Rear ended can I settle with insurance on my own?

[avaya]

What is the name of your state?
California

I was rear ended sitting at a red light the other driver failed to stop in time, his speed was about 25mph. The damage to my rear bumper is fair (large scratch across). There was no police report and no witnesses.

The impact however was strong enough to give me whiplash and muscle strain on my neck. And I do honestly have these pains. On that same day I went to see my primary doctor and he comfirmed this.

I'm planning on seeing a chiropractor for the pain.

I have the option to go with an attorney but I was wondering if it would be ok for me to contact the other's driver insurance co. and request to settle the case for approximately $3000.

If so, what would be my basis for settling, what are the important details I need to point out for the insurance to reasonably accept my offer? If not I would have to continue to receive medical treatment from a chiropractor for 3 months 3x a week, plus X rays, plus loss of work days.

Also, I suffer from anxiety and this accident is not helping with my recovery.

Any inputs is appreciated, thank you.

 

[ecmst12]

You can ask for whatever you want but if you have not received treatment for your injuries then you will not get anywhere near that kind of compensation. If it's not bad enough for you to seek treatment rather then just a look-over by your primary care doctor, then it's certainly not worth $3k.

Better idea would be to file a medical claim with the other driver's insurance. Go get your treatment and send them the bills. When your treatment is complete, then you can think about settling for pain and suffering. You will need x-rays, too, the full workup. This is the medical evidence you will need to back up your pain and suffering claim.

I don't know if lost work time due to doctors appointments but not due to actual inability to work will be something that you can claim or not.

 

[avaya]

You can ask for whatever you want but if you have not received treatment for your injuries then you will not get anywhere near that kind of compensation. If it's not bad enough for you to seek treatment rather then just a look-over by your primary care doctor, then it's certainly not worth $3k.

Better idea would be to file a medical claim with the other driver's insurance. Go get your treatment and send them the bills. When your treatment is complete, then you can think about settling for pain and suffering. You will need x-rays, too, the full workup. This is the medical evidence you will need to back up your pain and suffering claim.

I don't know if lost work time due to doctors appointments but not due to actual inability to work will be something that you can claim or not.

Ok I'll get the treatment first, however, should I use my own health insurance?
I did loose a day of work on the day of the accident for both a doctor's appt. and due to the trauma of the accident.

-Edit-
Actually my whole purpose to put an offer on the table prior to continue with the case, is to give the opportunity for the insurance co. to settle instead of going through the whole process. Is this reasonable?

If not since that I need to back my case, should I just go with my appointed autorney and have him handle this?

 

[mikeb7418]

Be careful with trying to settle too soon. I too was rear ended about 7 months ago. Initial diagnosis was whiplash (confirmed by ER, chiro and family doctor). After several months of PT, adjustments, I was not getting better. I went for further testes and it turns out I have 2 herniated discs and nerve damage confirmed by an EMG. If I would have settled early, I would not have received even close to what I might get due to the true extent of my injuries, etc. Good luck...I hope it turns out to be just a neck strain/whiplash, etc.

 

[avaya]

Be careful with trying to settle too soon. I too was rear ended about 7 months ago. Initial diagnosis was whiplash (confirmed by ER, chiro and family doctor). After several months of PT, adjustments, I was not getting better. I went for further testes and it turns out I have 2 herniated discs and nerve damage confirmed by an EMG. If I would have settled early, I would not have received even close to what I might get due to the true extent of my injuries, etc. Good luck...I hope it turns out to be just a neck strain/whiplash, etc.

Thank you for the advice, I thought about that also. So far it looks like whiplash.

 

[ecmst12]

I would advise NOT using your health insurance. You will have to pay the copay and you will also have to reimburse them out of whatever settlement you end up getting. If you have medical payments coverage on your auto insurance, use that, if not let the other driver's insurance pick up the bills.

Whether you decide to get a lawyer or not, you definitely shouldn't settle until your treatment is complete or nearly so. Because you won't know the full extent of your injuries at this early date, and neither will they. The settlement is based on what you DID suffer, not what you MIGHT suffer. And by waiting until treatment is complete, you lower the chances that you'll have future medical bills which will be outside of the settlement.

 

[avaya]

I would advise NOT using your health insurance. You will have to pay the copay and you will also have to reimburse them out of whatever settlement you end up getting. If you have medical payments coverage on your auto insurance, use that, if not let the other driver's insurance pick up the bills.

Whether you decide to get a lawyer or not, you definitely shouldn't settle until your treatment is complete or nearly so. Because you won't know the full extent of your injuries at this early date, and neither will they. The settlement is based on what you DID suffer, not what you MIGHT suffer. And by waiting until treatment is complete, you lower the chances that you'll have future medical bills which will be outside of the settlement.

Great thank you. One more thing, if I go through a lawyer and his appointed doctor for treatment. Do I have to pay anything out of pocket?

