Separate Accidents, Shared Personal Injury Liability?

[Membody]

This is in reference to two separate auto accidents in Florida where I was not at-fault.

I got rear-ended in December 2017. I went to the hospital to get my head checked out, but did not seek any kind of treatment after. I was involved in a second accident a year and a half later, and now have a neck/back injury for which I am being treated.

Question: could the first accident have contributed to the injury I have now, even though no significant symptoms appeared at the time? Would I have grounds to file a personal injury claim for the first accident, in addition to the second? Neither has been settled yet. The gentleman who hit me in the first accident had a 250K BI policy and I wanted to give his insurance company more incentive to increase their settlement offer. I have not brought it up to them yet though...

I have an attorney representing me for the second accident, but not the first.

Thoughts?

--Maggie

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Could it have, sure.

Is there some way you could prove it, doubtful.

 

[Membody]

Fair enough, my attorney for the second accident said the same thing pretty much.

Thanks!

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Then keep listening to your lawyer. He seems to know his stuff.

 

[adjusterjack]

Would I have grounds to file a personal injury claim for the first accident, in addition to the second? Neither has been settled yet. The gentleman who hit me in the first accident had a 250K BI policy and I wanted to give his insurance company more incentive to increase their settlement offer.

There's a contradiction in there. The first sentence implies that you haven't made a claim for the first accident. The second sentence implies that you made a claim, got an offer, but haven't settled. Care to clarify that?

At any rate you aren't likely to get beans on the first accident with no treatment and no symptoms for a year and a half.