Future implications of kids possible injuries

[Davismht]

What is the name of your state? Colorado

I was involved in a car crash four weeks ago. Two of my children (ages 8 and 16) were with me at the time. The eight year old hit her head and both children have been complaining of back pain and headaches.

I took both of the children to a doctor who said that the pain from muscle strain could last 6 - 8 weeks and that over the counter pain relievers and massage should help. We also saw a chiropractor who immediately put us on maintenance therapy stating that we were in pretty good shape despite the car crash.

So far, I've paid cash for our medical/chiropractor bills: a total of only $285 for the three of us. The adjuster for the party that hit us is asking us to give him legal authority to dig through the kids' medical records and blaming the injuries on previous accidents (there are no prior accidents). He has also offered to pay us $250.00 if we sign some kind of waiver.

This situation brings about two questions:

First, how long should I wait to make sure that the kids have suffered no permanent injuries before I sign the waiver the adjuster is harassing us to sign?

Secondly, in the event that the children are okay...how do I get proof of this just in case they are ever involved in future accidents? I'd hate to have this situation cost them if they suffer major injuries in a car crash down the road.

Any advice would be welcome and most appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

 

[ecmst12]

You should wait until you are all released from treatment by the doctor/chiro before you settle. They should also be paying your medical bills and this is separate from any pain and suffering compensation you are entitled to. The release from the doctors will serve as your proof that you are as fully recovered as you will get from this accident.

If you only heal to 95% (or less) of what you were prior to the accident, that will not hurt you in case of future accidents. The only way it would cause a problem is if you had another accident while you were still treating from this one so there was an acute injury on top of another acute injury. But having a history of trauma doesn't change the fact that if you are injured in another accident, you got that way BECAUSE of the accident, and all the history in the world won't cause an acute injury without new trauma. They can't say they're less liable because of old healed injuries.