QuestionHi Doc,
I will try not to make this lengthy but I was hit in the rear by a p/u truck on 2/14/07. As both cars were drivable we moved out of the road and the other driver immediately called his ins co and claimed all fault in accident. I was stopped at a light. I was if my mothers car coming from doing shopping for her. The other driver did not want to wait for police as he was claiming accident. I drove onto my mothers less than 3 minutes away and had begun to stiffen up both back and neck. I went to hospital and they diagnosed back, cervical strain. Over the next two weeks pain became more intense rather than less so I went to orthopedist, had MRI and was referred to Neurologist. Following that went through 31 physical therapy sessions and was referred to having an epidural that worked for about two weeks. On 8/3 physiatrist( spelling) determined that I had reached MMI and would continue with loss of range of motion and continued pain when having to stand more than 5 min at a time. During the period following the accident and during therapy I had been unable;e to do work on the home that I was remodeling with my husband and beyond that my relations with my husband deteriorated as I was not sexually responsive to him due to pain. In May he left me running off with someone else that could respond. I have not hired a lawyer, have instead sent demand for settlement letter, but the ins adjuster has not been very responsive. I have now sent a second demand letter and have given until Tuesday for some type of response. If he continues in the vein of being non responsive should I hire an attorney or go above his head to a supervisor of region or something. So far my medical bills are about 12K , car was repaired 2300, hiring people do work in my home so far 6000. and emotional I don't know. I can't get past my husband leaving and because I am not insured ( health ) I have not been able to seek assistance. I have been living on money borrowed from my mother for the bills, living expenses, paying workers etc. Whew sorry for the length. I am stuck limbo. Accident in NC, live in SC
AnswerDear Ann,
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in answering your question. I was not asleep at the switch: instead we had some e-mail problems between the server and allexperts this past week that caused SEVEN questions to drop out of the system so I did not even know these questions existed. It is cleaned up now, though.
Now, on to your question:
I am sorry to hear of your plight, and I think I can empathize with your situation since I have dealt with such pain and collateral problems hundreds of times over the years. The legislators do not understand or even care what the average person in a serious accident has to go through. There is so much suffering that never even makes it to the trial in a case. Sometimes all we can do is to become centered spiritually and go forward with our lives.
In your case, I would suggest sending a letter via certified mail that rescinds your settlement offer if it is not accepted within five days of the letter. That will get your adjuster off the dime, and hopefully it will shake out an offer from them that you can use to get a discount on fees with a personal injury attorney.
Without having to join my website, I have given a lot of free information on handling insurance claims without having to join as a member. Read the module at "5 Easy Steps to Do-it-Yourself Insurance Claim Settlement" http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0102.htm
This stuff is not rocket science, but it will take some effort on your part to read and cut and paste letter examples and to communicate. But hundreds of people are doing it each day, and they are getting good results.
What if you get only two-thirds the way to your settlement goal? Well, you can get as big a settlement as you can and then turn it over to an attorney and save a lot of fees. Thus, you could go it alone just to get an insurance settlement offer, and then take that insurance settlement offer to a personal injury attorney, thus exempting the amount of the offer from her fees. Do It Yourself Personal Injury Settlement Offer Reduces Personal Injury Attorney Fees http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0109.htm
Sometimes adjusters will not respond to an outrageously high demand letter. Maybe that is what is happening. But it sounds like you DO HAVE SOME SERIOUS INJURIES, so I would not settle the claim for a little bit just to get it done with.
WHAT TO DO NOW?
#1. Send the letter I mentioned above. And hope for a responsive offer of settlement.
#2. DO NOT RESPOND to their offer, other than to state that you are disappointed in yourself for not fully communicating the problems you are having.
#3. Seek out a personal injury attorney who will give you a discount off her fees in recognition of the offer you have brought to her.
FINAL TOPIC—COMMUNICATE IN WRITING AND "DEMAND" NOT "ASK"
FINAL TOPIC: Effective communication with insurance claims adjusters. Establish Firm, Professional, and Positive Relationships With the Insurance Injury Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0059.htm
Always communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is OK I guess to have one call or so, but no more. Always have your information and ammunition in writing to give to the adjuster.
Let him know that you are FIRM IN YOUR RESOLVE to get what you are demanding (NOT "asking", since that invites a counter-offer, but instead "demanding" as fair and reasonable compensation) by asking him what the options are to resolve the matter fairly should he not agree to a reasonable claim value. In other words, let him know that you will go through with a court filing if need be.
Remember these tips, do your homework, print out your evidence, show resolve to get your fair settlement, and you will DO JUST FINE.
I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
