Rear-ended, other drivers fault?

by Doloras » Fri Sep 03, 2010 09:38 pm

my husband & his sister were rear-ended about 10 days ago. Sister was the driver. I took them both to the ER & they were diagnosed with cervical sprain & strain. They were sent to a pain speciality & he ordered 16 visits of physical therapy, plus a CT scan for my husband. He has a begnign tumor at the base of his brain & dr. wants to be sure that that tumor was not traumatized in any way, which might acceslerate it growth. Can anyone advise as to what to expect from Ins. Company on this?

Total Comments: 3

Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 09:50 pm Post Subject:

Well, the tumor is unrelated to the accident. Could it be made worse? A physician would be able to answer that, not anyone here that I know of. Having the diagnostic test is a safety/health precaution that the insurance company would probably not object to.

Injuries are injuries. Soft tissue injuries are more difficult since they sometimes are difficult to see on x-rays, CT scans, sometimes not even visible on an MRI. So expect the insurance company to be a bit skeptical unless there is good medical documentation.

Your sister and your husband would be entitled to have their medical bills paid, along with compensation for each mile driven to and from the PT and MD appointments. And that's in addition to the repairs to the vehicle.

The insurance company is going to ask for their consents on HIPAA PHI (protected health information) releases. So those should be signed and returned ASAP in order to not delay any payment action on the part of the insurer.

Don't expect this to be a $1,000,000 event like some attorneys advertise on TV. That only happens when people are killed or paralyzed, suffer amputations, or other severe permanent disabilities.

Avoid involving an attorney unless and until the claims situation meets an impasse.

Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 08:29 pm Post Subject: REARENDED, OTHER DRIVERS FAULT

The tumor could have been jarred & caused growth to accelerate. Also, since my husband has a Cardiac Defibrillator, he cannot undergo an MRI, so CT Scan is only option. The driver who rear-ended them, did not report this accident to his insurance co. His insurance, Germania, said they could do nothing until they talked to him. He kept ignoring our driver's calls, so I called on my cell & not recognizing my name & #, he answered immediately. Then he put his father on the line & the father was very beligerant, refused to give me even their address & stated that the ins. co's could fight it out. His son seemed to be about 18-19 yrs old. Our driver did not have rental car coverage & the only way she could get a rental car was to involve an reputable attorney, who got her a car right away & had someone pickup her car to be fixed. They both go to physical therapy 2x a week for a minimum of 8 weeks. My husband has been suffering from severe depression (at least we think that's what it is). His defibrillator is implanted on his right chest wall, (since he is left handed )right under the seat belt strap & I'm also concerned about that. Since the accident he has been very depressed (?) & sleeping on the average of 12 hrs. a day. I'm worried about his heart, his BP yesterday was 85/64, altho heart rate was 80. I can't imagine what could be causing this, since it all started after the accident & normally my husband is a very active person. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms from what the ER basically said was whiplash? As you stated, the tumor(s) are unrelated to the tumor, but they are at the base of his brain, affecting 5 nerves including the facial, hearing & other nerves. I'm concerned that some neurological problem is causing him to feel the way he does, possibly the tumors jarred & affecting other areas of his brain. He was definitely not like this before the accident.

Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 11:03 pm Post Subject:

I'm concerned that some neurological problem is causing him to feel the way he does, possibly the tumors jarred & affecting other areas of his brain.



This is a matter for a physician. It could have something to do with the collision from a psychological perspective or it could be a physical response, so if you have not seen his treating physician, I would think that would be more important than just about anything else.

If the offending party is being uncooperative, then your easiest course of action as far as the collision is concerned is to have your company handle the claim for physical damage to the vehicle, and let your lawyer handle all the other damages -- that's what you're paying him/her for with the 33%+ that will come off the top of any settlement or judgment. Perhaps being the named as the defendant in a $1,000,000 civil suit will get your adversary's attention.

But get your husband to the physician ASAP!

Add your comment

Enter the characters shown in the image.
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.