Advice needed (and welcome!)--UPDATE page 3!

[tessiemez]

This is sort of a doozy, so bear with me here:

Last Friday, I was running pre-Disney-trip errands in the next town over (with only twelve hours before leaving for our faaaabulous seven day pre-baby vacation!). It was getting into Friday afternoon/evening traffic. I was stopped at a red light behind some cars when a woman rear-ended me. The force of the collision pushed my car into the car in front of me. I'm guessing that she must have hit me at 30-40 mph, but I can't say for certain because I'm not really good at guessing those things.

I'd never been in an accident before and was, frankly, terrified--mostly because I'm six months pregnant. We pulled into the parking lot of a church we were next to and waited on police. I called my mother, who lives nearby, to come and join me. The police took almost an hour to arrive, and offered to call me an ambulance but I had my mother drive me as I didn't want to wait any longer to go to the hospital and be examined. Immediately after the car accident I had simply felt scared, but now I was starting to feel definite uneasiness in my abdomen.

When I got to the hospital, the staff determined quickly that I was having contractions. I was hooked up to fetal monitors and a machine to monitor my contractions, and I was given IV fluids and medications to stop the contractions. The hospital kept me overnight to monitor me--the contractions faded, and later in the next day, they released me with orders to rest for the week and follow up with my own doctor. Our baby seems to be fine for now--thank God!--and I have soreness and bruising.

The woman who hit me admitted fault in the accident, and the preliminary police report found that of the three cars involved, she was the only one responsible for the collisions.

I filed a claim with my insurance company and had my car towed yesterday. Today they called me and said my car was totaled. My adjuster said she filed a claim for me with the other woman's insurance. Her adjuster called me today and said she needed my side of the story--I asked her to call back tomorrow as I was on a prepaid phone and was about to run out of minutes.

::whew:: Okay. Here's what I need advice about:

*I obviously feel I should be compensated for the car, which I still owe a fair amount of money on (I actually owe about $1000 more than it's worth, but I don't know if I can get them to cover that additional amount). I also feel that her insurance should pay for my stay in the hospital--with three months until my baby girl arrives, my husband and I can't afford any additional expenses. I am worried that her insurance company will be difficult about covering this. I've never dealt with a situation like this before--will adjusters negotiate?

*I have to give my statement for the other driver's adjuster tomorrow, and I'm really scared. I can be an easy person to take advantage of (guess I give off that vibe!), and don't want to be manipulated or get myself into an unsavory situation. Do I need to talk to a lawyer?

I don't want to sue--I really don't. We're not worried that we missed our Disney trip. I could have lost my little girl. I am exceptionally thankful that nothing worse happened, because God knows it could have. I don't want to profit from the situation ... I merely want to stay as afloat as I was beforehand. To me, that means her insurance company should cover the expense of my car, my hospital bill, and a car rental until we can get this settled. Is this reasonable? Is it attainable?

Sorry for the REALLY long post ... I thought laying out the situation would make it easier to get advice. (Also, I understand that advice I receive is subjective--I do not expect legal council here, but I would appreciate opinions based on personal experience.

Thanks so much for listening. I needed to get that out.

 

[pfishgirl]

Thank Goodness you and your soon to be here daughter are ok..

Make Sure you STRESS that you DID go to the Hospital Directly after the accident because since you did Not go by ambulance, they may not be reliable for the costs

ETA: ooo Just keep thinking about your daughter and stay strong and make sure you get what you're entitled to and DON'T let them bully you down

 

[lovesmurfs]

I can't help you much, but What a scary thing!

I was in an accident when my daughter was 1 1/2 (in car seat in back). A lady turned left in front of me (trying to beat a turn arrow that had long since disappeared).

My car was totalled, I had a sprained ankle, broken finger, and a messed up jaw (from clenching on impact). My DD had a bloody nose from her carseat. Worse thing was that I missed my 6 year old acting in the Easter musical and I wound up having to fly instead of drive to my brother's wedding in North Carolina. O'Hare Airport on crutches is not a joy. We didn't want to get anything out of it either. Could easily have been me making the lady's mistake.

Be ready -- no hospital or medical bills will be paid at all until you settle with the insurance company. Do not settle until you are sure everything is all right with the baby. When you settle you'll sign a paper saying that you promise not to ever bring the insured or company to litigation or ask for any additional monies as a result of the incident.

