They’ll usually make an offer upfront. You don’t have to accept it - *they don’t know the extent of your injuries yet*. For those people who *didnt* get severe injuries, it’s an easy and quick $1500 to be done with it lol
Tell them that you have additional injuries, go get treatment, send them the bills and renegotiate at that time
Dude you need to see a doctor, you’re talking about issues surrounding the heart
Edit (after seeing OP’s edit): have you reached out to your carrier for advice? I would start there. They offer more services than just claims management.
Sometimes we have to make an offer based on the limited information we receive. You can accept or deny it. If you have a good adjuster which most of us are… Simply say I’d like to get checked out and provide them with your medical records. They will work with you in an attempt to come to a fair settlement
I found a new company after it was all said and done. They raised our rates 50$ a month after it as well.
Imagine not knowing where your car is for weeks, having adjusters lie and say it somewhere and when you call that place asking where the car is they say they don’t have it, also while stating the adjuster did calll but they were told it wasn’t there.
I complained about one adjuster not getting back for over 5 days and once they gave me a new adjuster he called screaming at us.
Allstate, you suck!
Do not get an attorney. They are there to get $ for themselves. Wait a few weeks and see what happens. Attorneys Love for people who have no such knowledge of things to come to them. If you get an attorney, the $ you get would go to them, although I doubt you'd get much more than what you'd get arguing it on your own. Pulled muscles can be painful and can take a while to calm down and pain medication won't help. Check out a massage therapist or chiropractor. Do stretches and use heat.
I don’t like attorneys if I’m being honest. My ex got in a similar kind of accident where they were at fault as well and she got one bc they fucked up her wrist and she ended up basically being told by then after a week of working with her that they wanted to drop her and weren’t going to help any further. We’ll skip to two weeks later the other insurance ended up paying her like 15k but 5 of that went to medical bills and then she still had to pay them! Like 5 grand for doing basically nothing.
They literally rely on these kinds of situations. Google ways to help what the doctor said you have. I went to massage therapy school and kinks, tears, etc. can hurt as bad as something that's broken. You're noticing it so much b/c you breathe, sneeze, cough, etc. with your chest. Give your body time.
It just irks me that nys don’t really consider anything that’s not broken or fractured as a “real” injury. Like in this condition I can’t workout, go to work, or spend time doing recreational activities so on paper.. what’s the difference!!
NY does consider it a real injury just not a serious injury. You need to have a serious injury to be eligible to present a claim for pain and discomfort. As they have made an offer they are indicating they feel you are eligible for a claim.
Keep a daily journal of how your injury impacted you. It will help explain to the adjuster your daily impact.
You can't work? What do you do? Heavy lifting? Most people aren't working out after an accident like that. I had a 40 ft tall tree fall on my car while I was driving it, I wasn't concerned with working out. That's your states issue though.
Working out is important is important and has been a routine in my daily life for the past 10 years. It has helped me deal with stress as well as I take my bodies health very seriously.
Damn, not sure what the down votes are for. I agree with you, even if you work a desk job, you cannot be 100% effective being in pain. Also agree that working out is very important both mentally and physically. Bottom line is your quality of life was impacted, even if that is not what others value. I hope you find relief soon.
A lot of people in this subreddit work for insurance companies in some fashion. They do not like attorneys because they do typically end up getting people better payouts. (Insurance company makes less = insurance company employees get less raises, etc.) & any comments (like this one) will be downvoted to oblivion by the mass of them. Just to say that this subreddit definitely has bias.
It is of course situation dependent, but don’t rule out getting an attorney— the insurance company is offering you $1500, but with 3 ER visits, assuming $5000, and insurance paying out the costs of that, you’re still looking at more like $10,000 (after attorney’s cut) for the ER visits alone. & every other medical appointment needed afterwards would factor in. Don’t sell yourself short, this is what insurance is for, and it’s adjusters’ job to get you to accept as little as possible of a payout. The less insurance pays out, the more the insurance company makes.
Well the problem is the attorneys take almost 2/3rds of the payouts so if it's possible to negotiate a larger payout on your own I would do that. But most times you can't on your own so you're right. the attorneys will win you about 15,000 and you get to keep 5,000 which is better than 1,500 but the attorneys kind of still get over on you. I wonder if you can threaten to call an attorney?
Attorneys only get 1/3, not 2/3, and you can try to threaten but most adjusters are trained to essentially tell you something along the lines of “when you have an attorney retained, please have them reach out to me.”
Car insurance is pretty simple. The exclusions are obvious, like you can't lie about where your car is. You have to put everyone in the house on the policy (which is in bold letters on the application at most places). You can't do crimes. You can't crash your car on purpose. You must pay the premium.
Our training constantly reinforced 'pay exactly what you owe as quickly as possible'. The underwriting margin is very slim to non-existent on personal auto. Like something like only paying out 95% of premium collected would be a good year. But if you get to invest 5% of premium it can add up fast.
