Legal question regarding car accident

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Scooby

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Cleveland, GA
On Sunday my wife and daughter (5.5 months) were involved in a car accident. They were rear ended by a van load of "non english speaking" people. The other parties involved were very beligerant and rude to my wife until I got there. The SO arrived and cited the other parties with following too close and fault of the accident.

The damage to the car (2000 Ford Taurus) appears pretty minor. Mainly rear bumper and cover damage. The impact was pretty hard as it dislodged parts of the dash. My wife has been complaining of the typical necy and back pain (whiplash) as well as some hip pain. My daughter of course pitched a fit after the impact but was fine after my wife got to her. Sunday night/ Monday morning my daughter woke up about 8-10 times during the night which is very unusual for her. We also noticed she didn't want to turn her head completely. Took her to the pedi and she was diagnosed with a sprained/ strained neck. Giving her Motrin/ Tylenol and she is much better.

Now, aside from the vehicle damage and cost for a new car seat, what should we do? When my little girl hurts, I get pi**ed. May not be right, but to me the situation changed with their initial attitude to my wife. They had an insurance card, but don't know as of yet if there is coverage that goes along with it. I have never dealt with this, and don't know what to do when and if the insurance company calls. I am by NO means trying to capitalize on this, but when they hurt my little girl it kinda upset me. Don't know how the pain and suffereing compensation thing goes.

As a side note: I have been a firefighter/ paramedic for 12 years so I know that side of it. Just never had to deal with insurance companies.

Any opinions/ ideas would be greatly appreciated. If need be, I will contact a lawyer, but looking for informal opinions right now.


Thanks
 
Do not ask us.

Read you insurance coverage for starters.

Comprehensive? No Fault? How much injury $$ ?

Have you filed a claim yet?

If not call in ASAP what are you waiting for? (regardless of fault)

I do not think so since the 1st thing your insurance adjuster will ask is "was anyone hurt" (regardless of fault)

In regards to her being hurt? See if your insurance will cover it.

Your insurance company should handle collecting the $$ from the other party or insurance company so worry there.

Again I hope you have FULL coverage.

I say skip the ambulance chasing injury lawyers for they are the slime of the earth and profession.

Just make sure the medical bills and auto repair is not your liability.

If for some reason you lack full coverage and the other party is uncovered/illegal, I regret to say the possibility you may collect anything after suit is nill.

Again file a claim if you have not already.
 
We have full coverage. We have to wait until the accident report is available to get their insurance company.
 
I suggest you get a lawyer due to the fact that those individuals acted like dumba**'s. Also, a lawyer won;t take your case unless its winnable and to a certain extent. My girlfriend's sister was just Invlved in an accident where someone on her right side swiped her (she was in the left most lane) and caused he taurus (1996) to view over the median and crash into a pole. It totaled her car. The a**hole then had the nerve to get out of his car and and bang on my girlfriends sister driver door while she was knocked out and start yelling obsinities at her (according to witnesses). She was when she came out from being unconcieous she was being taken out of the car and witness said that the man was at fault but was unwilling to co-operate with police and give his info because he said it was my girlfriends fault.
Even on the police report it says it was his fault. She has a lawyer and is currently going to physical therapy.
I suggest having your wife go to physical therapy for atleast 2-4 weeks. It will help her recover better. Things also have a tendency to happen faster when you have a lawyer. Otherwise it may take some time to get your medical fees paid and car paid for.
 
The other guy is at fault because its a rear end collision. Since you are fully covered, your insurance company will handle all your needs and subrogate against the other guy's insurance to recover their losses. At some point after the car has been repaired and your family is no longer seeing the doctor, the insurance company will ask you to sign off the claim. Typically you have a year to reopen the claim if any problems reoccur such as need for addl therapy. You need to document doctor visits and physical therapy and length of recovery if you plan on sueing the other guy. A lot of times, they will settle out of court. For instance, sue for $100k, settle for $10k. Over the long hall, its cheaper for the company to settle out of court for a nominal fee, rather than go to trial, and spend a lot of bucks on attorney fees. They will pay for you to go away. Keep in mind, that these types of nuisance suits typically drive up the cost of insurance, but if getting your pound of flesh makes you feel better...
 
