanes? Fault is harder to determine in a parking lot, if the police report assigned fault that might help.