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OT - A Christmas Miracle

Well it's not what you might have thought, I didn't get a new tank or fancy controller or anything like that.....

I was driving in Pleasanton with my whole family on the 21st and a woman ran the light on W. Las Positas and Hopyard and broadsided us in my Civic. Why is that a Christmas miracle you ask? The first person I saw when I realized what happened was a jolly fellow with a large white beard. Ok, it wasn't Saint Nic but he was there to make sure we were ok. Surprisingly Me, my wife and both my kids walked away from the car to be greeted by none other than Officer Stocking from the Pleasanton PD.

The bad news is our car is the foor ended up in my seat, my insurance totaled the car and we've been going to the Chiropractor since then. The good news is we are doing much better.

civic-totalled.jpg
 
Wow, thank God you and your family are OK. If you have any questions about the insurance process, please let me know. I'm in the insurance industry and used to be a claims adjuster. BTW, did the lady's insurance company accept full liability for the accident?
 
Wow! Thank God you're pretty much OK. Theresa was rear ended and went to the Chiropractor for 8 months because of it. How are your backs doing?
 
Yikes! Glad you and your family are OK. I hope that there are no long term repercussions and that you all really do come out unscathed!
 
Glad you and your family are OK man.. Make sure you guys go to the doctor and get a lawer. A lot of time your body doesn't feel after 6 months or 1 year later. Get a lot of rest..
 
Hey Levi, glad to hear you and the family are ok. Take care and take it easy on your back and neck... Big water changes can wait!
 
Thanks all! We are watching what we do and trying to get back to normal slowly. We don't know if we will need an attorney yet, since she ran a red light it should be pretty cut and dry. I'll know more when I see the police report which I should have this week.
 
An attorney helps you deal with her insurance company not her.. Most if not all insurance companies will not pay you and your family much for all the troubles/pain you guys are going through.
 
Levi, don't jump at a lawyer just yet unless you have a close friend or family member that's willing to provide gratis consultation services. Speaking as a former claims rep, your best bet is to work with your insurance carrier on your health and property damage issues first. You pay your insurance premiums for a reason, so put your insurance company to work! ;)

You may have to shell out your deductible first, but if you can afford it, don't fight that. Good auto insurance policies will have a waiver of deductible endorsement, that will waive your deductible if the other party is determined at fault. If you're blessed with a generous adjuster, they'll waive your deductible even if you don't have that endorsement.

Make sure your insurance company fights for you! If they haven't already determined liability yet, I would call them twice a day for a status. Have they spoken with the other driver yet? Have they determined liability? etc.

I'd also get the specifics on who's paying the medical bills right now. I know it's a hassle, but keep tabs on how much the treatment is costing. Of course, the best bet would be to have the other driver's company pay for them as they come up, but that's not always possible. You may have to pay some bills up front, but I would absolutely check with my insurance company, and my medical provider, about what happens when (not if) the insurance company decides to pare down the medical bill. I don't think I've ever confronted a time when an insurance company saw the medical bills and said "oh, everything on here was necessary for treatment".

In any case, that's my opinion on what you can do to protect yourself.
 
[quote author=itsacrispy link=topic=5733.msg71897#msg71897 date=1230586139]
Have they spoken with the other driver yet? Have they determined liability? etc.
....
I'd also get the specifics on who's paying the medical bills right now.[/quote]

No, my insurance hasn't talked to her insurance yet, we are still waiting for the police report but she will be at fault based on the reports given by 3 witnesses and my family. Right now my insurance is taking care of medical expenses (up to 5k per person) under my policy and they already took care of our car and gave us fair market value (well they will be giving that to us but we haven't seen a check yet).

Someone told me my insurance can't bill her insurance for medical bills, is that true?
 
That's true, they can't bill the other company during your treatment, they'll usually subrogate them after they determine liability.

You'll probably have to seek settlement from the other insurance company for your medical bills after the $5,000 is used up. Another thing to do, if you haven't already, is to check your family's health insurance and homeowner's policies. File a claim with them as well, so you don't have to pay for the bills out of your own pocket. Your homeowners policy may not cover auto-related injuries, but your health insurance should have some provisions for coverage.

