I was involved in an auto accident where the other driver hit me from behind.?

Question

I am having a tough time with their insurance adjuster, can I get a copy of the picture of the damage to her their car and the price it cost to repair? Or do I have to get a Lawyer? I have been having a lot of pain and have been paying out of my own pocket for medical, I don't know what to do. Can anyone advise. Never been through this before. I won't name the insurance company, but, I will say that I have had good NEIGHBORS and none of them were like this company. If that's what they think a good neighbor does to people, I don't want any. LOL I will appreciate any advice.
Thanks

I forgot to mention that the reason the pain in my neck is so bad is that I had surgery in Feb. 2005, it is worse now than before. The reason there is a question mark at the end of my statement is that it doesn't seem like I wasn't at fault.

Yes, the Police did respond. And yes she was charged for following to close. She was talking on the cell phone in stop and go traffic in El Paso. I am from Georgia and work here about 6 months out of the year. I do not have health coverage, I receive Va Health benefits because of a service connected disability. The VA will not cover aan auto accident, because there is insurance coverage. My Jeep was repaired soon after the accident. I have told the adjuster repeatedly that I don't want to have to get a lawyer, I don't want to sue anyone. All I want is the medical treatment of my injuries. I have been passed around from one adjuster to another. The adjuster talks to people like they are nothing. He told me that there was nothing he could do for me, and that there is always indigent care. I am trying to get the information together to get a Medical Lien against the ins. co. without a lawyer. That is what I am doing. I would rather keep working than live off the system.

I have been rated with a 15 % disability in my neck, 10 % in my lower back and 30 % in my right knee. And still would rather keep working, get the medical attention I need in my time off, and not have to sue anyone over something that was not my fault. Our system today is completely screwed up. It forces you into litigation even if you don't want it. You don't have a choice. An insurance company will spend $30,000.00 trying to keep from paying out $ 10,000.00
That is what this is all about. That is why I need the information. To try and get it done without the hassle of a lawyer that is more interested in the dollar than the client. I want to be treated fairly, not screwed over anymore. And I have the conversation with the adjuster on tape. It is legal to record a telephone conversation in Ga as long as 1 part of the conversation knows it.

I have been rated with a 15 % disability in my neck, 10 % in my lower back and 30 % in my right knee. And still would rather keep working, get the medical attention I need in my time off, and not have to sue anyone over something that was not my fault. Our system today is completely screwed up. It forces you into litigation even if you don't want it. You don't have a choice. An insurance company will spend $30,000.00 trying to keep from paying out $ 10,000.00
That is what this is all about. That is why I need the information. To try and get it done without the hassle of a lawyer that is more interested in the dollar than the client. I want to be treated fairly, not screwed over anymore. And I have the conversation with the adjuster on tape. It is legal to record a telephone conversation in Ga as long as 1 part of the conversation knows it.

Answer 1

Ronnie,

You don't state whether you have your auto insurance or not. If you do then you need to use your Med Pay or Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage for your med bills. If you don't have either of these coverages then you have to pay the bills up front then get reimbursed by State Farm when you settle your claim.

The fact that St. Farm is not paying your bills as you incur them is legal and no matter what you do or say that won't change. A lawyer isn't going to change that fact either.

There are two main reasons they won't pay your bills as you incur them.
1. They do not have a contract with you. They have one with the other driver. So they have NO legal obligation to pay your bills as they are incurred.

2. Each state has a Statute of Limitations (SOL) that states how long you as the injured party has to settle your claim. Most states range from 1 to 6 years. So heres the catch - if St. Farm paid your med bills as you incur them then each payment pushes the SOL out more. For example lets say your accident was on 03/01/07. Texas has a 2 year SOL. So you would have until 03/01/09 to settle the claim. Let's that State Farm pays some of your medical bills on 06/30/07. That would mean that the new SOL is now 06/30/09.

No adjuster in their right mind is going to pay your bills and then push out the SOL when the law says they don't have to pay your bills up front.

Your bills will get paid but not until you settle the entire claim. If possible try see if your Dr. will or can file a doctors lien against your injury settlement. I have no clue if that is allowed for a TX accident.

