Question
Hummer Hit
Hi and thanks for answering my question. In Sept. of 2008, A Hummer backed into my Eclipse in a parking lot and hit the top or liftgate part of my hatchback. I got the worst headache, neckache and upper backache imaginable that would not go away. it just got worse and worse until I went for therapy a few days later. It took about 12-14 months for me to feel almost back to the way I did before this accident. This Hummer weighs about 8500 pounds or 4 1/4 ton. My Eclipse is about 3000 pounds or 1 1/2 ton. In March of 2006, I was stopped at a red light in my Eclipse, and a 2000 pound Dodge Neon rear-ended me going probably at least 20-25 mph. I have pictures of the back of my car for both of these accidents. I had to go for more therapy for the first of these accidents. About 2 years worth for the first. I was discharge from therapy for the first at the beginning of May of 2008. I was feeling really good, and my medical records reflect that I did not go to the doctor for my back or neck again until the Hummer hit me at the end of Sept. 2008. So I was treatment free for 4 3/4 months, between these two accidents.
It was very hard for me to have to go back for therapy, a real downer drag, plus time consuming, painful, and I missed out on doing other things-one is not very happy when in pain. I sprayed myself with spray analgesic spray at least 3 times a day.
Because of the first accident, the Hummer driver's insurance said that they would take 1/2 the responsibility for 12 PT visits, 1/2 the responsibility because it happened in a parking lot and I could not find a witness. Meanwhile I treated usually 3 times a week for about 12 months, until it felt as it did before this accident. The insurance company offered to pay me $2875 which is less than my co-pays and lost wages. They say that it is a minor accident. Well maybe for Godzilla, but not for a small boned, very petite female of 49. AND---I have all my medical records from 1999---and the same health insurance company and doctors---never once did I go to a doctor for my back, neck, or head in these records until the 2006 accident.
I guess the more times you get hit, and the more prone to arthritis you become because of getting hit--even when it is a truck almost 3x the weight of your car---you are treated worse by the insurance company. MINOR ACCIDENT they call it. My family doctor sent me to an orthopedic who wrote continued long term therapy in the notes in March of 2009, 6 months after the accident. He is often hired by insurance companies to evaluate patients. But they are not taking his word for anything---they are sending my records to another doctor who they are paying, and since they are paying I think they want to get rehired by the insurance company--so what do you think he will say? It was a low impact accident backing out of a spot--the dent was cheaper to fix; no absorbers in the hatchback door--just metal, so even though the Hummer weighs about 3x more than my stopped Eclipse---I probably only required 12 visits, and the pain was either in my head, or was from the last accident I was 4 3/4 months pain free from. I took a year of physics in school and know about Newton' s Laws. Oh well, What to do?
AnswerThe photo of damages indicate this was a minor impact. The size of the Hummer is not really relevant - if this was a hard impact, there would be much more damage. The eggshell doctrine indicates that a defendent must take the plaintiff as they find them. So if the plaintiff was more prone to injury, the defendent is responsible for the new injury, even if worse than would occur for most people. So this doctrine helps your case, but only so much. You would have difficulty convincing a jury of the extent of your injury when they see this photo.
If you think they owe you much more, your only real choice is to hire an attorney to sue them and hope the jury believes you.