My final check from the company included payment for all medical bills and ambulance (KEEP GOOD RECORDS), payment for the car (including my deductible...the deductible may have been paid up front by her company first), all items in the car, including a stroller, carseat, and the dress I was wearing, the airplane tickets for myself and my son (my DH couldn't go with us and we'd planned to drive to the wedding), and $3,000 for pain/suffering. That was their first offer, and we didn't want to push anything more.

Because of your special medical situation, you may wish to get a legal opinion before settling. You don't want to say that everything's okay now, but then have problems after she's born as a result of the accident.

 

[CowboyCO]

This is sort of a doozy, so bear with me here:

Last Friday, I was running pre-Disney-trip errands in the next town over (with only twelve hours before leaving for our faaaabulous seven day pre-baby vacation!). It was getting into Friday afternoon/evening traffic. I was stopped at a red light behind some cars when a woman rear-ended me. The force of the collision pushed my car into the car in front of me. I'm guessing that she must have hit me at 30-40 mph, but I can't say for certain because I'm not really good at guessing those things.

I'd never been in an accident before and was, frankly, terrified--mostly because I'm six months pregnant. We pulled into the parking lot of a church we were next to and waited on police. I called my mother, who lives nearby, to come and join me. The police took almost an hour to arrive, and offered to call me an ambulance but I had my mother drive me as I didn't want to wait any longer to go to the hospital and be examined. Immediately after the car accident I had simply felt scared, but now I was starting to feel definite uneasiness in my abdomen.

When I got to the hospital, the staff determined quickly that I was having contractions. I was hooked up to fetal monitors and a machine to monitor my contractions, and I was given IV fluids and medications to stop the contractions. The hospital kept me overnight to monitor me--the contractions faded, and later in the next day, they released me with orders to rest for the week and follow up with my own doctor. Our baby seems to be fine for now--thank God!--and I have soreness and bruising.

The woman who hit me admitted fault in the accident, and the preliminary police report found that of the three cars involved, she was the only one responsible for the collisions.

I filed a claim with my insurance company and had my car towed yesterday. Today they called me and said my car was totaled. My adjuster said she filed a claim for me with the other woman's insurance. Her adjuster called me today and said she needed my side of the story--I asked her to call back tomorrow as I was on a prepaid phone and was about to run out of minutes.

::whew:: Okay. Here's what I need advice about:

*I obviously feel I should be compensated for the car, which I still owe a fair amount of money on (I actually owe about $1000 more than it's worth, but I don't know if I can get them to cover that additional amount). I also feel that her insurance should pay for my stay in the hospital--with three months until my baby girl arrives, my husband and I can't afford any additional expenses. I am worried that her insurance company will be difficult about covering this. I've never dealt with a situation like this before--will adjusters negotiate?

*I have to give my statement for the other driver's adjuster tomorrow, and I'm really scared. I can be an easy person to take advantage of (guess I give off that vibe!), and don't want to be manipulated or get myself into an unsavory situation. Do I need to talk to a lawyer?

I don't want to sue--I really don't. We're not worried that we missed our Disney trip. I could have lost my little girl. I am exceptionally thankful that nothing worse happened, because God knows it could have. I don't want to profit from the situation ... I merely want to stay as afloat as I was beforehand. To me, that means her insurance company should cover the expense of my car, my hospital bill, and a car rental until we can get this settled. Is this reasonable? Is it attainable?

Sorry for the REALLY long post ... I thought laying out the situation would make it easier to get advice. (Also, I understand that advice I receive is subjective--I do not expect legal council here, but I would appreciate opinions based on personal experience.

Thanks so much for listening. I needed to get that out.

I think you need to contact an attorney. You are not out of the woods yet, and although it appears your baby is Okay, I would not settle for just your monetary loss.

 

[Mommy2cody]

Im am glad both of you are okay.

 

[SleepyMom]

Be ready -- no hospital or medical bills will be paid at all until you settle with the insurance company. Do not settle until you are sure everything is all right with the baby. When you settle you'll sign a paper saying that you promise not to ever bring the insured or company to litigation or ask for any additional monies as a result of the incident.

.

The bolded part is very important.