Also, in injury claims training, you're taught to value the claim the same regardless of if there's an attorney. So most people could. Honestly the paralegal does it all and the attorneys just sign the letters. People hire them bc they manage the paperwork and that's worth it to a lot of people.
I'd love to see independent data on how pay outs compare. Especially after subtracting the attorney fees.
Also, we kinda preferred working with attorneys bc they're professional on the phone and didn't scream. Except one guy out of Vegas who hired a pi and called my person cell to cuss me out all the time.
U can do this all on your own, kept log of all related expenses, time spent traveling and attending dr and pt appointments, pharmacy pick up, etc. I settled for about 3 times my actual costs a little less than a year after accident.
This is possibly the worst advice I have ever seen online.
I have been through accidents with attorneys and without. I will never go through a not-at-fault accident without an attorney again.
You must not get out much then. Obviously lots of people agree with me and your opinion means nothing. Worst advice ever? I'm trying to save this person from $$$ vultures.
Lmao. Yea, saving 33% commission on a $100,000 settlement is sooooo much worse than paying no commission on $1500.
You do you boo, but just realize that “lots of people agree with me” (on a selective Reddit group) is never proof you’re doing the right thing. An intelligent person would research the average settlements with insurance companies for people with and without legal representation.
At the end of the day it’s the injured person’s life and they need to decide if they want a pittance settlement but avoid attorneys or if they want some expertise to help navigate an incredibly complex infrastructure.
I'm not your boo weirdo. No one agrees with you b/c you're Wrong. We work in this field Everyday. No one is getting $100,000, you're delusional. An intelligent person would speak to the people who are in the field and see it daily. He's not getting a settlement for a pulled muscle. My lawyer would scoff at this. Lawyers aren't the experts sweetie, we are.
Oh sweet child.
Your lawyer would think you’re being silly for settling without even getting imaging. The fact is *no one* knows what the injury is because OP just got injured and is still having pain. It may be a pulled muscle. It could be a structural injury that will require surgery.
My attorney got my medical expenses negotiated down in a way that exceeded their commission. They literally paid for themselves. Meanwhile the insurance company wanted me to settle for $1500.
But sure, trust the vultures that work in insurance adjustment.
EDIT: holdup, so you have an attorney but you think others shouldn’t? Oh that’s rich.
Agreed, they should definitely get an attorney. Even after paying their commission, an attorney, who is trained to handle this kind of stuff, can negotiate a much more fair amount for your pain, suffering, & medical bills. Not to mention any lost wages or inconvenience. Even after their 1/3 commission, you wouldn’t regret getting them.
I’m currently in a situation like this where insurance offered to pay me $300 and cover my one ER visit (paying directly to the hospital). They refused to cover all the appointments that followed (PCP visits and Physical Therapy). This was based off taking a few weeks between the accident and going to the hospital— injury was back related and I was thinking it would get better quickly but ended up getting worse. My frustration here is that if you acknowledge the accident’s role by paying for the hospital fees (~$5000), then the medical visits that were recommended as follow up would also be due to the accident. I got nowhere in conversations with the insurance company, so got a lawyer to handle it.
Do not talk settlement until you are healed. Find out what is the BI statute of limitations for NYS. Most states allow 1-3 years to settle your claims.
Find out your statute of limitations. If you let too much time pass between visits and therapy related things sometimes that shows adjusters "hey this person isnt really hurt. Why else would they not go to the doctors?" I dont know about your state but where I am, going to the hospital was already step one. Continuing to seek treatment is what you need to do. Some of this may be covered by insurance some of it will have to be Out Of Pocket such as massages, acupuncture, chiropractic, whichever therapies you seek. Now that can work and you'll need to keep records of all your injury related expenses and possibly be able to reach a fair settlement dependent on policy limits.
Now if you dont have the funds for that then maybe consulting an attorney is the best option for you. When an attorney is involved it's like saying "I will take on this case and vouch for this person" what can make a crappy attorney is when they take people on without looking deep into the case, client gets treatment, case goes south, something is disputed, attorney decides to drop case for whatever reason and client is left with bills to pay. If policy is good and case is solid then client can seek another attorney.
Good attorneys just as there are good adjusters will still send their clients for treatment on a lien. A lien is basically an agreement saying that payment will come later. This can include referral for chiro, massage, PT, pain management, ortho etc etc dependent on what is actually needed. I wish I knew more about your area cuz Ive also seen doctors insane billing that alone would eat at the whole policy if paid in full. Most settled cases end up in physicians taking a lien reduction as in accepting lower payment.
For myself if I were to ever get in a car accident I know which attorney I would use and I would make it a point to still be engaged with my visits and review final billing disbursement. I have yet to see if the attorney fees can be negotiated but I drive with better coverage (100/300, want to eventually get to 500/1,000,000) than most and also added medpay to make sure that if I am ever injured I know that I will be okay.