 

[ecmst12]

Ok. A lawyer will not appoint you a doctor, YOU choose the doctor. The insurance company *may* want you to have an independant medical evaluation with a doctor of their choosing, but that wouldn't be for your treatment, and wouldn't be until much later anyway. Whether or not you hire a lawyer, you shouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket for your medical bills. I explained that already.

 

[MikeKV]

I have not read through all the replys so sorry if this has already been suggested.

The first step when you are involved in an accident is, if possible, exchange insurance information with the other driver. Then, you should report the accident to your insurance company. While your on the phone with your insurance company they will ask for the other driver's information. Then, since it sounds as if the accident was NOT your fault usually your insurance company will handle all claims (including health related) against the other driver's insurance company. You typically should not have to contact the other driver's insurance company. Also, a lawyer is needed when additional costs (pain and suffering, etc...) are to be collected from the accident. The other driver's insurance company should pay for your health matters related to the accident. I believe if you are covered under coverages such as PIP this will cover health related costs when accidents occur but the accident would need to be reported to your insurance company first before PIP is involved.

BTW - my wife just added that if there was an injury from the accident you really should have waited for a police report to be filed.

Again, this is all assuming that you were NOT at fault.

Gee, why haven't you reported this accident to your insurance company? Some of the money that you pay your insurance company each month goes towards having them represent you when auto accidents happen whether it's your fault or not. Sorry to seem like i'm being a bit harsh but I'm hoping to be helpful for you.

Lastly, I am not a lawyer and not considered an expert in these matters but I have been recently in two accidents that were not my fault. I followed what I suggest and all have been resolved with little or no effort from my part thanks to my insurance company.

 

[ecmst12]

If you're not going to read the responses, don't post. Quite a lot of your advice is not applicable to the poster's situation. If he doesn't have medical payments coverage on his insurance, they're not going to do anything for him. And he wasn't asking about property damage.

 

[MikeKV]

I was only trying to help. Also, I find it hard to believe that reporting the accident to his insurance company and making sure that a police report was filed is not applicable to his questions.

 

[ecmst12]

Reporting the accident to his own insurance is only applicable if he has medical payments coverage available, which he may not. If he doesn't, they can't do anything for him. And a police report may be required per state law but it's not required for insurance purposes, they can determine fault without it. OP was rear ended so that pretty much says it all.

 

[MikeKV]

Reporting the accident to his own insurance is only applicable if he has medical payments coverage available, which he may not. If he doesn't, they can't do anything for him. And a police report may be required per state law but it's not required for insurance purposes, they can determine fault without it. OP was rear ended so that pretty much says it all.

I have to respectfully disagree. Reporting the accident to his insurance company will aid the no-fault driver with claims that are necessary including medical. When I was involved in a no-fault accident my insurance company contacted PIP and began the process to have PIP cover any medical payments up to the maximum coverage. Also, ensuring that a police report is filed is not specifically for insurance purposes it is also for documentation purposes if needed in the future. Again, it will aid in the investigation (by insurance companies) of the accident.

The overall point that I am trying to make is that it will not hurt (and it should only help) to notify an insurance company in a no-fault accident (or any accident) and when a health related incident occurs in an auto accident ensuring that a police report is filed aids in the investigation against the other (at-fault) driver.

I've been in 2 recent no-fault accidents. One of the accidents involved totaling my car and my wife being injured as a passenger. The police report that was filed aided in the OVERALL investigation of the accident. While PIP did not need the police report to decide to cover medical expenses the insurance companies used the police report to determine that the "other" driver was at fault and to cover additional medical expenses that PIP did not cover. Lastly, by me notifying my insurance company they handled everything (at no cost to me) including notifying PIP and communication with the "other" insurance company. In my experience an insurance company would rather communicate with another insurance company rather than the "other" driver.

 

[ecmst12]

And California is not a no-fault state, so explain to me how no-fault has ANYTHING to do with his situation?

Auto insurance laws vary WILDLY from state to state and your experience has very little bearing to someone whose accident happened in a different state. You haven't even said where your accidents occurred.

Like I said, his insurance company will only help him if he has PIP or medical payments coverage. This coverage is NOT mandatory in California and many people don't have it. This is why I said you need to READ before you post. Because OP was already advised of what he should do to get his medical bills paid for, and your posts are just going to confuse the issue.

 

[stephenk]

First, when did the accident happen?

Other than the one exam by your own doctor, you haven't treated with anyone, right? So how do you know you will be treating 3 times a week for 3 months? If your only damage is a scratched rear bumper it obviously wasn't a strong impact. Do you have any pre-existing medical conditions? If no, then your soft tissue "injuries" will most likely resolve on their own within 3-4 weeks.

Other than paying for the scratch to your bumper the other carrier will not offer any money until they get your treatment records and billing. Plus they will need something from your employer regarding time you will claim you lost from work related to the accident.

If you do happen to hire an attorney, most have lists of clinics they work with that will provide treatment on a lien basis. Your best bet for having your medical treatment considered valid would be to go through your own doctor for treatment and/or referrals for therapy.