QuestionI was in 2 vas' last year and both were 30 days apart. The first accident happened when I was doing a legal turn around and had stopped to observe oncoming traffic from behind me to the right. I was hit from behind at 25-miles per hour by a cross over vehicle. The second accident happened when a young lady ran a stop sign, turning onto an off ramp that I'd just exited minutes prior. She ran into the right passenger side causing me to run off the road. I've sustained whiplash and two bulging discs in my back.Both my children were with me in both accidents but to my knowledge nothing was thoroughly checked with them, nor any complaints from them. Should I worry about this since injuries might not show till later for them? I have just finished my physical therapy a second time and just getting an MRI only after complaining that I was still having back pain. The MRI shows no nerve damage.This is something that is going to be with me the rest of my life. My lawyers' company has worked with promissory letters after settlement for some of my medical. I believe they went through my PIP for some of the payments. The minimal
coverage for TX is 30/60/30. My lawyer is taking a third. What should I expect? I've called and try to speak to my lawyer about this, I can never get a straight answer. Her answer is "with cases like this its unknown the exact dollar amount" How should i proceed? Should I fire her or what should I do? i don't know what's going on with my case or where I stand.
AnswerWhew! This is going to be a detailed answer and will definitely not cover all of the possible outcomes. . .The minimum limits in TX are 25/50/25 as the date of this answer, not to be a "know it all". Although, it is possible that the applicable policy carries the higher limits you suggested. The value of your injury will be variable based on how well your injury is documented and your own personal accident history. Children are resilient and normally heal much more quickly and thoroughly with minimal if any long term issues, so long as the injures are soft tissue injuries, if they had no treatment, then you can expect that they won't get considered for settlement purposes.
The main issue in your case is going to be determining which accident caused what injury. Your treatment surely must be overlapping, and the second accident is an aggravating accident. The "eggshell" rule comes to mind. Without going into a super long explanation, the eggshell rule simply means that one can't pick their egg. If you bump into an egg that is already damaged and cause it to completely break apart, you are still liable for breaking the egg apart, follow?
I will say that it is not common for one to sustain a disc bulge from an auto accident, but chiropractors will tell you otherwise, and with multiple accidents, it would take a medical doctor to opine as to why you have a bulging disc. Chiropractors are not medical doctors, and in Texas, if you have sought treatment only from a chiropractor, then you may have a tough time recovering anything substantial over your "hard medicals", meaning your actual bills. Your bills will be paid based on the usual and customary charges, and not the actual charges. On the other hand, if you are being treated by a licensed physician, then your injuries should be taken with the utmost of seriousness by the handling adjuster, and in this case your file would definitely call for a peer review to determine if an MRI is medically necessary. Injury claims can be complex. Are you overweight? Were you a high school athlete? Does your job contribute to back pain? Did a doctor advise you to stay home from work? Did you go to the emergency room immediately following the accident? Are you in a conservative or liberal venue? How old are you? I hope you get the point. Adjusters are trained to go down a list and calculate a value or punch in a description to a computer that will then calculate a value. The value is never accurate as to what your claim is worth, but it is supposed to be a reasonable guess as to what a jury in the area where your accident occurred might award you for the documented injuries you sustained.
Many factors are considered when evaluating an injury claim, and in fact, I have published an e-book that details all the important factors the general method that adjusters use to evaluate soft tissue injuries, including a formula that will get you close to your actual damage amount.
Your attorney can't force a settlement and is not a doctor either, so be patient, she should be able to argue your case for you and get you a settlement that is fair, but if you don't feel comfortable with your attorney, seek out another that communicates with you a little better. A good attorney should be able to tell you at least as much as I have put into this response. If any of this is new to you, I might suggest a more forthright attorney. Although I am not an attorney, I have handled thousands of injury cases just like yours. An important question for your case would be "How long after the accident did you get diagnosed with a disc bulge, and I mean exactly?" A disc bulge just doesn't spontaneously occur. The MRI better have been ordered by a doctor or it most likely won't be considered. MRI's are expensive and they are abused to increase medicals in the hopes of getting paid. Also, keep in mind that most chiropractors and doctors have an assignment from you and their interests will be protected if they have the proper assignment language in their treatment contract. Anyway, I could go on and on, but I hope this sheds a little light on the matter for you. If you are informed and negotiate well, then most people only need an attorney when litigation is the only option left.
Sincerely,
Justin Petty
www.pettydetailsllc.com
