So on Thursday 10am, I'm driving along headed toward town on the two lane blacktop and am coming up on a hill and all of a sudden when I get near the top I see a big box truck in the east bound lane (I'm going west)and a car right beside him, trying to pass the box truck on a blind hill, in a no passing zone, coming toward me in my lane.
I have a split second to react and try to slow down and steer toward the shoulder. I narrowly avoid a head on collision. He strikes my car on my drivers door, the door behind me, gas tank area, breaks my rear axle and spins my car around in a 180. All my air bags deploy and my seat belt saves my life. When I get my wits about me I realize I'm still alive and take stock of any injuries I may have. There is no blood, I can feel my fingers and toes and can move. I don't know if my car is on fire all I can smell is the stink of the airbag deployment. My drivers door can still open, so I gingerly get out walk away from the car sit on the ground and call 911.
I give the details to the highway patrolman when he arrives as best I could, but I was in shock and my adrenaline was high. Luckily the box truck driver and a guy following the the guy trying to pass the truck stopped and gave the HP statements. The ambulance takes me to the hospital and they take x-rays and say nothing is broken and I have no internal injuries but I do have extensive bruises, can't take a deep breath and everything is starting to hurt and I can't turn my neck without pain He hit me at 70-75mph in a 60 zone according to the HP. I get discharged from the hospital later that day.
The saying: 'wait until tomorrow, you're gonna feel worse', comes true. Felt like hell and didn't want to move. On top of that I had an unrelated outpatient surgery scheduled for Friday I couldn't reschedule, so I drove myself in the farm truck to and from the surgery. I must've looked as bad as I felt because the doctor looked shocked. I still had the ECG sticker residue and redness where I ripped them off and the bruises.
My car was also totaled. Though it was 8 years old and had high mileage there was not a thing wrong with it, now I am without a car. Also the official report wont be available for 10 days, so I don't know what the final findings will be.

I've never been through this before. Family and friends say I should get a lawyer, but I wonder if the almost 40% cut as their fee after settlement will leave me still paying for medical bills that his insurance would cover if I didn't hire one?

With the extensive knowledge and experience on the board here I want to hear what you guys think

Retired cop in me will like to impart this advise, if you thing you need a lawyer-you need a lawyer.

I can guarantee that if you don’t have one, you will never collect-even though it all sounds like you did nothing wrong and are the aggrieved party

Yes. If you have personal injuries you want one. First and foremost get yourself THOROUGHLY checked out and keep records of the visits. If you have to miss work detail that as well. Some of these injuries show up later.

Get reccomendations from friends for quality personal injury attorneys, NOT the ones on TV. Good luck.

Get a lawyer, have him go for damages PLUS legal fees. It's common.

damn I hope you're resting and recovering!

I've never been in that situation but I damn sure would get a lawyer in this case! You are going to be in lots of pain and out of circulation for a bit. You really need to be compensated for all that by the other driver. And a replacement vehicle!

Yes. You might not realize the extent of your injuries until later (whiplash).

Get a lawyer. You need to think into the future. What seems like minor pain and discomfort now can affect you a decade later. I got hit by a drunk driver on my motorcycle years ago. At the time, my injuries didn't seem too bad, now 15 years on, I have back problems that stem from that accident.

"Call now, you may be entitled to"... vehicle repair/replacement, rental vehicle, pain/suffering, loss of wages, etc.

Get plenty of images of damage to your vehicle, insurance/body shop reports of total loss, witness statements, copies of ER/doctor reports, copies of LE reports, etc. Don't leave out anything to help your case.

Years ago my wife and I were struck from behind by a clown in his work truck adjusting his radio and not observing we were stopped for a red traffic light. We got his full impact at 45mph. My wife was a court reporter and I was in LE. We both went to the ER and both had significant pain and suffering, which caused us to be off work and a loss of wages. Your type of employment could be a significant factor. Our vehicle wasn't totaled and eventually got repaired. Let a lawyer argue on your behalf.

Better call Saul.

Insurance company's charge a lot of money for insurance and then pay legal firms a large chunk of that to keep the rest of it. Insurance companies, with their cute lizards, and campy commercials are not your friend.

Yes, an attorney is going to get a chunk of what you get.

Not having an attorney, you are getting the smallest amount of what the insurance company can get away with, and with an attorney, they are likely to get the most that is possible.

The difference can be very large. At least contact a few and have a consultation.

I hope you have no long term issues.

(I had a couple of accidents, none my fault, and was "young and tough" so I simply moved on with life. Now I realize the neck, back and shoulder issues I live with are a result of those accidents. But I made my choices, so no bitching from me.)

Agree. Get a good lawyer, not the first one you see on a TV ad. Do some research.

The other driver’s insurance company will pay attention to a lawyer. You unrepresented, not so much.

Hope you mend up quickly.

Get a Lawyer and discuss it with them . IF the guy has insurance you may be able to get damages and replace your vehicle . Medical will be paid one way or the other .
Good luck to you . My wife got hit by a drunk driver ( .240 ) . Totaled the car and spent two days in the hospital . Missed 8 weeks of work .
The dude had NO insurance , NO job , NO assets at all . FOURTH offense DWI . Pretty much got a slap on the wrist compared to what my wife endured .
Sorry , I had to vent . Still pissed about it .

Get a lawyer who's specialty is accident/injury. Keep all medical records. DO NOT speak with the other persons insurance adjuster.

I've been down this road several times and I hate insurance company claims adjusters.

quote:

Originally posted by Nframe:
damn I hope you're resting and recovering!

Thank you, Nframe, it isn't in my nature to take it easy but I'm trying My husband is great and tries to do things for me. But the way I look at it is he works hard all week and doesn't need the added job of waiting on me too. My stubborn way of thinking I guess. It's difficult to let someone help me ,I'm learning, but I'm not liking it

I'll second the "don't talk to the other guys insurance adjuster, attorney, etc." statement. Nothing good will happen from that and a lot of potential bad that you won't even consider. The police have a report and you have some good witnesses. That's a plus.
Find a good personal injury attorney and get their pitch. Be upfront and let them know you are shopping at this point.
Keep your fingers crossed that the other guy has good insurance. When I've had something like this happen, they didn't which is a different conversation.
There are a number of ways to get yourself screwed at this point so be very careful.

Thank you all for your kind words, advice and comments. I've been keeping all the paperwork associated with this and will look on Monday for a lawyer. Also is 40% of settlement a normal attorney fee?

Glad to hear you are ok. Idiot drivers abound on the roads. What kind of vehicle/insurance did he have? I ask as that may tell you what your chances of any type of compensation you might be getting. I have been hit a couple times prior and thankfully I had no personal injury and the other party had the bare minimum coverage which sucked for me.

Lawyer is a no brainer. Absolutely get one. And I'm the least litigious person I know.

Then get a dash cam for your new car.

did they catch the other guy?

quote:

Originally posted by JYuma:Also is 40% of settlement a normal attorney fee?

ex-monkey paid atty 1/3. (Florida)

quote:

Thank you all for your kind words, advice and comments. I've been keeping all the paperwork associated with this and will look on Monday for a lawyer. Also is 40% of settlement a normal attorney fee

^^^^^^^^^^
That is steep. Remember EVERYTHING is negotiable. Concentrate on getting the BEST lawyer you can. If you were hit by a commercial vehicle there is usually more money involved. The first thing the lawyer will do is to check on the other guy and his insurance. The next is to get all your paperwork together. Following that there may be some more diagnostic tests needed. Take your time.