Well, tonight sucked. I was coming home last night and got into a wreck. Drunk driver hit me at 70mph, and my friend and I luckily survived. Spent 9hrs in the hospital to find out I now have 4 broken ribs, broken collar bone, and a cracked sternum. My friend was pretty much unscathed. Wore my seatbelt and somehow still hit my steering wheel . She was charged with hit & run, assault, attempted vehicular manslaughter, DWI, DUI, possession of illegal narcotics, resisting arrest, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, and attacking an officer. Bet yall are thinking she's a smart one. Now for the part I need help on. It is a crappy situation. How should I go about handling this with my insurance when hers is expired. Any suggestions on lawyers I can contact? Things I should talk to my insurance about, and things I should talk to the cops about. Any and all help would be much appreciated. And sorry if my spelling or grammar is bad. Being sleep deprived on 3 types of painkillers is not helping me think or type straight right now. :grin:
Your situation sounds awful. Just be thankful that you survived and that pain meds are around to help manage your injuires. As for the next step, I agree with consulting a lawyer. If anything, your medical bills should be paid for. I'm not a legal expert in the least, but that seems like a non-brainer. I'm probably wrong. Whomever hit you seems to be a ragining b****. She's racked up a whole bunch of charges and will be dealt with pretty harsh, especially for the hit-and-run and driving without insurance. Good luck to you man.
This is why you have insurance. It's their job to go after the drunk chick for the money they spend on your medical bills.
Do they ever do that? I mean there's a reason why they offer uninsured driver protection right? I think you should claim as much as you can on your own insurance while you get a lawyer and start a civil suit against the other driver to recoup more damages. Good luck to you.
Not sure how much this guy could help...but I remember his image plastered all over local tv ads...The Texas Hammer, Jim Adler
Good grief- I'm glad you're alive and will recover from those injuries. I agree, you should get a lawyer. There are plenty out there who will work pro bono for a chunk of the settlement. Wow. What an asshat. You should be punched for that one.
All insurance does this. I ended up in the hospital last year for surgery, and I got a letter a few weeks later from my insurance (more accurately, a company working for my insurance) that contained a survey. The survey indicated that they had noted my hospital visit and wanted to know if it was due to accident or malpractice so that they could go after anyone at fault to recoup losses due to my visit. Car insurance is the same (actually, it's better at it, IMO).
WOW what a horrible experience! Thankfully you only broke a few ribs and no one was killed! After just finishing a bunch of bullcrap with my insurance I can tell you this... submit the claim asap. Get a copy of the police report (keep bugging them until they file it with the state) and talk to your insurance company right away. In my situation it took forever for the cops to file the paperwork, so I had to keep calling them every day until they did. Someone said get a lawyer, but depending on who you have insurance through (ie a big company like geico or allstate etc) you may not have to do that. I have geico and they went above and beyond to get me settled. Of course I wasn't injured, but they were very helpful when the guy who hit me gave the cops false insurance information and helped me get my car fixed and checked to see what personal damage I had. If once they get your "settlement" amount for damages and such and you think it's too low.. then go get a lawyer. It's likely that the insurance will take care of you if you've got a good one.
Absolutely use Adler, they will take care of business. All you have to do is explain your situation, attend a few free therapy sessions, and collect money.
Any lawyer that needs to run a TV ad to get business is one that you should avoid. Call Jason Itkin of Arnold & Itkin Fax (713) 222-3800 http://www.arnolditkin.com/ He's a good guy, good lawyer and Rockets fan.
I kinda agree. Talking to a lawyer would probably be a good idea just to get an idea about what your expectations and options are, but I wouldn't hire one until the insurance company gives you cause. They should take care of you, but obviously they have some incentive to lowball you too.
Give that she's doesn't have insurance and she's got a suspended licenses, I doubt you'll get any money off her even if you win. Of course, by all means try, but I wouldn't get your hopes up high.
Jim Adler doesn't try any cases. He advertises a lot to the point that anyone needing a lawyer remembers his name, and then he refers those clients out to others. I'm an attorney, and I know a lot of personal injury lawyers that will help you recover from this *****. You need someone that will not only take care of your immediate costs but also all of your pain & suffering, future medicals, and possible lost wages. Feel free to email me @ ntaqvi@gmail.com , and I can pass along their information to you. I'm sorry about all of this happening to you, but I'm glad that you survived. It sounds like it was a pretty serious crash.
Lol, correct. My moniker is actually an inside joke. I'm a lawyer, not a dentist. It's important for the OP to at least get a judgment against the other driver. Most plaintiff personal injury lawyers will not get anything unless they're able to recover something for the client. Oh, and Jim Adler used to try cases back in the day, as far as i know, but he gets so many clients from those midday t.v. commercials that he mostly just refers everything out. I've heard the same goes for Terry Bryant.