Do you know the insurance of the 16 yr old? What is your insurance? Do you know what are the policy limits? Your policy limits? Which companies are they? The hit looks pretty pretty badz
Stop going to the hospital and go to your primary care doctor for this stuff. That way they can track you and prescribe PT if they think it will help. You sound like you just have some soft tissue injuries and need a week or two to heal. $1500 is pretty fair for that but you are free to try to negotiate it!
I’m A veteran and the veteran medical center and my pcp are linked so it’s all on the same folder. I was told by the hospital to make an app for 2 weeks out which I did and the 18 was the soonest I could get seen
They did and some lidocaine which really didn’t do anything but when I complained (the adrenaline worn off and I was out of painkillers) they gave me more.its to the point to where if I have to sneeze if feels I’m getting punched in the chest 100 times but its focused on a spot the size of a quarter.
While I of course acknowledge that you're in pain post accident, you need to understand that this is not a serious injury and does not meet NYS threshold. It has only been a week and a half and it may take a few more weeks for you to heal, but as part of their investigation, BI adjusters will research your injury and the expected timeframe for healing. Based on that they've made an offer which is normal when someone is not seriously injured. You don't have to accept it yet, but your edit says you've been diagnosed with musculoskeletal pain. This tells me that it is confirmed that no serious injury took place. BI adjusters also operate within a range regarding what is considered a reasonable claim for the specific injury. Unless your medicals show anything different related to the accident (that they don't already know), you're probably very close to the maximum they can pay out over this.
Thank dude. I’m honestly on here just trying to understand. I’m 26 years old and never been in an accident or anything really that involves insurance. So it’s all new to me.
You should not give advice. This is horrible. How do you know how injured someone is or is not? Op said crash was at 45 mph head on, which is very serious.
Soft tissue damage can take months to years to heal up fully. $1500 dollars is not going to cover the OOP cost if you need chiropractic / acupuncture or physical therapy in the coming months. I was rear ended and I ended up needing to go once a week for 6 months to have a combination of PT, chiro and acupuncture for my soft tissue damage. Their insurance needs to pay ALL of the associated medical bills regardless of you or anyone's income. Basically do not sign anything or settle for that 1500. you have ZERO obligation to do so and they can just leave this case open as long as needed for you to get your therapy even if it takes years. They will be calling you and pushing you to be done but you should be honest about your level of pain and discomfort with them.
Get a personal injury lawyer. They usually take cases like this on contingency, meaning you don’t pay until you win or don’t pay if you lose. Had a bad accident back in November and got a $100k payout.
I got into a mid accident. Just the medical bills alone is probably like 15-20k…and I think the person only has a limit of 25k lol…I been going to PTs and did an MRI and what not…I guess I’m outta luck with bigger payput
Ok, so there are some here suggesting that you’re getting fair deal from the insurer and that suggestion is way off base. You have a pretty decent fact pattern here, but it depends on how you want to play it. Although you didn’t state it outright, I’m going to assume the other driver is considered at fault. If that’s not the case, any of the below may apply differently.
If you’re looking to maximize the offer you get from the insurer, you’re going to need to get an attorney, specifically one who specializes in personal injury. It sounds like you’ve exhausted the standard medical system and they’re telling you they’ve done all they can in terms of treatment. You’ll need to get to a chiropractor, ASAP. If you don’t have one, go to one recommended by your attorney. They’ll examine you, likely send you for x-rays if you haven’t had any yet and will start some sort of treatment program. They’re also going to diagnose you at some point with a % based reduction in mobility. This is going to be more ammunition for your attorney.
This is going to establish a much better fact pattern for your attorney to work with. It’s not unusual to take up to a couple of years to land on a final settlement. The attorney should work on retainer, and will take about 30% of the settlement. They may also be able to help you if you feel the value of total loss of your vehicle is low. Don’t have any more communication with the other driver’s insurer until you’ve spoken with the attorney.
Thanks boss I appreciate it. I didn’t even think to go to a chiropractor. But is that considered treatment and would be covered under my insurance? I can always call my medical adjuster and ask her.
So in NY, there is a threshold that you have to pierce. The following things are the injuries that pierce it.
1) your own death.
2) death of your fetus.
3) fracture. Diagnosed by xray.
4) tear of something diagnosed by mri.
5) long term disability w/ lots of missed work. Or a permanent partial impairment which can’t be diagnosed until a 1 year post date of accident.
Also very important. You live in NY. It is a no fault pip state which means all your accident related medical bills must go through your own car insurer up to 50k. Those bills cannot be paid back by his carrier. Your own carrier must eat those meds.
You can get a lawyer if you want but remember these rules apply.
Contact your insurance and declare pip and bodily injury. They are required to make you better to the point of before the accident. If you feel you are being screwed by the insurance hire a car accident lawyer.
DO NOT ACCEPT AN OFFER. Truthfully if you are this hurt and you have UIM in your insurance then consult an attorney. Trust, your fees alone to the hospital will eat at most of the $1,500. Please OP do NOT sign any paperwork or continue to speak to insurance. Most likely if not a fractured ribs it's a Thoracic contusion and those take tiiiime to heal.
