Husband was in an accident, lots of problems help please

[cariboo11]

What is the name of your state? Ohio
My husband was in in accident on December 9th.It was at an intersection, and the other driver pulled out in front of him, my husband had no, choice but, to hit him. It happened so close, he could not stop. The other driver is at fault, and said he had the same insurance as us,When we called to report the accident to th insurance company, they said this other driver was not in their computer. The next day the insurance company called to say he was uninsured, and wanted to pay for our car repairs out of his own pocket.We waited for this other driver to contact. Meanwhile, we had no other transportation, and 2 kids, we had to go through christmas and everything very stressed out, and no transportation. Then, on the 28th of December, the insurance company called, and said there was a mistake, and the other driver is insured, and they intend on giving us a "sizable" settlement. They also offered us $70 a day for inconvenience of not having a rental car since the accident. Our car will be in the shop on tuesday. The biggest problem in all of this is that my husband has Chron's disease, and before he was in the accident he was in the best health he was in years, but after the accident, he has had the worst flare up of the disease he has ever had. It will take a very long time for him to get back to normal. Is this what you would call pain and suffering? And, how can you put a price on it? The insurance co. first offered$500. But, saw that we are not happy with that.They said they do not want to go to court. Any suggestions out there? Thanks

 

[Indiana Filer]

Crohn's Disease sucks!

The biggest problem in all of this is that my husband has Chron's disease, and before he was in the accident he was in the best health he was in years, but after the accident, he has had the worst flare up of the disease he has ever had.

I don't know about the money, but as a fellow Crohnnie, I wanted to offer my best wishes to your husband, and ask a question.

Did he go to his gastroenterologist after the wreck? It's possible that he may have damaged his intestinal tract somehow, perhaps by the force of the seatbelt during the collision. This could cause minor perforations which could be the cause of the flareup. Of course, it could just be the stress. He might have to take a short-term dose of prednisone (yuck) to get his system to behave again. A medrol (spelling?) pack for 6 days might be all that's needed.

Either way, it would probably be a good idea for your husband to go to see his gastro just in case. Plus, if you do end up filing a claim for pain and suffering, you have medical proof.

I hope your husband gets better. I'm off to get my Remicade in the morning, so I'm hoping for another 10 weeks of no flares!

C

 

[cariboo11]

Thanks! He is going to his gastro tomorrow. Hopefully he will help as far as the pain and things go.

 

[cariboo11]

Well, my husband went to the doctor last night, and his doctor said yes, this flare up is most definately from the accident. He said he would help us in any way needed as far as claims or anything goes. My husband now had to start prednisone medication for a month to get his disease back under control. Now as far as car repairs go, our insurance was supposed to get our car towed to the repair shop yesterday, and as of today, no tow, no calls. We called the rep that is supposed to be taking care of it, and she was extremely rude, saying Maybe by the end of the week, and as long as we have our rental car, we shouldn't be worried about things. She ended up hanging up on my husband! There are a lot of issues here that need attention like car repair, and my husbands health. Haven't we been through enough? It will be 1 month on sunday since the accident. Should we contact a lawyer now?

 

[Who's Liable?]

You should have gotten a lawyer the day your husband was in an accident...

One thing is that most people think the Insurance will "do the right thing" or "take care of them"... This is NOT the case.. Insurance companies want to pay the LEAST amount in payouts...

Get a lawyer right away and go after them for everything...

 

[cariboo11]

I contacted a PI law firm, and they acted like they didn't know what my husbands disease was. The lawyer I talked to said that he didn't see a reason for us to have a lawyer. Now, this morning the insurance rep called, and said that she is ready to talk about a settlement with my husband. Should we talk with her, or our own rep? Or should we try and find another lawyer? Oh, and by the way, our car still isn't in the shop yet. It was a monthe yesterday since the accident.

 

[HomeGuru]

Keep searching for the right attorney.

 

[Indiana Filer]

I contacted a PI law firm, and they acted like they didn't know what my husbands disease was. The lawyer I talked to said that he didn't see a reason for us to have a lawyer. Now, this morning the insurance rep called, and said that she is ready to talk about a settlement with my husband. Should we talk with her, or our own rep? Or should we try and find another lawyer? Oh, and by the way, our car still isn't in the shop yet. It was a monthe yesterday since the accident.

Most people don't understand what Crohn's Disease is, so don't be surprised at the lawyer not knowing. People just think we have "bathroom problems" and don't realize that it's actually disabling. (I had to retire on a medical at 29 because of the disease.)

Before you see another lawyer, go to the official Crohn's & Colitis site and print out some information to let them know what your husband is dealing with. http://www.ccfa.org

I'd definitely talk to another lawyer before accepting any settlement.

Good luck!

 

[cariboo11]

well, the other drivers insurance adjuster called my husband this morning, and said all she can offer as a settlement is $1,000.She said she has someone in her family that has chron's and she understands what my husband is going through. Also, since my husband didn't miss work or anything we aren't entitled to any more.The problem now is that my husband has to have a special blood test done, and it has to be sent to California to be done. Our insurance company only will pay 70% of it, and we have to pay $551.25 more for it to be done. The adjuster said thats our problem. If it weren't for all the b.s. that has happened in the last month or so, we wouldn't be going through this. We are not trying to get rich from this. We just want whats fair.

 

[cariboo11]

Well, now a little more confusion. Yesterday we recieved a check in the mail for repairs to the car for $2,490.00 The repair shop hasn't even called with an estimate yet. The adjuster hasn't called and said they were sending a check. So, we are pretty in the dark about everything thats going on. Between the car repairs and the whole settlement thing we just aren't sure what to do now. Should we just keep waiting? Thanks for all your input in this confusing matter!!!

 

[nanaII]

Do not sign and cash that check!

I hope I caught you in time.. Do NOT cash that check. If you do, it means you have agreed to settle with them on your car. Your car hasn't even been looked at. You need to get ahold of an attorney ASAP. Was there a letter with the check??

 

[cariboo11]

Thanks. No, we have no intentions on cashing the check. It did come with a letter stating that it was for repairs on the car. There are 2 different adjusters working on this case, and it's almost like they are both going different routes on taking care of the matter. Is this normal?

 

[nanaII]

Two adjusters

You said there are two adjusters? I assume one is from your insurance company and one is from the insurance company of person who hit you?

 

[cariboo11]

yes, one adjuster is supposed to be representing us, and the other is for the other driver.But, the check came from our adjuster, and he seems to be doing all the work for the other driver. It's really confusing. Our adjuster hasn't even contacted us in weeks. We have been talking to the other driver's adjuster. She said a week ago that she was going to pull up my husbands medical records for review for the settlement. She told us that it would be about 2 weeks before she would contact us back. It seems to us that she just wants us to get fed up of waiting and call her and say nevermind, we'll just settle for the $1,000. But, we refuse to do that. Are we right in waiting for her to call?

 

[cariboo11]

Well, the car is fixed, and now in our posession. Before we got it back., the adjuster called us, and asked if we were ready to accept the $1,000 settlement they offered. She said she has not yet recieved my husbands medical records, so we told her to just wait to get them. That was almost 2 weeks ago. She supposedly ordered them almost a month ago. We don't feel that the $1,000 is sufficient at all. And, my husband has another appointment with the specialist tonight. What do we do now? Are we just supposed to wait for her to contact us, or do we call her? Thanks.