I got rear-ended on Tuesday and last night I started having legitimate lower back pain.

The jolt was stout enough to set off the aribags of the girl's car who rear-ended me. I got pictures of the damage on my Jeep, her fallen off front bumper, her deployed airbags, insurance cards, DL's and a police report. I called 911 since her aribags went off so the police came and recorded the incident and made sure everyone was okay.

My Jeep was on it's last leg. It's a 2007 Commander with 212,000 miles. It was worth about $2,000 tops before it was rear-ended. The liftgate has crumblings, so the bumper and liftgate would need to be replaced. I'm certain that the repairs exceed the value of the Jeep.

Progressive (her insurance) hasn't been able to contact the policyholders but they took my report and info.

As for my back pain, I have 30% disability for arthritic back pain and three days after the incident, my back pain has flared up again. I'm moving slow and I have lower back spasms. I'm taking ibuprofen and drinking bourbon to relax. I'm going to see the back snapper next week (out of town right now) and I'm thinking of having them send the findings to the insurance company.

Should I offer the insurance company a settlement amount? How much? The jeep is still drivable, but it will certainly be totaled and I'll have to miss work to find a new truck. I'll also have to miss work for chiropractic appointments.

Am I missing anything?

Her car...


My car...


Airbags...


Tony.

Don't be in a rush to do anything. Back injuries can be serious and cause long term disabilities.
I once thought that people in these types of accidents were just trying to collect from the lottery.
Then I had two rear end hits about a year apart, much like yours. The problem is that you often don't see them coming and the hit is a lot harder than the damage would suggest. I was lucky and recovered from mine but if I had any back problems it would have been a much more serious issue.
I wouldn't say you must see a lawyer yet but I would not say anything at all to the other side at this point. Keep your options open.
They are professionals at this game and you may have some problems come up later. They will try to get you to make some seemingly innocent statements that might be a problem later.
I'm sure someone with more legal expertise will chime in soon.

I had a hit that was much less serious than that about two years ago and my back was messed up for months afterward, took a week or so to really set in. Agree with "don't rush."

Hope you don't get worse.

Police may be interested in the last photo. Those are pre-roll joint containers all over her floorboard. She may have rounded those up before they arrived.

Strongly agree on not doing anything now, especially with something like back pain. The last thing I would do is offer them a settlement until all medical and work issues have been resolved.

Besides consulting with an accident attorney your insurance agent can be a valuable resource since they're likely a lot more versed on the insurance game than you are. Depending on circumstances and coverages it can be beneficial to file a claim with your company for a faster result and then let them fight the other driver's company for what is owed.

Don’t settle anything now. This is why you have insurance. Start calling them and sending them your chiropractor receipts, and I’d ask them for the value of a comparable vehicle, wether you fix it or not or just get another beater.

Never take their first offer.

Do not talk to her insurance at all. your comments will be recorded and they will ask you leading questions about your injuries. Obtain a Personal Injury Attorney and follow his/her advice. Let your lawyer do all of the talking.

quote:

Should I offer the insurance company a settlement amount?

absolutely not!

Noted. My insurance said if I used them, I'd have to use my deductible and my coverage didn't cover a rental car and that I should try to talk to the other insurance first. I did, indeed talk to the other insurance company. The only "gotcha" question they asked was if I saw her hit me. I said I may have seen her in my rear-view since traffic had stopped suddenly and that I have been rear-ended twice before and I am always weary of stop-n-go traffic.

I said traffic had stopped but I knew there was a possibility that the person behind me may not be paying attention. I DID NOT say that I stopped suddenly. I said "traffic had stopped, so I stopped.

I also stated that when I got out of the car that the driver declared that she looked down for just a second and she said she didn't notice that traffic had stopped. She said she was sorry. That part is wholly 100% true and accurate.

Her insurance said she could not get in contact with the policy holder, so I gave her the driver's phone number, which she did not have. She said she can't take any action until she talks to the policy holder. If they don't answer phone, e-mail and snail mail, then she can take action. They're with Progressive. I'm with Traveler's. I may eat my $500 deductible to get my insurance involved. They all have the same photos, info and police report.

I did just text my insurance agent and told her about the pot tubes on the floorboard of the driver's car. Thanks for the tip, P220 Smudge! I had no idea what those were.

This is the third time I've been rear-ended in this jeep. Each time by a 20-something year old woman. Once was at a dead stop at a traffic light with no other traffic. Second time was when I was making a right turn at an intersection. This time was on a merge ramp for two freeways.

Tony.

Yeah, when I worked in Tacoma, a pot shop opened up across the street. The homeless junkies would leave those all over the place.

