I was involved in an auto accident where the other driver hit me from behind.?
Question:
Thanks
Answer:
Ronnie,
You don't state whether you have your auto insurance or not. If you do then you need to use your Med Pay or Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage for your med bills. If you don't have either of these coverages then you have to pay the bills up front then get reimbursed by State Farm when you settle your claim.
The fact that St. Farm is not paying your bills as you incur them is legal and no matter what you do or say that won't change. A lawyer isn't going to change that fact either.
There are two main reasons they won't pay your bills as you incur them.
1. They do not have a contract with you. They have one with the other driver. So they have NO legal obligation to pay your bills as they are incurred.
2. Each state has a Statute of Limitations (SOL) that states how long you as the injured party has to settle your claim. Most states range from 1 to 6 years. So heres the catch - if St. Farm paid your med bills as you incur them then each payment pushes the SOL out more. For example lets say your accident was on 03/01/07. Texas has a 2 year SOL. So you would have until 03/01/09 to settle the claim. Let's that State Farm pays some of your medical bills on 06/30/07. That would mean that the new SOL is now 06/30/09.
No adjuster in their right mind is going to pay your bills and then push out the SOL when the law says they don't have to pay your bills up front.
Your bills will get paid but not until you settle the entire claim. If possible try see if your Dr. will or can file a doctors lien against your injury settlement. I have no clue if that is allowed for a TX accident.
I'm sorry but St. Farm is handling this matter as it should be under the law.
Good Luck.
If you have been injured in an automobile accident that was not your fault, and the guilty party is not forthcoming in providing insurance help, you should definitely get a lawyer.
If you were hit behind, unless some startling exceptions to the rule, they should be bending over backward to settle with you. Looks like you need to contact a lawyer. This should get them moving fast, especially their ins company, unless they dont have any insurance and no assets.
90 pct of time when hit from behind, it is the rear driver that is at fault. Go get em.
It is not right for you to have to pay for your own medical bills. If they are not cooperating with you, you should probably get a lawyer. There are many lawyers that do not charge until the case is won. I get the good neighbors thing. Like a good neighbor________ is here or there! Right? Anyway, I would totally sue them and show them that they cannot keep treating people this way!
The damage to their car is immaterial, unless it would look horrible to a jury.
Yes, if you are injured, get a lawyer - that insurance company will come around very quickly once that happens.
Damned insurance companies - they just don't get it - sometimes people just want to get their cars fixed and a few bucks to pay off the doctors. But the IC's treat people like stooges, and pretty much INVITE a lawsuit. Let 'em have it!
if ur hit from behind then it is not ur fault. u must have state farm(good neighbors)
You of course did inform your insurance company, and if so should keep them updated on the facts aand usually they have lawyers to fight it. Because you are dealing with a previous injury would get a lawyer because they will state that it is a previous injury not cause by the accident. You are in for a long haul, hang in there
Contact your states bureau of insurance they can advise of your rights. If you were hit from behind in no state are you considered at fault. Also little known fact your insurance company has to provide the lawyer.
You are not entitled to copies of the vehicle photos or the final repair estimate of the person that hit you. The only way you would see this information is 1) a judge would sign off on the subpeona or 2) it went to court after going thru a very lengthy discovery process.
You didn't say why you want this info or what the problem is with S.F. Maybe if you elaborate you'll get suggestions for your specific situation other than get a lawyer.
Do you have insurance? who's fault is it? If it's the other party's fault, then you shouldn't be worried about getting a copy of the damage & you surely should not be paying out of pocket for Medical Expenses. If it's their fault, the insurance company has to pay for it, they have to accommodate you with everything, from getting treatment, to a paid rental car to getting your car fixed. If they aren't doing anything for you, then YOUR INSURANCE carrier should be helping your out. That is.if you have insurance? This sounds like your talking about State Farm. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there? You mentioned that it doesn't seem like it was your fault? didn't you call the Police & they had to come down to the accident scene & prepare a Police Report. The cop usually is the one that makes the decision on who's fault it is. Get a copy of that Police Report.
Ugh.. i wasnt going to answer this one cuz im tired of answering injury questions... but these horrible answers are getting to me so i had to give my two cents.
First off... lets just pretend that state farm has already accepted liability (im not really sure if they have or not.. you didnt say). are you sure there are no coverage issues affected the claim?
Examples:
1) was an unlisted driver driving?
2) Was their policy expired?
Lets say thats not the case either... as soon as they accept liability and coverage issues are gone.. they SHOULD be fixing your car in a timely manner. They have no reason and are not required to give you an information on the other parties car... hows that your business? No lawyer will get this changed for you.. i dont understand why you even care about his damage
Now lets get to this injury.. of course your paying for your injuries out of pocket. This is how claims work. They dont pay you for your injuries as you go. what happens is at one point when your comfortable you will "settle" the claim.
This settlement will include reasonable medical expenses, loss work, PERHAPS some "inconvenience" money as well as money for future medicals... but it wont be winning the lottery. In your case- it gets more complicated because of your prior injury.. they may not even fully cover your medicals if your injury is a result of both your former condition as well as the accident.
So unless you are ready to settle they cant just hand you over cash.. there is a process here.any lawyer will tell you the same thing.
Now.. if your a little more specific about what they are doing wrong perhaps i can answer better... but i dont know what exactly they are doing wrong here? and people are giving you horrible answers...
*** EDIT: im confused: Did you make a settlement demand? For how much? Did they refuse? What are your medical bills and lost wages at at this point? ****
Attorney the nastiest you can get. You know the one that advertises the biggest settlements. They were at fault and following to close your pain and suffering is worth it for the attorney.
Sounds to me like you are wanting $10,000 for treatment of an existing condition. Go get a lawyer -- so what? You really think State Farm is afraid of a lawyer?? They have HUNDREDS of lawyers working full time for them and can litigate this nonsense into the next decade if need be. And for what? Your lawyer will get at least 33% of your settlement (if ANY), you will still be in pain and you will have no money. The best you can hope for is to try and convince the adjuster that you have additional pain and problems as a result of the loss. That way there is some tangible leverage for some med pay, however, if you were bumped from behind at 5mph -- then forget it. If your body is so fragile that a minor bump woul spiral you into thousands of dollars of treatment then you need to stay in BED.
Now some practical advice: call your adjuster and respectfully request to speak to his/her manager (they will be happy to do this). Make your case in the most logical and truthful way possible (and STOP recording them, for God's sake! It will be useless anyway...) and keep requesting upper management until you get a satisfactory answer. You know, there may be a REASON you aren't getting the money you are demanding and if you happened to have drawn a real doorknob for an adjuster (and there are lots of them in the business) this whole thing can probably be hammered out -- just be reasonable and be warned: one hint about a lawyer and it's game over. Then only the lawyers win.
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