• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

car accident, PIP adjuster won't pay medical or rehab bills

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

nikos

Member
What is the name of your state? Colorado

I was in an auto accident a little over two years ago. My vehicle was totalled (they stopped calculating damage at $11,500 and deemed it a "total loss") and I have ongoing injuries for which I am seeking treatment. My insurance had the PIP (NOT sloan's lake) on it at the time, as the policy hadn't renewed yet. The other driver was at fault and was cited for several violations... failure to stop when lights were out, careless and reckless driving, speeding, etc.

I immediately started treatment for a mild head injury, neck, back and numerous other injuries. I was sent for TMJ and vestibular therapy by my neurologist (one of the most respected in the state I have been told).

Approximately 1 1/2 months after the accident, I got pregnant. During the pregnancy I was extremely sick, to the point they were considering hospitalization at 5 months along.

I was put on medication (zofran) to control the vomiting which worked well enough to keep me out of the hospital. I was on the maximum dosage of zofran as frequently as allowed from 4 months up until delivery.

Under the advice of my OBGYN, and using my own judgement, I did not seek treatment for my auto accident related injuries until I had delivered my baby. The only exception to this was 4 visits to a chiro referred by the OBGYN for acupuncture and back/neck adjustment to ease the extreme pain I was in from the car accident. There was NO way I could have tolerated any sort of PT, vestibular therapy, vision therapy, TMJ treatment, etc during the pregnancy.

I began treatment again with my neurologist and original chiro about 3 weeks after having my baby. The neuro referred me for Physical Therapy and to an orthopaedic surgeon to evaluate my knees and shoulder, and he also referred me to PT (and eventual surgery if PT fails).

The PT office made me wait 3-4 months to set an appointment as they wanted to get authorization from the auto insurance that they would pay for it. I started a PT program and was making continual progress.

The auto insurance adjuster bee-ach (after telling me on the phone to go ahead and start PT), waited until I had been going to PT 2xper week for 2 months, to tell me that she is not going to pay ANY bills, not even the ones that are already generated. She ordered 3 IME's, chiro, neuro, and orthopaedic surgeon. I went to the chiro IME who is recommending 3-6 months for both PT and chiropractic and then recommending to re-evaluate after that six months. The other 2 IME's were cancelled by the doctors for nonpayment by the insurance company.

Still the PIP adjuster refuses to pay ANY bills. I have been asked several times by everyone why I don't just sue the insurance co for my policy limits so I can pay my own bills. Seems logical, but is that realistic? Barring the nonsensical television commercials for attorneys claiming that they got accident victims loads of cash, I have found evidence to support that actually happening.

Is it possible to get a settlement from my auto insurance for the remainder of my policy limits (taking into account they were paying some bills for a short time)? And if so, how? And is it possible to do this without an attorney and giving up 1/3 automatically? If for example, my remaining limits were $100,000, I should have $100,000 worth of treatment to look forward to. If I sue and have to use a lawyer and give them 33%, I now have only $66,700 to pay for treatment.

Am I better off just trying to get the insurance to pay as I go along? What happens when they really start to ruin my credit by refusing to pay my medical providers?
 
Last edited:


DGO1223

Member
You needed a lawyer MONTHS ago..:eek: You will never be able to navigate thru this without one, unless a miracle happens.

They will agree to very little for you on their own. You need help to get into their pockets and fork over money to pay for all this, through no fault of your own.

66% of SOMETHING is better than 100% of nothing.

I just noticed it has been over 2 years?!?! I'm not sure where that leaves you, depending on what your state laws are. I hope it's not too late for you.

Nobody says you need to try to sue anyone for "loads" of cash, but you need to be compensated for all these expenses, and possible future expenses.

Good luck
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top