Accident Advice?

[Iwantone2]

Hello all,

My girlfriend got in an accident a few months ago and the person that rear-ended her was at fault (as he should be). She went to the chiropractor for several weeks after that because her back was hurting.

Her car has been repaired and when it came time to discuss a settlement, she told the insurance company if they could give her $5K. They said okay, but that there was an outstanding balance of $1,400 for the chiropractors fees.

Should she have to pay out of her settlement for those fees or are they giving her a run-around? My family's lawyer said that she should not have to, but then yesterday she received another letter in the mail from her insurance company (?) stating that the total chiropractors fee was about $3500 and if she received any kind of settlement, she would have to reimburse the insurance company for that cost.

WTF is going on with this?!?!? What the hell is the point in having insurance if you are going to end up paying out of pocket for crap that wasn't your fault?

Please provide any experiences, thoughts, or advice. If any more details are needed, I can ask my g/f.

Thanks

[MrIcky]

The information provided is really incomplete. If she signed a full release settlement for $5000 then yes, she has to pay the bills out of that settlement. If she signed a release for medical bills and $5000 in general damages in addition to the special damages, then the insurance company should pick it up. I am also suspect of the information that her bill was $1400 and is suddenly over $3000. Is the chiro taking her for a ride? There are good chiros out there, but there are a lot of sheisters. How long is "a few months" and how many chiro visits were there?

[67 Convertible]

I think the "settlement" should be negotiated by a lawyer, they usually take 1/3 of the settlement with no up front costs to you.

I was rear ended about 8 years ago, slight back and neck injuries....I asked his insurance to pay for:

1) vehicle repair ($4,000)
2) rental car while mine was in shop, ($300)
3) Pay my medical bills, emerg. rm, chiropractor and therapy ($2,200)

I did not want any extra money for my inconvenience, so they would only have to pay $6,500 total... out of that only $2,200 medical.

They dicked me around and refused to pay the medical saying it was excessive. After numerous conversations with his insurance company and not being able to get them to budge on the medical, I told them I was retaining an attorney.

Now I'm really not the kind of guy who sues anyone, in fact this was my first and only time, but his insurance co. was really giving me a hard time about paying my medical bills.

Short version: My lawyer sued for $30k, they settled for $25k. The lawyer got $8,300, they paid all my claims which was $6,500 and I pocketed $10,200.

So his insurance could have done the right thing in the beginning and it would have only cost them $6,500......instead they dicked me around and it cost them $25k.......

[Iwantone2]

Originally Posted by MrIcky

The information provided is really incomplete. If she signed a full release settlement for $5000 then yes, she has to pay the bills out of that settlement. If she signed a release for medical bills and $5000 in general damages in addition to the special damages, then the insurance company should pick it up. I am also suspect of the information that her bill was $1400 and is suddenly over $3000. Is the chiro taking her for a ride? There are good chiros out there, but there are a lot of sheisters. How long is "a few months" and how many chiro visits were there?

I'll try to provide what i can:

She has not signed anything for any settlement. Not sure if she signed release for medical bills. I think the letter stated that the total chiro bill was the $3K, but the other insurance company will only cover $2500 I'm guessing the chiro is trying to get more money. Accident was in April and not sure how many chiro visits there were.

[1bad65]

My wife was in an accident a few years ago and we handled it ourselves.

The car had about $9k of damage, and she had a concussion. She had two separate MRIs done. Bottom line, the insurance paid for all of her medical costs, the cost of the car repair, they paid for the rental car while hers was in the shop, and we got some money for her injuries as well. We did not need a lawyer.

FYI, it was an unisured motorist, so we dealt with our insurance company. They initially did try and low-ball us. Do not sign any settlement offer until you know what your total bills are (medical and car related).

[Iwantone2]

Originally Posted by 67 Convertible

I think the "settlement" should be negotiated by a lawyer, they usually take 1/3 of the settlement with no up front costs to you.