Get an attorney and let him handle it for you.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Get an attorney and let him handle it for you.

That’s what I would do. I would not have any contact with the other party or their insurance company. They can go through an injury attorney.

Apparently this is the latest scam when it comes to insurance. I had a fender bender and my insurance company contacted their insurance company who couldn’t contact their insured by any method, so I was out my deductible until my insurance company graciously covered it.

It usually takes a few days for the full effects of auto accidents to be felt.

Keep following up with the doctors and don't settle for a year at least.

Dad was in a similar accident (old truck rear ended his tundra which was a month old). Didn't deploy airbags but was bad enough to total the tundra (bent the frame) and a few years later, and a few back surgeries he's still in pain. Basically the accident triggered a degenerative disc issue. Ended up settling about 4 years after the accident since insurance was paying for the surgeries and pt. Keep in mind the pain was minor to start and got worse and worse rather quickly.

First off, your property damage and personal injury are two entirely separate issues. Secondly, your prior medical history involving your back makes valuation of your personal injury claim much more complicated. Definitely something a layman should not attempt to handle with the insurance company on his own.

The best advice you have gotten in this thread is to contact a personal injury attorney and let him handle it.

ETA: And stop communicating with Progressive. Period.

-Rob

Clam up and lawyer up. Neither insurance company is your friend or on your side.

It can take a few days for your body to realize it's hurt. Get checked out and get a lawyer.

I got T-boned by a drunk driver at 21. I had a really bad lawyer who fudged my case and recovrey at every turn. Ended up getting $5,000 and lifelong back pain because he was too eager to settle. Don't settle until you are either back to where you were prior to the accident or as good as you're going to get.

You didn't ask to be hit. Get what you are entitled to.

You should be compensated for having to take time off at work, your ride repaired, medical bills, and everything. Take your time and save all of your receipts.

Have them give you the settlement value of your Jeep and keep it. You can get a liftgate at a salvage yard for about $150 and a bumper cover for an extra $50 and replace them yourself.

You've already said things that can compromise your claim. You mentioned getting hit from behind before several times, in this same vehicle in fact.
First question from them will be; are these injuries from our client or the previous injuries?
Second; was the back of your vehicle repaired properly, were the bumper shocks and the energy absorbing material behind the bumper cover and metal bumper frame replaced so they would provide the proper protection? How do you know you vehicle was repaired back to the industry standards? Did you have a thorough medical evaluation to see if you had some hidden injuries from those earlier crashed in this vehicle?

And on, and on.

Lawyer up before you do any more unintended damage to yourself. These people are pro's at this, you are not. Right now they act like your best friend, as long as you keep talking.

if it helps, here is what I did when I was hit in 2018,

GMC pickup totaled my Mini Cooper in stop and go traffic,


I was punted off the road, (managed to steer clear of the stopped car infront of me, who had just started moving)

dude claimed he reached for his coffee cup and did not see the traffic stop,

police were quick to the scene, every one was good to go (polite, etc)

I was told to go to a Doc office, and did not want to,
I felt fine,

State Trooper and the wife insisted,
trooper actually joked, kinda, about cuffing me and taking me if I did not go with the wife,,,


so I did,
no issues, no worries, felt like a wasted trip,

got a rental that afternoon (bit of drama there, that was all Enterprise related)

felt tight that evening,
attended a gun show (3 day show out of town) the next day, and did minimal lifting etc (brother and friend helped out)

the next week I started feeling like the center of my back was on fire ,
seems I bruised my back when I was snapped back into the seat from teh impact and seat belts
(ended up with a bruise on the shoulder from teh belt, and a sore spot on my arm where I apparently hit the door,, my airbags did not deploy, no damage to the front of my car)


so a doc visit, pain killers, and muscle relaxer,

I took neither,

2 weeks later, a return visit, doc lecture about pain killers and muscle relaxers, so I took the Muscle relaxers (only at night and when I was home, they fukked me up a bit at work)
then 8 sessions of PT

fortunately, my damage was muscular, not bone,
just bruised, not broken,
and recovered


meanwhile, NAtionwide (dude's insurance) was being a dick about car replacement, (another long story) and we settled on the car amount, not the rest of the claim

and the non car claims united wanted me to take a quick settlement offer,

nope,
second offer,

nope, (I was still have PT visits)

so I lawyered up (wife is a paralegal, good folks in her office)

3 months later I got a check, after they covered doc bills, PT bills, missed time from work (couple days) etc etc, and some cash on top,


not a huge sum, but enough to cover all my expenses and time, plus a little,