It's also best to settle once your medical treatment is completed. Of course, if your treatment is dragging on for 6 months and your family still isn't feeling better, you might want to look for other means of treatment. I believe you have one year from the date of the accident to settle the claim, at which point the statute of limitations kicks into effect and either you go to court or get nothing.

In any case, I don't mean to raise your heart rate with this stuff. It definitely looks open and shut, I just don't want you to get taken advantage of for something that wasn't even your fault.
 
Na, we have a really good doctor who is helping us track our progress we've been advised to try to not settle with the insurance until we have been back to normal activities for as much as 4 weeks without issues.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice and kind words, we were really lucky things have turned out as well as they have so far.
 
[quote author=itsacrispy link=topic=5733.msg71957#msg71957 date=1230613624]
Sounds like you got a good doctor Levi, that's very refreshing :)[/quote]
Yay it is. He got my hip fixed up right away but my back is taking longer. I'm starting stretches this week so as long as that goes well...... I'll just leave it that :)
 
[quote author=LeviT link=topic=5733.msg71981#msg71981 date=1230647488]
[quote author=itsacrispy link=topic=5733.msg71957#msg71957 date=1230613624]
Sounds like you got a good doctor Levi, that's very refreshing :)[/quote]
Yay it is. He got my hip fixed up right away but my back is taking longer. I'm starting stretches this week so as long as that goes well...... I'll just leave it that :)
[/quote]

Mine took a year to feel better but it's an injury that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I still re-injury it every now and then as it never fully healed :( Stick with your stretches for sure, they help a LOT!
 
[quote author=GreshamH link=topic=5733.msg72042#msg72042 date=1230684030]
Mine took a year to feel better but it's an injury that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I still re-injury it every now and then as it never fully healed :( Stick with your stretches for sure, they help a LOT![/quote]
Any tips on settling? What would you have done different? I just got the police report and it clearly states she ran the light so that is great but I have yet to talk to her insurance.
 
Levi, don't sign any settlement papers until you know the extent of your injuries, take at least 8 weeks, if not more. When spinal injuries are involved the insurance companies want to settle out quick in case you have long term problems. That said, I hope everthing works out well for you and I'm glad you and your family were not hurt too bad.
 
[quote author=LeviT link=topic=5733.msg72046#msg72046 date=1230692029]
[quote author=GreshamH link=topic=5733.msg72042#msg72042 date=1230684030]
Mine took a year to feel better but it's an injury that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I still re-injury it every now and then as it never fully healed :( Stick with your stretches for sure, they help a LOT![/quote]
Any tips on settling? What would you have done different? I just got the police report and it clearly states she ran the light so that is great but I have yet to talk to her insurance.
[/quote]

I was rear ended by an illegal alien driving a company van exciting onto Coleman from 880 north. He hit me doing like 30 mph and it friggen rocked me silly. There was another accident right in front of us with a CHP on scene. He told us to get off the freeway and some one would come over. No one did so I called 911 and then they responded. The CHP scolded me for leaving the freeway and wouldn't listen to any reason, like the other CHP telling me to leave. It was like the twilight zone :D I ended up with a sprained right wrist, sprained left ankle and whip lash to both my neck and lower back. I saw the guy even before he noticed he was going to hit me. I was watching for just that very thing and saw his just before his face turned from "la ti da" to "oh crap" to "I'm fcked". I braced myself with my wrists on the steering wheel and with my left leg....kinda a bad idea in hindsight. He knocked my car into park and I skidded a car length and a half into the car in front of me. He looked back and gave me a "that sucks dude" look and drove away (thankfully).

Anyways I let my insurance handle it outright. My car got fixed and all my medical bills got paid. The whole "pain and suffering" issue kind of turns my stomach so I didn't contribute. To each their own but I feel it's one reason insurance (health, car, etc) is so damn expensive.

If I where to do it again I would have tried to get more then a years worth of Chiropractor visits. They really helped me after physical therapy. Like I said though I'll never be completely better, it was my second accident (re-injury).

I second Jeremy's advice. I settled in a month and I wish I would have waited longer as my neck seemed to get worse even after 4 weeks, same with my lower back.
 
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