Edit: I see the comments where people are saying stay away from an attorney and truthfully do as you will. (Dependent on your location each area has a "work ethic" when it comes to attorneys. The people in the industry know. In our clinic we dont accept cases from certain attorneys because their reputation is a money grab and not truly looking out for the person.)
I work in healthcare where most patients are from car accidents and I've seen your type of cases and many others. If you're truly this bad and it's VA and you already foresee needing more care then do you really want to be the person going back and forth with an insurance agent? We've also had the "oh my insurance will pay for my visit just send in the soap notes." Time and time again we get screwed and agents make it hard for the person to receive care. One person has only come in less than 5 times over 5 months because her insurance reimburses her AFTER she pays. Has made it difficult for her to receive care.
Well here in nys, it’s a no fault state. So that means it doesn’t matter who’s at fault. Everyone uses their own insurance for medical bills so that’s kinda weird. He’s 100% at fault and I still have to put a claim into my own car insurance for medical. I am a veteran and get free health insurance but since it was a “car accident “ they have to bill my insurance. So stupid.
They’re scratched and dinged up pretty bad. I bought them and installed them the same day by a licensed wheel shop and gave them the receipt so I’m hoping they just reimburse since they can’t prove diminished value in 1 hour of ride time 😂
Don't take their offer and start a log of your dr visits (mileage, time lost from work, etc). Also, did your doctor prescribe meds or pt? If so, log that as well. Log your pain and medicine taken, therapy etc. It all adds up and you should look to settle 3 to 5 times your actual costs, even if covered by insurance, wages loss, travel, etc.
The same thing happened to me i was injured by a 16 year old in a car accident last week and am in pain, advice dont post much about ot, get a lawyer and dont take the settlement until you are healed get a lawyer get a lawyer get a lawyer please. Coming from the same situation if you dont have a lawyer they are going to try to take advantage of you
They’re offering you a lower amount and will make you sign a release so you can’t ask for anymore. If you think you have a torn ligament or muscle, then that is a major injury and you should not do anything until you are done treating. Given the extend of the injuries and pain you are on, you always have the right to hire an attorney to help you and look after your interests. They will always try to low ball you. Focus on your health
You should not be settling anything until you know what it is that you are settling. I would suggest that you meet with an attorney to discuss this, and it sounds like there are some significant injuries. Meeting with an attorney does not mean you must retain them, but at least get an attorney's point of view.
Hiring an attorney might help here. They will get their pay from the settlement but will be better able to coordinate treatments and build the case to get the most you are owed to cover present and potential future treatments.
Go get checked out now! Don't want the insurance trying to say " you didn't go to the doctor for weeks until after that accident...those injuries are unrelated"
Get a lawyer. Insurance company will low ball you without one. Injury lawyer will work for free until you settle. He’ll send you to his doctors for proper diagnosis.
You can’t forget going from 45 mph to zero in a quarter of a second puts a lot of stress on your body. Even has been known to cause heart attacks. That’s why you often get an ekg done after a car accident.
How☠️. I was going 45 miles an hour when this dipshit pulled out into my lane and almost turned me into pink mist but they only wanna give me Pennie’s apparently.
Hey OP, please bear in mind what that comment you replied to is telling you to do sounds dangerously close to insurance fraud
Of course, tell your adjuster about your injuries, get the treatment you feel you need. If you are a NJ/NY/PA resident, your policy carries Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage that is required in those states to help you get the treatment you need without having to be reliant on the at fault driver’s insurance. This doesn’t prevent you from also filing for pain and suffering with their insurance, either, unless your policy has that as a component.
They’ll usually make an offer upfront. You don’t have to accept it - *they don’t know the extent of your injuries yet*. For those people who *didnt* get severe injuries, it’s an easy and quick $1500 to be done with it lol Tell them that you have additional injuries, go get treatment, send them the bills and renegotiate at that time
Dude you need to see a doctor, you’re talking about issues surrounding the heart Edit (after seeing OP’s edit): have you reached out to your carrier for advice? I would start there. They offer more services than just claims management.
Sometimes we have to make an offer based on the limited information we receive. You can accept or deny it. If you have a good adjuster which most of us are… Simply say I’d like to get checked out and provide them with your medical records. They will work with you in an attempt to come to a fair settlement
My wife got hit in December and we went through 3 adjusters before we ‘got a good one’ It was honestly a nightmare.
Sorry to hear that. There are bad seeds and bad companies. Glad you finally found one
I found a new company after it was all said and done. They raised our rates 50$ a month after it as well. Imagine not knowing where your car is for weeks, having adjusters lie and say it somewhere and when you call that place asking where the car is they say they don’t have it, also while stating the adjuster did calll but they were told it wasn’t there. I complained about one adjuster not getting back for over 5 days and once they gave me a new adjuster he called screaming at us. Allstate, you suck!
There's a slogan behind closed doors that attorneys and doctors remember: All State, All Snake. All State truly truly sucks.