I was in a situation very similar to the OP, a lady ran a red light and t-boned us. I did go by ambulance because I had just had surgery the week before because of the baby and they didn't want to take any chances. We were advised NOT to sign anything until after the baby was born and OK. This happened in August, DD was born in January and maybe 3 months later the lady's insurance person came to our home and had me sign papers agreeing I would never sue her. They paid the ambulance, hospital visit and for the car repairs, then gave me a $300 check because of the agreement not to sue. We told them all we wanted was the bills to be paid that were caused by her, but the guy insisted we take the check. I guess it makes it harder to go back and try to sue if you already accepted money, not that we had any plans to anyways.

Glad to hear you and your DD are OK

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

You need to contact your insurance company and see if they would like to have someone present when you go to give a statement to her insurance adjustor. I definitely wouldn't do that without some sort of representation.

As for missing your Disney trip, what were your losses on that trip? Was it something that could be rescheduled, did you lose vacation time over it, or what was the case?

There are many many questions here...and while I think it's wrong to try to gain personally over someone else's accident, I think you need to be realistic about what the accident cost you.

I think I might also be checking to see if she was on a cell phone or was texting during the accident. That would make me change my mind about how I handled it!

 

[allison443]

First I am glad you are okay and your baby is okay!

This is another situation where posters can give their personal stories, but actually the laws/insurance regulations can be different in every state. Do you know any attorney that you could speak with and decide how to proceed?

In NJ my dd was hit in the rear by a drunk driver. Her medical expenses were covered through our own insurance policy as NJ is a no-fault state. The drunk driver was totally at fault, and his insurance company paid for the total loss of her vehicle. In some states, e.g., New York, you cannot recover for "pain and suffering" unless you meet a certain standard of "serious injury" like a fracture or a permanent injury. I would check with your own insurance company first to see who is supposed to cover your medical costs.

As for giving your account of the accident-based on what you posted, you were stopped at a red light. You were at a complete stop for however many seconds. You were whatever distance from the car in front of you. You were hit in the rear by car number 3 and pushed into car number 2. They might ask if you heard any horns sounding, or brakes or tires screeching, or if you saw the other car before the accident. It sounds like there was nothing you could have done to avoid it, so don't worry. Don't volunteer information. Don't guess. You can describe the impact as heavy or light, car number 3's speed can usually be deduced from the damage caused, if that turns out to be a factor. If they ask about your injuries/treatment, tell them about the hospital. Don't say you're fine, in case it turns out there is a future problem. Say you are still seeing your ob-gyn, which obviously you are.

Good luck to you.

 

[brockash]

This is sort of a doozy, so bear with me here:

Last Friday, I was running pre-Disney-trip errands in the next town over (with only twelve hours before leaving for our faaaabulous seven day pre-baby vacation!). It was getting into Friday afternoon/evening traffic. I was stopped at a red light behind some cars when a woman rear-ended me. The force of the collision pushed my car into the car in front of me. I'm guessing that she must have hit me at 30-40 mph, but I can't say for certain because I'm not really good at guessing those things.

I'd never been in an accident before and was, frankly, terrified--mostly because I'm six months pregnant. We pulled into the parking lot of a church we were next to and waited on police. I called my mother, who lives nearby, to come and join me. The police took almost an hour to arrive, and offered to call me an ambulance but I had my mother drive me as I didn't want to wait any longer to go to the hospital and be examined. Immediately after the car accident I had simply felt scared, but now I was starting to feel definite uneasiness in my abdomen.

When I got to the hospital, the staff determined quickly that I was having contractions. I was hooked up to fetal monitors and a machine to monitor my contractions, and I was given IV fluids and medications to stop the contractions. The hospital kept me overnight to monitor me--the contractions faded, and later in the next day, they released me with orders to rest for the week and follow up with my own doctor. Our baby seems to be fine for now--thank God!--and I have soreness and bruising.

The woman who hit me admitted fault in the accident, and the preliminary police report found that of the three cars involved, she was the only one responsible for the collisions.

I filed a claim with my insurance company and had my car towed yesterday. Today they called me and said my car was totaled. My adjuster said she filed a claim for me with the other woman's insurance. Her adjuster called me today and said she needed my side of the story--I asked her to call back tomorrow as I was on a prepaid phone and was about to run out of minutes.