I was rear ended about 8 years ago, slight back and neck injuries....I asked his insurance to pay for:

1) vehicle repair ($4,000)
2) rental car while mine was in shop, ($300)
3) Pay my medical bills, emerg. rm, chiropractor and therapy ($2,200)

I did not want any extra money for my inconvenience, so they would only have to pay $6,500 total... out of that only $2,200 medical.

They dicked me around and refused to pay the medical saying it was excessive. After numerous conversations with his insurance company and not being able to get them to budge on the medical, I told them I was retaining an attorney.
Now I'm really not the kind of guy who sues anyone, in fact this was my first and only time, but his insurance co. was really giving me a hard time about paying my medical bills.

Short version: My lawyer sued for $30k, they settled for $25k. The lawyer got $8,300, they paid all my claims which was $6,500 and I pocketed $10,200.

So his insurance could have done the right thing in the beginning and it would have only cost them $6,500......instead they dicked me around and it cost them $25k.......

I believe that this is what they are doing to my g/f saying that the chiro bill is excessive and that she will have to pay the excess out of pocket from her "settlement".

What has us worried is this other letter saying that she will have to reinburse the insurance company for the medical costs if she gets a settlement.

Thanks for the replies all, if anyone else can chime in "we" would really appreciate it.

[Banshee]

Do not sign or verbally agree to anything. Insurance companies are notorious for this behavior.

What is excessive medical care? Really! Depending on the coverage she has, the insurance company has an obligation to cover all associated medical care and they have to prove that what the chiropractor provided was excessive.

I would ask the insurance company why they believe the care is excessive.

Is this the offending party's insurance company she is dealing with? If so, you must play hardball with them. They try and berate and hardnose people and manipulate them into thinking they are getting a deal of a lifetime. If he caused the accident and caused $5k in damages and ongoing medical care cost $3500, I would expect my car to be made whole as well as my health regardless of the cost.

[Iwantone2]

Originally Posted by Banshee

Do not sign or verbally agree to anything. Insurance companies are notorious for this behavior.

What is excessive medical care? Really! Depending on the coverage she has, the insurance company has an obligation to cover all associated medical care and they have to prove that what the chiropractor provided was excessive.

I would ask the insurance company why they believe the care is excessive.

Is this the offending party's insurance company she is dealing with? If so, you must play hardball with them. They try and berate and hardnose people and manipulate them into thinking they are getting a deal of a lifetime. If he caused the accident and caused $5k in damages and ongoing medical care cost $3500, I would expect my car to be made whole as well as my health regardless of the cost.

Thanks Banshee, I don't think she has verbally agreed to anything either. That's what pisses me off!!! What's the purpose of insurance if they are "making" her pay?!?!? Both parties have the same insurance company, and yes she is dealing with the offending party's people. I think the "letter" she got was from my g/f's insurance people

Does anybody know the statute of limitations on a car accident claim for California? I think I'm just going to ask our lawyer to take her case if it's not too late.

[Banshee]

Insurance adjusters do this sh*t all the time! They manipulate and coerce people to settle and some get a cut on what they save the insurance companies.

I do not know all the details, but hearing the offender has the same ins. company as your gf is a sure sign or malfeasance and wronging. If it were seperate companies, the likelyhood of this situation occuring is much less.

[brandotron]

Get a lawyer ASAP. The consultation will most likely be free, and as previously stated here, there won't be any costs up front.

She'd be crazy to fight this alone.

[Iwantone2]

I think her stepdad's dad said for her to ask the chiro to work with her and lower his costs.

I can't take this anymore and I have no idea how she feels going through this!!! I feel angry because of what is happening to her and I feel like kicking somebody's ass!!!

I think some of you are right...it's time to make the call...

[1bad65]

What insurance company are you dealing with?

[Iwantone2]

Originally Posted by 1bad65

What insurance company are you dealing with?

I don't know the complete name, but it has something to do with Liberty...maybe liberty mutual but not so sure.

[1bad65]

Ok, that's not the one we dealt with. The one we dealt with did try and really low-ball us at first though.

I will say we now have State Farm, and everyone I know with them is very happy.