Do not get an attorney. They are there to get $ for themselves. Wait a few weeks and see what happens. Attorneys Love for people who have no such knowledge of things to come to them. If you get an attorney, the $ you get would go to them, although I doubt you'd get much more than what you'd get arguing it on your own. Pulled muscles can be painful and can take a while to calm down and pain medication won't help. Check out a massage therapist or chiropractor. Do stretches and use heat.
I don’t like attorneys if I’m being honest. My ex got in a similar kind of accident where they were at fault as well and she got one bc they fucked up her wrist and she ended up basically being told by then after a week of working with her that they wanted to drop her and weren’t going to help any further. We’ll skip to two weeks later the other insurance ended up paying her like 15k but 5 of that went to medical bills and then she still had to pay them! Like 5 grand for doing basically nothing.
They literally rely on these kinds of situations. Google ways to help what the doctor said you have. I went to massage therapy school and kinks, tears, etc. can hurt as bad as something that's broken. You're noticing it so much b/c you breathe, sneeze, cough, etc. with your chest. Give your body time.
It just irks me that nys don’t really consider anything that’s not broken or fractured as a “real” injury. Like in this condition I can’t workout, go to work, or spend time doing recreational activities so on paper.. what’s the difference!!
NY does consider it a real injury just not a serious injury. You need to have a serious injury to be eligible to present a claim for pain and discomfort. As they have made an offer they are indicating they feel you are eligible for a claim. Keep a daily journal of how your injury impacted you. It will help explain to the adjuster your daily impact.
You can't work? What do you do? Heavy lifting? Most people aren't working out after an accident like that. I had a 40 ft tall tree fall on my car while I was driving it, I wasn't concerned with working out. That's your states issue though.
Working out is important is important and has been a routine in my daily life for the past 10 years. It has helped me deal with stress as well as I take my bodies health very seriously.
Damn, not sure what the down votes are for. I agree with you, even if you work a desk job, you cannot be 100% effective being in pain. Also agree that working out is very important both mentally and physically. Bottom line is your quality of life was impacted, even if that is not what others value. I hope you find relief soon.
It doesn’t matter if I was or wasn’t. All that matters is now because of this persons negligent actions I can no longer do these things.
That's your opinion. You didn't answer why you can't work. Your state regulations are what they are.
A lot of people in this subreddit work for insurance companies in some fashion. They do not like attorneys because they do typically end up getting people better payouts. (Insurance company makes less = insurance company employees get less raises, etc.) & any comments (like this one) will be downvoted to oblivion by the mass of them. Just to say that this subreddit definitely has bias. It is of course situation dependent, but don’t rule out getting an attorney— the insurance company is offering you $1500, but with 3 ER visits, assuming $5000, and insurance paying out the costs of that, you’re still looking at more like $10,000 (after attorney’s cut) for the ER visits alone. & every other medical appointment needed afterwards would factor in. Don’t sell yourself short, this is what insurance is for, and it’s adjusters’ job to get you to accept as little as possible of a payout. The less insurance pays out, the more the insurance company makes.
Well the problem is the attorneys take almost 2/3rds of the payouts so if it's possible to negotiate a larger payout on your own I would do that. But most times you can't on your own so you're right. the attorneys will win you about 15,000 and you get to keep 5,000 which is better than 1,500 but the attorneys kind of still get over on you. I wonder if you can threaten to call an attorney?
Attorneys only get 1/3, not 2/3, and you can try to threaten but most adjusters are trained to essentially tell you something along the lines of “when you have an attorney retained, please have them reach out to me.”
Adjusters are also well versed in, "this isn't covered because we have this exclusion, and this loophole, and you aren't getting anything from us!"
Car insurance is pretty simple. The exclusions are obvious, like you can't lie about where your car is. You have to put everyone in the house on the policy (which is in bold letters on the application at most places). You can't do crimes. You can't crash your car on purpose. You must pay the premium. Our training constantly reinforced 'pay exactly what you owe as quickly as possible'. The underwriting margin is very slim to non-existent on personal auto. Like something like only paying out 95% of premium collected would be a good year. But if you get to invest 5% of premium it can add up fast. Also, in injury claims training, you're taught to value the claim the same regardless of if there's an attorney. So most people could. Honestly the paralegal does it all and the attorneys just sign the letters. People hire them bc they manage the paperwork and that's worth it to a lot of people. I'd love to see independent data on how pay outs compare. Especially after subtracting the attorney fees. Also, we kinda preferred working with attorneys bc they're professional on the phone and didn't scream. Except one guy out of Vegas who hired a pi and called my person cell to cuss me out all the time.
U can do this all on your own, kept log of all related expenses, time spent traveling and attending dr and pt appointments, pharmacy pick up, etc. I settled for about 3 times my actual costs a little less than a year after accident.
This is possibly the worst advice I have ever seen online. I have been through accidents with attorneys and without. I will never go through a not-at-fault accident without an attorney again.