I'm sorry but St. Farm is handling this matter as it should be under the law.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

Sounds to me like you are wanting $10,000 for treatment of an existing condition. Go get a lawyer -- so what? You really think State Farm is afraid of a lawyer?? They have HUNDREDS of lawyers working full time for them and can litigate this nonsense into the next decade if need be. And for what? Your lawyer will get at least 33% of your settlement (if ANY), you will still be in pain and you will have no money. The best you can hope for is to try and convince the adjuster that you have additional pain and problems as a result of the loss. That way there is some tangible leverage for some med pay, however, if you were bumped from behind at 5mph -- then forget it. If your body is so fragile that a minor bump woul spiral you into thousands of dollars of treatment then you need to stay in BED.
Now some practical advice: call your adjuster and respectfully request to speak to his/her manager (they will be happy to do this). Make your case in the most logical and truthful way possible (and STOP recording them, for God's sake! It will be useless anyway...) and keep requesting upper management until you get a satisfactory answer. You know, there may be a REASON you aren't getting the money you are demanding and if you happened to have drawn a real doorknob for an adjuster (and there are lots of them in the business) this whole thing can probably be hammered out -- just be reasonable and be warned: one hint about a lawyer and it's game over. Then only the lawyers win.

Answer 3

Ugh.. i wasnt going to answer this one cuz im tired of answering injury questions... but these horrible answers are getting to me so i had to give my two cents.

First off... lets just pretend that state farm has already accepted liability (im not really sure if they have or not.. you didnt say).... are you sure there are no coverage issues affected the claim?

Examples:
1) was an unlisted driver driving?
2) Was their policy expired?

Lets say thats not the case either... as soon as they accept liability and coverage issues are gone.. they SHOULD be fixing your car in a timely manner. They have no reason and are not required to give you an information on the other parties car... hows that your business? No lawyer will get this changed for you.. i dont understand why you even care about his damage

Now lets get to this injury.. of course your paying for your injuries out of pocket. This is how claims work. They dont pay you for your injuries as you go.... what happens is at one point when your comfortable you will "settle" the claim.

This settlement will include reasonable medical expenses, loss work, PERHAPS some "inconvenience" money as well as money for future medicals... but it wont be winning the lottery. In your case- it gets more complicated because of your prior injury.. they may not even fully cover your medicals if your injury is a result of both your former condition as well as the accident.

So unless you are ready to settle they cant just hand you over cash.. there is a process here....any lawyer will tell you the same thing.

Now.. if your a little more specific about what they are doing wrong perhaps i can answer better... but i dont know what exactly they are doing wrong here? and people are giving you horrible answers...

*** EDIT: im confused: Did you make a settlement demand? For how much? Did they refuse? What are your medical bills and lost wages at at this point? ****

Answer 4

Do you have insurance? who's fault is it? If it's the other party's fault, then you shouldn't be worried about getting a copy of the damage & you surely should not be paying out of pocket for Medical Expenses. If it's their fault, the insurance company has to pay for it, they have to accommodate you with everything, from getting treatment, to a paid rental car to getting your car fixed. If they aren't doing anything for you, then YOUR INSURANCE carrier should be helping your out. That is....if you have insurance? This sounds like your talking about State Farm. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there? You mentioned that it doesn't seem like it was your fault? didn't you call the Police & they had to come down to the accident scene & prepare a Police Report. The cop usually is the one that makes the decision on who's fault it is. Get a copy of that Police Report.

Answer 5

You are not entitled to copies of the vehicle photos or the final repair estimate of the person that hit you. The only way you would see this information is 1) a judge would sign off on the subpeona or 2) it went to court after going thru a very lengthy discovery process.

You didn't say why you want this info or what the problem is with S.F. Maybe if you elaborate you'll get suggestions for your specific situation other than get a lawyer.

Answer 6

It would take a really big lie to convince the police, because you would have had to be going back wards at the time. And, if that does come-up, trying to make it your fault, pull the back-up light bulbs out - You can tell if they were broken while lite or not. But you keep your mouth shut - Don't offer any extra information unless the cop asks for it specifically. Let the cop do all the talking to the other guy.... And call your car insurance guy for more detailed advise.

Answer 7

You of course did inform your insurance company, and if so should keep them updated on the facts aand usually they have lawyers to fight it. Because you are dealing with a previous injury would get a lawyer because they will state that it is a previous injury not cause by the accident. You are in for a long haul, hang in there

Answer 8

Contact your states bureau of insurance they can advise of your rights. If you were hit from behind in no state are you considered at fault. Also little known fact your insurance company has to provide the lawyer.

Answer 9

It is not right for you to have to pay for your own medical bills. If they are not cooperating with you, you should probably get a lawyer. There are many lawyers that do not charge until the case is won. I get the good neighbors thing. Like a good neighbor________ is here or there! Right? Anyway, I would totally sue them and show them that they cannot keep treating people this way!

Answer 10

If you were hit behind, unless some startling exceptions to the rule, they should be bending over backward to settle with you. Looks like you need to contact a lawyer. This should get them moving fast, especially their ins company, unless they dont have any insurance and no assets.
90 pct of time when hit from behind, it is the rear driver that is at fault. Go get em.