Rear ended with lots of confusion

[confusedinKy]

What is the name of your state? Kentucky.

I was involved in an accident where I was rearended while waiting for a light to turn green. I have been in car accidents before but none involving any personal injuries where the other party is at fault. I have many questions but the ones pertaining to any legal recourse are the ones I am chosing to ask advice on at this time.

On the 24th of July while waiting for a light to turn green, I was rear ended at approximately 35 to 40mph (according to the police report) and then struck the vehicle in front of me. There were two occupants of the vehicle which struck mine, I was the sole occupant in my car, and three in the vehicle in front of me. At the scene both occupants of the car that struck mine were taken to the hospital and two of the people in the van in front of me also went to the hospital. At this point I am un aware of the current conditions of any of these people. The day after the accident I went to the ER was daignosed with muscle spasams in my neck and uper back, given perscriptions for pain inflamation and one for a muscle relaxant. I wasn't X rayed, just given an exam consisting of some pushing pulling and testing of the strength in my hands. The ER doc told me that I could return to work the next day (wednesday), if symptoms persisted I could return for a follow up at the end of the week. After work on wednesday I felt unsure that I could complete my assigned duties which require a fair ammount of manual dexterity and the use of both of my arms to be effective.

On thursday I followed up at a doctors office was finaly Xrayed, and it was dertermined that there was no skeletal damage. The original diagnoses of muscle spasams, and general neck pain was confirmend. The doctor also ordered me to go to get an evaluation from a PT. to determine what if any work restrictions I should have.

On Friday my car was totaled.

I have recived a PIP packet from my insurance carrier, and have yet to fill it out. The pain that is in my back and shoulder is not particularly intense, accute, or debiltating, yet it is there and leaves me doubting that I can do my job effectivly.

I don't know anything about what my medical bills are, or what kinds of settlements that I may be entitled to( which if these threads are any indications will be anyones guess). I am also wondering if I have enough of a case to take to a Lawyer. In addition to these questions I also wonder if or when I should contact the insurance carrier of the person who hit my car. ANY advice on this would be very helpfull to me. Even if its just to say "yup, thats enough to get a Lawyer for". Thanks.

 

[moburkes]

You can obtain a lawyer right away. You should have already contacted the insurance company of the person who hit your vehicle.

 

[confusedinKy]

You can obtain a lawyer right away. You should have already contacted the insurance company of the person who hit your vehicle.

At the scene of the accident both of the persons who were in the vehicle that hit mine were taken to the hospital before I could even find out their names. I had to wait for the police report to be ready on Friday before I found out anything about them.

As for contacting the other insurance company my carrier is handleing all but my five hundred dollar de-ductable, which I intend to hit them up for. Is having the lawyer of my choice approach them for what ever pain and suffering more advisable than handling it myself?

 

[ecmst12]

Your insurance company should refund your deductible themselves after the other driver's insurance accepts liability for the accident, which could take some time. But hopefully you won't have to sue anyone for it.

Yes, you will have a much easier time hiring a lawyer if you want to get money for pain and suffering.

 

[moburkes]

Your insurance company should refund your deductible themselves after the other driver's insurance accepts liability for the accident, which could take some time. But hopefully you won't have to sue anyone for it.

Yes, you will have a much easier time hiring a lawyer if you want to get money for pain and suffering.

Are you kidding me? The only way the to get their deductible back is for either the OP or the insurance company to sue the at fault party. If the insurance company gets reimbursed for the collision (the process is called subrogation), they will also ask for the customer's deductible back. They are "refunding" anything! The reason why they aren't refunding anything is because you don't pay the deductible to the insurance company. The insurance will pay for repairs to be made to the vehicle, minus the deductble. Therefore, the insurance company has nothing to "refund" the customer with.

Yes, you will have a much easier time hiring a lawyer if you want to get money for pain and suffering

I think you mean to say that they will have an easier asking for pain and suffering if they get help from a lawyer. It reads as if they need help hiring a lawyer.

 

[confusedinKy]

On side note, I was wondering if the severity of my injuries dictate the validity of any case I may have. I work for a major package shipping company, my job requires me to push and pull on containers of packages ranging from 2500 to as heavy as 6000 pounds. Very physicaly intensive work. While in day to day situations that dont require alot of stress on my back and shoulders I just feel soreness and a pulling sensation, I am afraid that I may seriously injure myself if I try to go back at 100% due to the nature of my job. I will be going to a PT tommorow for an evaluation. Heres a problem that has popped up: the PT didn't get back to me when they were supposed to. IE should I try to go to work tonight with out the PT's eval? More directly should I wait for the eval to determine the severity of my claim?

Oh and by the way, I have no idea how to pick the right lawyer. Any ideas on that would be helpfull as well.

 

[ecmst12]

You can't determine the validity of your case without more information from your doctors. It sounds like you don't even know how badly you're hurt right now. We can't advise you whether or not to go to work; that is between you, your doctor, and your employer. A lawyer could assess the strength of your case but even for that he would need to see your medical records. If you consult with the lawyer now, he can tell you what steps you need to take to protect your case.

I will say this - in cases where I have had to pay out my deductible for an accident that wasn't my fault, MY insurance company refunded the $500 to me the very day the other company accepted liability. They then went after the other insurance company for subrogation of all money that they put out, including the deductible and the cost to repair my car, so I didn't have to deal with the other company. Maybe my insurance company is better then every other company, but I don't think I am the only person who has had this experience. I call it good customer service.

 

[moburkes]

You can't determine the validity of your case without more information from your doctors. It sounds like you don't even know how badly you're hurt right now. We can't advise you whether or not to go to work; that is between you, your doctor, and your employer. A lawyer could assess the strength of your case but even for that he would need to see your medical records. If you consult with the lawyer now, he can tell you what steps you need to take to protect your case.

I will say this - in cases where I have had to pay out my deductible for an accident that wasn't my fault, MY insurance company refunded the $500 to me the very day the other company accepted liability. They then went after the other insurance company for subrogation of all money that they put out, including the deductible and the cost to repair my car, so I didn't have to deal with the other company. Maybe my insurance company is better then every other company, but I don't think I am the only person who has had this experience. I call it good customer service.

Its not a refund. You can only REFUND money that someone gave you. If they have reasonable expectation that they will get the money that they are asking for back, then, sure, they can "front" it to you. But, its still not a refund. When did you give the money to your insurance company, in order for them to give it back to you?

 

[ecmst12]

Ok, techically you are correct that it was not a "refund". But I think you are playing with semantics. Bottom line, I got a check from my insurance company as a reimbursement of the money I paid to the repair shop, and hopefully the OP's insurance company will provide this service also, so he won't have to sue for the deductible.

 

[moburkes]

Ok, techically you are correct that it was not a "refund". But I think you are playing with semantics. Bottom line, I got a check from my insurance company as a reimbursement of the money I paid to the repair shop, and hopefully the OP's insurance company will provide this service also, so he won't have to sue for the deductible.

They will automatically do that. Its nothing new. Whether or not they send you the deductible back right away, or when they receive it, may differ by company. However, when they subrogate, they are still representing the insured, so they will ask for the deductible as well.


We also don't know, in this situation, if the insured will be held partially responsible for hitting the car in front of him. If he had been a "safe" distance behind it, he may not have hit in when he was hit. But that's a whole 'nother story.