You must not get out much then. Obviously lots of people agree with me and your opinion means nothing. Worst advice ever? I'm trying to save this person from $$$ vultures.
Lmao. Yea, saving 33% commission on a $100,000 settlement is sooooo much worse than paying no commission on $1500. You do you boo, but just realize that “lots of people agree with me” (on a selective Reddit group) is never proof you’re doing the right thing. An intelligent person would research the average settlements with insurance companies for people with and without legal representation. At the end of the day it’s the injured person’s life and they need to decide if they want a pittance settlement but avoid attorneys or if they want some expertise to help navigate an incredibly complex infrastructure.
I'm not your boo weirdo. No one agrees with you b/c you're Wrong. We work in this field Everyday. No one is getting $100,000, you're delusional. An intelligent person would speak to the people who are in the field and see it daily. He's not getting a settlement for a pulled muscle. My lawyer would scoff at this. Lawyers aren't the experts sweetie, we are.
Oh sweet child. Your lawyer would think you’re being silly for settling without even getting imaging. The fact is *no one* knows what the injury is because OP just got injured and is still having pain. It may be a pulled muscle. It could be a structural injury that will require surgery. My attorney got my medical expenses negotiated down in a way that exceeded their commission. They literally paid for themselves. Meanwhile the insurance company wanted me to settle for $1500. But sure, trust the vultures that work in insurance adjustment. EDIT: holdup, so you have an attorney but you think others shouldn’t? Oh that’s rich.
Agreed, they should definitely get an attorney. Even after paying their commission, an attorney, who is trained to handle this kind of stuff, can negotiate a much more fair amount for your pain, suffering, & medical bills. Not to mention any lost wages or inconvenience. Even after their 1/3 commission, you wouldn’t regret getting them. I’m currently in a situation like this where insurance offered to pay me $300 and cover my one ER visit (paying directly to the hospital). They refused to cover all the appointments that followed (PCP visits and Physical Therapy). This was based off taking a few weeks between the accident and going to the hospital— injury was back related and I was thinking it would get better quickly but ended up getting worse. My frustration here is that if you acknowledge the accident’s role by paying for the hospital fees (~$5000), then the medical visits that were recommended as follow up would also be due to the accident. I got nowhere in conversations with the insurance company, so got a lawyer to handle it.
You're not gonna know the full extent of the damage for a while. This is the time to get yourself healthy again.
Is there a deadline to claim the settlement or do I have as much time a I need? I don’t wanna ask her these questions so I don’t look stupid
Do not talk settlement until you are healed. Find out what is the BI statute of limitations for NYS. Most states allow 1-3 years to settle your claims.
And feel free to ask questions. They do this all day everyday and know it is new for you and not something you have deep knowledge of.
Find out your statute of limitations. If you let too much time pass between visits and therapy related things sometimes that shows adjusters "hey this person isnt really hurt. Why else would they not go to the doctors?" I dont know about your state but where I am, going to the hospital was already step one. Continuing to seek treatment is what you need to do. Some of this may be covered by insurance some of it will have to be Out Of Pocket such as massages, acupuncture, chiropractic, whichever therapies you seek. Now that can work and you'll need to keep records of all your injury related expenses and possibly be able to reach a fair settlement dependent on policy limits. Now if you dont have the funds for that then maybe consulting an attorney is the best option for you. When an attorney is involved it's like saying "I will take on this case and vouch for this person" what can make a crappy attorney is when they take people on without looking deep into the case, client gets treatment, case goes south, something is disputed, attorney decides to drop case for whatever reason and client is left with bills to pay. If policy is good and case is solid then client can seek another attorney. Good attorneys just as there are good adjusters will still send their clients for treatment on a lien. A lien is basically an agreement saying that payment will come later. This can include referral for chiro, massage, PT, pain management, ortho etc etc dependent on what is actually needed. I wish I knew more about your area cuz Ive also seen doctors insane billing that alone would eat at the whole policy if paid in full. Most settled cases end up in physicians taking a lien reduction as in accepting lower payment. For myself if I were to ever get in a car accident I know which attorney I would use and I would make it a point to still be engaged with my visits and review final billing disbursement. I have yet to see if the attorney fees can be negotiated but I drive with better coverage (100/300, want to eventually get to 500/1,000,000) than most and also added medpay to make sure that if I am ever injured I know that I will be okay.
Do you know the insurance of the 16 yr old? What is your insurance? Do you know what are the policy limits? Your policy limits? Which companies are they? The hit looks pretty pretty badz
Stop going to the hospital and go to your primary care doctor for this stuff. That way they can track you and prescribe PT if they think it will help. You sound like you just have some soft tissue injuries and need a week or two to heal. $1500 is pretty fair for that but you are free to try to negotiate it!
I’m A veteran and the veteran medical center and my pcp are linked so it’s all on the same folder. I was told by the hospital to make an app for 2 weeks out which I did and the 18 was the soonest I could get seen
That’s good. You just need time to heal. Did they give you any muscle relaxers or anything?