::whew:: Okay. Here's what I need advice about:

*I obviously feel I should be compensated for the car, which I still owe a fair amount of money on (I actually owe about $1000 more than it's worth, but I don't know if I can get them to cover that additional amount). I also feel that her insurance should pay for my stay in the hospital--with three months until my baby girl arrives, my husband and I can't afford any additional expenses. I am worried that her insurance company will be difficult about covering this. I've never dealt with a situation like this before--will adjusters negotiate?

*I have to give my statement for the other driver's adjuster tomorrow, and I'm really scared. I can be an easy person to take advantage of (guess I give off that vibe!), and don't want to be manipulated or get myself into an unsavory situation. Do I need to talk to a lawyer?

I don't want to sue--I really don't. We're not worried that we missed our Disney trip. I could have lost my little girl. I am exceptionally thankful that nothing worse happened, because God knows it could have. I don't want to profit from the situation ... I merely want to stay as afloat as I was beforehand. To me, that means her insurance company should cover the expense of my car, my hospital bill, and a car rental until we can get this settled. Is this reasonable? Is it attainable?

Sorry for the REALLY long post ... I thought laying out the situation would make it easier to get advice. (Also, I understand that advice I receive is subjective--I do not expect legal council here, but I would appreciate opinions based on personal experience.

Thanks so much for listening. I needed to get that out.

I'm assuming the person at fault has been charged with reckless driving or something to that effect? If this is the case, I would contact the DA's office asap. to let them know you're coroperative, and that you're concerned with the resitution that you're owed. They will make sure that any plea deal the defendant is allowed to take will include all restitution. -Their office probably has a restitution department, and will probably be sending you some type of victim impact statement in which you would submit any/all restitution due to you. The best thing you can do is to make sure the DA's office has your CORRECT info. and to keep the communication open with them as much as poss. Good luck!

 

[christineann]

I work in insurance defense, and you should wait - do not settle with the insurance company for at least 6 months. The insurance company should pay for your hospital visit, any follow up treatment, your vehicle, lost wages (if any), a rental car, and any items that were damaged in your vehicle. I've never seen an insurance company refuse to pay the above when liability is not disputed and the treatment is legit (as in your case). A reasonable settlement is usually around 2 1/2 times your medical bills.

You are not required to give a recorded statement to the insurance company for the at fault driver, though that can speed up things as far as payment of your expenses. Contacting an attorney is not a bad idea, but PLEASE call someone other than those who have the commercials all over TV. In our area, they are kind of a joke, and quite frankly, not the best to go to. Many deal in quantity and will rarely pursue a case to trial, and the fees/expenses they charge are too high for their services. There are some very good attorneys - check with friends and your own insurance company for a recommendation.

In our state, your company's adjustor would handle much of the communication with the other driver's insurance company.

My sister in law was in an accident when she was 8 months pregnant and went into premature labor. She was treated at a hospital overnight and had a beautiful baby boy a month later. Hugs to you.....that must have been SO frightening. I hope you are feeling better!

 

[Michelle67]

My advice is not to say a single word to the other insurance company until you've talked to your own first to get some advice from them. An attorney is really a good idea. You sound like a very nice, moral person who doesn't want to be "sue happy" and take advantage of someone. Those are wonderful attributes, but please don't let yourself end up being harmed by them. You don't have to be a greedy shark to be sure to get what is right by you. This is what she has insurance for, ya know?

 

[allison443]

Does anybody else have ads for accident attorneys at the bottom of this page??

 

[tessiemez]

Everyone,

Thanks so much for the input. Just talking about it helps.

As for missing your Disney trip, what were your losses on that trip? Was it something that could be rescheduled, did you lose vacation time over it, or what was the case?

That's mostly a non-issue. We were traveling with my sister and brother-in-law, and they still went (and took the hotel room expenses). It was a VERY budget trip--no meals in the park, etc.. We already opened our Undercover Tourist tickets, but since they don't expire, hopefully we can reschedule the trip for next Christmas or early 2010. Most of what we lost was our last chance for a vacation before the baby comes ... but I'm not worried. It'll be just as special next year--and I'll probably feel like I deserve a vacation more this time next year.

Also, re: the cell phone thing--I didn't see whether or not she was using one. I wouldn't be surprised. She was standing near me at one point while we waited on the cops complaining over the phone about how her plans were being delayed that night. Nevermind the pregnant woman she rear-ended, or the car she forced my car into, which had two children in it.

