QuestionQUESTION: 1/4/08 we were at a red light hit by an very big suv going about 35 mph - had $5000 worth of damage to our car - I felt back pain at the impact and went to the er ( we drove ourselves) given pain meds and sent home ; the following week I began to see a chiropractor ; since then I have had some relief ; spasms are not as often, but the neck pain continues daily ; as does shoulder and arm pain on my right side mostly - my reg doc wouldn't see me because it was a car accident-so I continued with the chiropractor even to now - i don't feel he is doing me any good any longer; sometimes I feel worse when I leave there! - so I went to walk in care to get some more meds to sleep with and a referral to a physiatrist so that I can get checked out further. We did hire a lawyer ; I don't hear from him and don't know even if I am supposed to. I guess when the bills start coming in things will happen? I only want to be sure that I do not face huge bills later on as a result of this accident . And my big concern is that I do have pre exist back conditions - how will this affect me. Are there other steps I should be taking ? Thank you
ANSWER: Hi Marie:
Your medical bills will be paid by you own insurance company first (if you have Personal Injury Protection or med pay coverage or both). Your insurance company will not get paid until you pay until you settle. This might take a long time. The evaluation of your injury will be up to the adjuster and your attorney. A pre existing condition will affect your case, because they need to leave you in the position you were before the accident.
Before the accident, you have an injured back, so they must leave you at that point. They will argue that your pain is related to those issues and they are not "new"
The best thing to do here is to get in contact with your attorney. If your attorney does not answer send him a certified letter telling him that if he does not respond, you will find another lawyer.
Good Luck,
C.Q.
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks for answering me back, and please excuse my ignorance, but what am I supposed to expect from the lawyer at this point? I just don't know what to do from here. As for the preexisting I was not injured, but had been dx with Cervical ddd - but had not gotten any special treatment for it , and had not seen a dr related to any pain for over 6 months...will that count for anything? Please let me know what I should be asking of the lawyer at this point...thank you again !
AnswerHi, please do not apologize for not knowing exactly what to do. Your attorney must explain the process to you in a way that you understand it. This is not a common or normal situation (you are not dealing with accidents everyday). What you can ask from your lawyer? That is a very hard question, basically every question that you have.
Here is the issue with attorneys, they cannot be answer questions every day or every time (not that this is your case). They can actually bill you for every 6 minutes they talk to you, even in a phone conversation. So, if you call them often, they can tag all those damages to your bill.
Therefore, attorneys will "hide" from you, this is particularly true if they have no "new news" for you. This type of case is very much a waiting game (not that you can be left on the dark, they just need to tell you this). You can ask for her/his plan of attack.
As far as your preexisting, it will only affect you if the medical bills and records shows your preexisting injury or you tell them that you were injured before the accident. They will use that as a negotiation tool against you.
I am not sure if I answer your questions, but I hope I did.
Feel better.
C.Q.
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com