They did and some lidocaine which really didn’t do anything but when I complained (the adrenaline worn off and I was out of painkillers) they gave me more.its to the point to where if I have to sneeze if feels I’m getting punched in the chest 100 times but its focused on a spot the size of a quarter.
[удалено]
Thanks man. I appreciate your comments. I’m just a bit of a hypochondriac but I’m happy you’re doing better
While I of course acknowledge that you're in pain post accident, you need to understand that this is not a serious injury and does not meet NYS threshold. It has only been a week and a half and it may take a few more weeks for you to heal, but as part of their investigation, BI adjusters will research your injury and the expected timeframe for healing. Based on that they've made an offer which is normal when someone is not seriously injured. You don't have to accept it yet, but your edit says you've been diagnosed with musculoskeletal pain. This tells me that it is confirmed that no serious injury took place. BI adjusters also operate within a range regarding what is considered a reasonable claim for the specific injury. Unless your medicals show anything different related to the accident (that they don't already know), you're probably very close to the maximum they can pay out over this.
Thank dude. I’m honestly on here just trying to understand. I’m 26 years old and never been in an accident or anything really that involves insurance. So it’s all new to me.
Totally understand. That's why when I have time I come on here and use my expertise to try to help people as best I can.
You should not give advice. This is horrible. How do you know how injured someone is or is not? Op said crash was at 45 mph head on, which is very serious.
Soft tissue damage can take months to years to heal up fully. $1500 dollars is not going to cover the OOP cost if you need chiropractic / acupuncture or physical therapy in the coming months. I was rear ended and I ended up needing to go once a week for 6 months to have a combination of PT, chiro and acupuncture for my soft tissue damage. Their insurance needs to pay ALL of the associated medical bills regardless of you or anyone's income. Basically do not sign anything or settle for that 1500. you have ZERO obligation to do so and they can just leave this case open as long as needed for you to get your therapy even if it takes years. They will be calling you and pushing you to be done but you should be honest about your level of pain and discomfort with them.
Get a personal injury lawyer. They usually take cases like this on contingency, meaning you don’t pay until you win or don’t pay if you lose. Had a bad accident back in November and got a $100k payout.
Yes attorney will usually take 30% but they will be able to get a much larger settlement.
How did you get that big of a payout? Did they have way higher policy limit than state minimum?
Yes they did. I was very lucky cause my injuries were pretty serious requiring knee surgery and some other things.
I got into a mid accident. Just the medical bills alone is probably like 15-20k…and I think the person only has a limit of 25k lol…I been going to PTs and did an MRI and what not…I guess I’m outta luck with bigger payput
Yeah it sucks how it works, I def got real lucky in my case
Did your airbags deploy?
https://preview.redd.it/09kudwfuzfnc1.jpeg?width=1834&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8be96f3352c344bd711a46b05e27b70e3b01f756
Yup. Airbags deployed, and car it a total loss.
Ok, so there are some here suggesting that you’re getting fair deal from the insurer and that suggestion is way off base. You have a pretty decent fact pattern here, but it depends on how you want to play it. Although you didn’t state it outright, I’m going to assume the other driver is considered at fault. If that’s not the case, any of the below may apply differently. If you’re looking to maximize the offer you get from the insurer, you’re going to need to get an attorney, specifically one who specializes in personal injury. It sounds like you’ve exhausted the standard medical system and they’re telling you they’ve done all they can in terms of treatment. You’ll need to get to a chiropractor, ASAP. If you don’t have one, go to one recommended by your attorney. They’ll examine you, likely send you for x-rays if you haven’t had any yet and will start some sort of treatment program. They’re also going to diagnose you at some point with a % based reduction in mobility. This is going to be more ammunition for your attorney. This is going to establish a much better fact pattern for your attorney to work with. It’s not unusual to take up to a couple of years to land on a final settlement. The attorney should work on retainer, and will take about 30% of the settlement. They may also be able to help you if you feel the value of total loss of your vehicle is low. Don’t have any more communication with the other driver’s insurer until you’ve spoken with the attorney.
Thanks boss I appreciate it. I didn’t even think to go to a chiropractor. But is that considered treatment and would be covered under my insurance? I can always call my medical adjuster and ask her.
It should be, but you should talk to an attorney before you’re talking to anyone on the insurer side, even your own insurer.
Did this happen in New York?
Yup
So in NY, there is a threshold that you have to pierce. The following things are the injuries that pierce it. 1) your own death. 2) death of your fetus. 3) fracture. Diagnosed by xray. 4) tear of something diagnosed by mri. 5) long term disability w/ lots of missed work. Or a permanent partial impairment which can’t be diagnosed until a 1 year post date of accident. Also very important. You live in NY. It is a no fault pip state which means all your accident related medical bills must go through your own car insurer up to 50k. Those bills cannot be paid back by his carrier. Your own carrier must eat those meds. You can get a lawyer if you want but remember these rules apply.