You shouldn't have to deal with their insurance company at all. Your insurance company should handle everything for you. Many would like you to deal directly with other person's insurance company just to save them the work. You may have to pay a deductible ..but that will be returned to you if and when they recover damages from the offending persons insurer.

Naturally you may have some lame insurance laws in your state.

In either case make sure your wife and child are perfectly okay with their injuries. Spare no expense (time) in exploring any and all somatic complaints (not easy with an infant). This may involve several pediatric specialists (neuralogists, etc.) to determine if any long term effects are present due to this trauma. Your insurance policy may cover lost wages due to injuries (mine does) and this usually includes time lost for diagnosis and treatment (rehab, therapy, etc.).

Luckily your child was born in the era of car seats. When some drunk plowed into our car, I was sitting on my Mom's lap (4 years old) and I hit the ceiling of the car. We all walked away from the crash in one piece. The "contra cou" bruising on my brain gave me neurological problems until I was 13 years of age, requiring over 8 years of trips to Boston (Children's Hosp).

This isn't to scare you but I would think that before you sign off on anything that you at least contact your regular non blood sucking lawyer. They'll do a better job if you infact need them. Not for making you gain financially, but to assure that you don't have some tremendous burden later on that no one should endure without adaquate funding.

Health is wealth.
 
If they are "undocumented immigrants" (PC term) HAHAHHA well then you are screwed probably. They can come here and get anything they want for free. Heck they don't even need a license or insurance and they get free medical care plus they'll get a free lawyer too. Can't beat that deal...

I hope this turns out ok for you, I really do. Hope your wife and baby are alright.
 
FWIW here in Oz you would go straight to a doctor for a checkup and get a medical cert. If there are medical problems later you have the proof insurance companies and others require. Having a young daughter myself I feel for you.
 
Good,

You will be able to collect everything from your own insurance company no matter what the deal is with the south americans that hit you.

Ideally they will pay your insurance your company...which will pay the body shop and the doctors.

If not, you are still covered and the insurance companies lawyers will subrogate or try to make a collection claim against them.

Just be happy your insurance pays...like out of staters and foreigners going after them personally is a waste of time...lost cause.

Again, your wise to have full comprehensive coverage.

Both babies of yours are covered (the taurus and kid that is)

Leave the revenge part to god and your insurance company not personal injury lawyers.

I can not see this episode going anywhere near your 100k$ coverage limit.
 
offtopic.gif

This reminds me of a time when I was a kid...my mom had a 'near miss' in a quiet residential area. Hard to tell who was in the wrong - my mom had the stop sign (and did stop) and the other clown was speeding, plus it was tough to see around the corner. Anyway, this idiot screeches to a halt screaming obscenities & starts fishing around in his trunk for a bat or something. We were pretty scared (Mom and me, a little kid at the time)!

Unfortunately this guy picked the wrong people to roadrage on. My stepdad was a police detective and found an opportunity to pay him a little visit. No problems after that...
 
The other party actually had insurance? NOT the case the TWO times I was rear ended by stinking low lifes here totally illegally. Don't give me some sh%t about these people chasing money to support their families....demmit that is my goal TOO. But, we all have to abide by the law!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In my cases both were work car related and I wasn't injured, but both times the people just took off from wherever they lived, etc never to be seen again.....

OK I've calmed down. Hope you are OK. I have more than one daughter so I can relate.

Was there any other witnesses to the miscreatants poor acting?

Please seek another doctor and get a 100% check up for wife and daughter. Yes, by all means keep your insurance in the loop, it's their job. I hate lawyers more than illegal aliens, but they may have a role here as well.
 