(Oh, and after I pulled my car into the church parking lot--my whole body shaking, and me crying--and got out of my car, she casually suggested I re-park my car before the police arrived, because my car was overlapping the parking lines and thus taking up slightly more than one space. ... She was pulled sideways across three spaces, so I don't know why she was pointing that out. )

I work in insurance defense, and you should wait - do not settle with the insurance company for at least 6 months.

This is what worries me. My husband and I only have one car, and our work times overlap. So, if we shared a car, either I could take the car and drop him off 4.5 hours early, or he could take the car and pick me up 6 hours late. We live in the upstate, and I work in a very small country town--public transportation is not an option. I'm assuming they're not going to pay for a rental car for six months, and we cannot afford to get another car--there's just no way. We budget very tightly to afford my car payment, which I'll still have to be paying. I am at a loss ... I just don't know what I'm going to do. I go back to work next week, and I need a car ... but I'm afraid that we'll find out something is wrong with the baby, or I'll have complications, and it'll be too late. I wonder for how long they'll provide me with a rental car while we deal with the settlement.

Brockash--I'm not sure what she's been charged with .... I'm assuming she's at least been ticketed for something. I'm going to see if I can get a copy of the official report tomorrow. Maybe that will say. I didn't even think about contacting the DA's office. I feel so lost here!

 

[HunnyPots]

When I was in an accident several years ago, I was advised by my insurance company not to give any statement to the other insurance company but to simply refer them to the police report, as all the info they need is there in public record. HTH...

 

[tessiemez]

Does anybody else have ads for accident attorneys at the bottom of this page??

I have car rental ads on mine.

::sigh::

 

[Michelle67]

When I was in an accident several years ago, I was advised by my insurance company not to give any statement to the other insurance company but to simply refer them to the police report, as all the info they need is there in public record. HTH...

That sounds like good advice.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm sorry about what happened and glad that you and your baby are ok.

My husband and I only have one car, and our work times overlap. So, if we shared a car, either I could take the car and drop him off 4.5 hours early, or he could take the car and pick me up 6 hours late. We live in the upstate, and I work in a very small country town--public transportation is not an option. I'm assuming they're not going to pay for a rental car for six months, and we cannot afford to get another car

I don't have much advice other than to say that I was in a relatively minor accident where the other driver was at fault and her insurance company paid for a rental car for me for the entire time my car was in the shop. I had to put up a bit of a fight to get it, but it was covered. (I always had it on my own insurance but somehow it wasn't there when I went to use it, not sure how that happened but it would have only been a problem if the accident was my own fault.) HTH.

 

[HelenePA]

Glad your both alright!

btdt but my accident was MUCH more serious than yours. It included a helicopter ride to the hospital. I was 20 weeks preg with my 2nd daughter.. everything turned out okay in the end so I'll spare you the details.. anyway I would go listen to see what the other persons insurance will offer you BEFORE contacting a lawyer.. honestly I wish I had.. instead I let my "inlaws" talk me into seeing a lawyer first.. I really think I would have walked away with more money if I didn't have my lawyer.. she took almost 40% of what I got for pain and suffering. Please keep this in mind while you talk to them tomorrow! Plus it took me almost 2 YEARS to get it.. some of it was due to me but really 2 years?!?! it got dragged out much longer than I expected!

 

[christineann]

You don't have to sign a release or settle your claim to get a rental car or a new vehicle. You can settle the property damage as a separate claim (or leave the entire claim open), but make sure you are not signing a full release. The vehicle, rental or replacement, should be the quick and easy part of your claim.

 

[clutter]

You've gotten some great advice here.

You do want to settle the collision portion of your claim. Unfortunately, you may not get back enough to pay off your totalled car, but hopefully you can work around that. Have you contacted your insurance? Really, they are the best people for you to work with. They will do things like cover your rental (if you have that coverage) then be reimbursed by the other policy so you don't have to deal with that (generally the limit is 30 days). They can walk you through what to expect. You probably can tell them your side of the story and have the other insurance company work with them so you don't even have to deal with it. As for medical, your health or auto insurance may cover your expenses for you, then request reimbursement from the other auto policy, depending on how your state works. If you are in a state that allows pain and suffering, I agree that your final settlement will likely be around 2 1/2 times your medical expenses. If you hire an attorney, they can maybe get you more, but they will take 30% to 40% of it for their fees.