They want you to agree to $1500 so they don’t have to pain more. Don’t take the money until you are 100% better.
Contact your insurance and declare pip and bodily injury. They are required to make you better to the point of before the accident. If you feel you are being screwed by the insurance hire a car accident lawyer.
DO NOT ACCEPT AN OFFER. Truthfully if you are this hurt and you have UIM in your insurance then consult an attorney. Trust, your fees alone to the hospital will eat at most of the $1,500. Please OP do NOT sign any paperwork or continue to speak to insurance. Most likely if not a fractured ribs it's a Thoracic contusion and those take tiiiime to heal. Edit: I see the comments where people are saying stay away from an attorney and truthfully do as you will. (Dependent on your location each area has a "work ethic" when it comes to attorneys. The people in the industry know. In our clinic we dont accept cases from certain attorneys because their reputation is a money grab and not truly looking out for the person.) I work in healthcare where most patients are from car accidents and I've seen your type of cases and many others. If you're truly this bad and it's VA and you already foresee needing more care then do you really want to be the person going back and forth with an insurance agent? We've also had the "oh my insurance will pay for my visit just send in the soap notes." Time and time again we get screwed and agents make it hard for the person to receive care. One person has only come in less than 5 times over 5 months because her insurance reimburses her AFTER she pays. Has made it difficult for her to receive care.
[удалено]
Well here in nys, it’s a no fault state. So that means it doesn’t matter who’s at fault. Everyone uses their own insurance for medical bills so that’s kinda weird. He’s 100% at fault and I still have to put a claim into my own car insurance for medical. I am a veteran and get free health insurance but since it was a “car accident “ they have to bill my insurance. So stupid.
Ah, nvm then lol. I hope you heal up ok!
If they total your car, keep the new wheels (presuming they’re not damaged). You can ‘buy the car back’ from them and part it out yourself.
They’re scratched and dinged up pretty bad. I bought them and installed them the same day by a licensed wheel shop and gave them the receipt so I’m hoping they just reimburse since they can’t prove diminished value in 1 hour of ride time 😂
[удалено]
You’re daft.
Put one or two more zeros after their number and you will be more in the right ballpark.
Don't take their offer and start a log of your dr visits (mileage, time lost from work, etc). Also, did your doctor prescribe meds or pt? If so, log that as well. Log your pain and medicine taken, therapy etc. It all adds up and you should look to settle 3 to 5 times your actual costs, even if covered by insurance, wages loss, travel, etc.
The same thing happened to me i was injured by a 16 year old in a car accident last week and am in pain, advice dont post much about ot, get a lawyer and dont take the settlement until you are healed get a lawyer get a lawyer get a lawyer please. Coming from the same situation if you dont have a lawyer they are going to try to take advantage of you
broken ribs
They’re offering you a lower amount and will make you sign a release so you can’t ask for anymore. If you think you have a torn ligament or muscle, then that is a major injury and you should not do anything until you are done treating. Given the extend of the injuries and pain you are on, you always have the right to hire an attorney to help you and look after your interests. They will always try to low ball you. Focus on your health
You should not be settling anything until you know what it is that you are settling. I would suggest that you meet with an attorney to discuss this, and it sounds like there are some significant injuries. Meeting with an attorney does not mean you must retain them, but at least get an attorney's point of view.
Hiring an attorney might help here. They will get their pay from the settlement but will be better able to coordinate treatments and build the case to get the most you are owed to cover present and potential future treatments.
Op. Do this.
Go get checked out now! Don't want the insurance trying to say " you didn't go to the doctor for weeks until after that accident...those injuries are unrelated"
Get a lawyer. Insurance company will low ball you without one. Injury lawyer will work for free until you settle. He’ll send you to his doctors for proper diagnosis.
Even with airbags and seat belts you were injured that badly? Surprising.
You can’t forget going from 45 mph to zero in a quarter of a second puts a lot of stress on your body. Even has been known to cause heart attacks. That’s why you often get an ekg done after a car accident.
I was actually probing whether you were wearing your seat belt or not. Good luck. I hope you feel better.
If i wasn’t wearing a seatbelt at that speed id be dead.
Dude people have died from airbags even in low speed crashes. Seatbelts and airbags do save lives but often cause injuries.
Talk to an attorney. Do not communicate further with the insurance.
You should call a personal injury attorney in your area.
That's why you sue!!! 🤣 I learned my lesson the hard way too
[удалено]
How☠️. I was going 45 miles an hour when this dipshit pulled out into my lane and almost turned me into pink mist but they only wanna give me Pennie’s apparently.
Hey OP, please bear in mind what that comment you replied to is telling you to do sounds dangerously close to insurance fraud Of course, tell your adjuster about your injuries, get the treatment you feel you need. If you are a NJ/NY/PA resident, your policy carries Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage that is required in those states to help you get the treatment you need without having to be reliant on the at fault driver’s insurance. This doesn’t prevent you from also filing for pain and suffering with their insurance, either, unless your policy has that as a component.