Scooby,

Since the other driver hit you, I would subrogate the claims (collect from your company & then your company collects from the at fault driver's insurance company) this speeds up the process of collecting any $$$ for your medical bills from PIP and gets your car fixed much sooner. Don't hesistate to see any doctors, Chiropractors or go to physical therapy.
cool.gif
 
quote:
Originally posted by Pablo:
In my cases both were work car related and I wasn't injured, but both times the people just took off from wherever they lived, etc never to be seen again.....
Click to expand...
It's too bad you can't go after their employer.
 
I'm sorry I don't know doodly about insurance stuff. However, regarding your child and wife, I *highly* recommend you see a chiropracter. You want anything taken care of right away before it becomes a problem, I ignored a problem for a few years and I got a couple of herniated discs for it when my back finally gave out (I now have 2 herniated and one bulging disc.)

Take it from somebody with *experience* in these matters. Find a good chiropracter that specializes in kids and get your get going right away. My kid took a small tumble and started refusing to turn his neck to the left and slept very poorly. Sure, drugs (aspirin, etc..) would help but it only alleviates pain not the cause. 5 minutes after getting adjusted (you would NOT believe how little pressure is involved), my kid is asleep and later that day he was turning his neck fine again. 2-3 visits later and he's all done.

For myself, until a few years ago, by the 8-9 oclock at night, I got around on my hands and knees because of the pain, and I wasn't even 27 years old. I started seeing my wife's chiropracter, and 3 weeks of 3-times-a-week later (at $35 each visit, insurance pays about $20 of that) and I hadn't felt that good in 10 years.

Now I go for "maintainence" once a month to once every 6 weeks. My wife absolutely swears by our chiro, and you can tell the difference in the kid when he gets adjusted.

Now, there are lots of chiropracters out there. Stay away from the sports-medicine types, or anybody that doesn't use what they call an "activator" (it's a device that delivers a very precise amount of force, far less than what you would think). It's much more accurate, effective, and safer than "hands-on" manipulation. Finding one that specializes in kids is a huge bonus. In my experience you need to find a chiropracter whose *technique* (different person = different technique) works for you.
 
Contact your insurance company and their insurance company. Go see your physician and see what they recommend also and obviously check over everyone. Good luck and I wish family/you the best.

Just because someone does not speak english it does not mean they are not a citizen of the US as most presume. English is not the official language of the US. We are a melting pot, and Spanish is becoming more prevelant.
 
We contacted our insurance company and they said it was our responsibility to contact their ins company...yeah right.

Also contacted an attorney and will know more in a week or so.

As far as the non-english speaking population. I never said they were non-citizens. I'm sure they were. IMO, if they are citizens, they should be required to speak English. Sorry, but every day in my job I deal with people who do not "habla". I've actually had people tell me that in my job I should be required to at least learn Spanish to be better able to serve people. YEAH RIGHT. If we went to France, Spain, etc would they cater to us if we didn't speak their language? I didn't think so. If I run a call on non-english speaking population and they can't communicate their problem, etc...sorry. If need be I'll call the language line, but with so many different nationalities, there have been cases where they don't have someone who can speak that particular language. Hey, if you don't speak english and have chest pain or similar...you better learn how to say chest pain, or difficulty breathing in English or I can't help.

Now, off my soapbox.
 
quote:
We contacted our insurance company and they said it was our responsibility to contact their ins company...yeah right.
Click to expand...
You've got to get another insurance company. I'd call them back and ask (tell) them when you can be seen by an adjuster.

My first question would be, "What am I paying you for?"
 
quote:
Originally posted by rjundi:
Just because someone does not speak english it does not mean they are not a citizen of the US as most presume. English is not the official language of the US. We are a melting pot, and Spanish is becoming more prevelant.
Click to expand...
The original comment regarding this was talking about illegal aliens.

It is, of course, possible to be neither an illegal alien nor a citizen--in which case you'll have a green card.

Citizenship is difficult enough to obtain that I would think that someone who goes through the process will learn at least a little bit of English.

Although I did read in the Washington Post about a year ago that many second-generation American children (who are US Citizens by birth) are not learning English due to their living in ethnically homogenous neighborhoods.

Did someone say melting pot?
 
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