Worth a lawyer? Hit by a child

[gratitudeisthebest]

One week ago I was stopped at an intersection. I saw a glimmer in my rear view mirror, and instantly knew I was going to be hit. I was rear ended with the other driver likely going 35 mph. He hit me into the intersection, and then hit me again. My 10-year-old daughter was in the car with me and I did not warn her we were getting hit. She was very shaken up and crying.

When I pulled over, I got out of my car and saw the driver and his passenger quickly switch seats. I yelled to let them know I saw them. I called 911, and waited for the police. I later learned the driver was a 15 year old boy. No license or even permit. He had pestered his mom to let him drive and she gave in to him.

Later that day, I went to the hospital because I was in an extraordinary amount of pain. I had x-rays performed that showed no broken bones.

It has been six days and I am still in a significant amount of pain. I saw an orthopedic doctor on Monday who said that my SI joint took the brunt of the impact. Now the five muscle groups around it are all trying to compensate, causing them to spasm and be extremely tight. I cannot stand up for more than 20 seconds without having incredible back pain. I am starting physical therapy next week.

I am self-employed and have only been able to work about six hours since this happened. I typically work about 50 hours a week.

My biggest concerns are that I am going to have long-term effects of this and my business my suffer. Now every day I am taking relaxers and prescription anti-inflammatories, I am not seeing any relief yet. I own a business and I’m scared about the impact this will have, because I cannot do the physical duties and have only been able to busy myself with computer work.

 

[jawj77]

@gratitudeisthebest Deciding to hire an attorney is about weighing pros against cons. The major con is that they will work on a contingency fee, typically one third of what the carrier decides to settle for. There are several potential pros, but their significance/value scales with what you might be able to accomplish on your own for free:

• They are familiar with what things you are entitled to seek reimbursement for in your jurisdiction; and what calculation(s) may be used as evidence of their value. For example, does your jurisdiction allow the carrier to show discounts applied to your medical care to a jury to lower their value? A lawyer will be familiar with the rules of evidence and relevant case law. Will you fully calculate your loss or will you inadvertently ignore things that would be relevant to a settlement?
• They will make sure to gather all of your relevant medical records and they will make sure anyone with a financial stake in your treatment/settlement is paid back so that you are not surprised by an unexpected bill you didn't account for.
• They have experience negotiating. They will negotiate with the carrier on your behalf; and they might even be able to neogitate with your medical providers to lower their liens after-the-fact. They might be better at negotiating than you are, and they would have some idea if the carrier's offers are typical/reasonable for your injury and treatment
• They are less likely to divulge unnecessary damaging information that the carrier could use to reduce their offer. The first thing any attorney will do is instruct the carrier not to discuss the case with you, for this reason.
• Since there is a minor child involved, if they were also injured, your state could require some additional steps be taken related to the child's claim, such as having a probate court approve the settlement. An attorney can ensure the proper filings are made.

Outside of filing a lawsuit, each of these are things you could do on your own and on less-significant injuries they might even be fairly straightforward. I think this is essentially the calculation for you to make, against the lawyer's fee. The "pure value" of your case isn't worth more money just because you hire a lawyer, but they might provide services that make it more likely for you to realize the pure value, and they can save you time from handling some of these things yourself.

 

[robbie_p]

@gratitudeisthebest Sure if you want to get about the same as you'd get without one after they take their 33%

 

[daughter_of_yhwh]

@gratitudeisthebest I think you've gotten plenty of advice regarding an attorney. Only you can decide that.

As for wages, self employment is very difficult. You are likely to need tax documents if it's more than about $500. Your personal spreadsheets won't do it. You'll need actual of income discrepancies after the loss. This usually requires about 2 years of tax forms before the loss. Be prepared for that.

 

[gratitudeisthebest]

@daughter_of_yhwh That should be easy. So far, it appears I’ve dropped about 5k of my projected sales in 6 days. I have my books that has tracked the last 8 years.

 

[daughter_of_yhwh]

@gratitudeisthebest Your books won't matter. You'll need proof. Your own documents aren't proof of anything except that you can make a document.

 

[gratitudeisthebest]

@daughter_of_yhwh I guess it’s a good thing my accountant can provide that.

 

[daughter_of_yhwh]

@gratitudeisthebest I want to be clear I'm not accusing you of anything. Just trying to prepare you.

 

[gratitudeisthebest]

@daughter_of_yhwh I’m not offended at all. Clearly this is all new territory for me, and the discussion in here has solidified that I’ll be best served by hiring an attorney. I pay my accountant to handle my taxes for the same reason. I think we all have to recognize our own weaknesses, and the insurance arena is one in which I’m not well versed.

 

[4bears]

@gratitudeisthebest I will tell you this in the position as a claims adjuster. I always tell people “give me a chance… If you think my offer is bogus… Then by all means get an attorney“

Because I hate seeing people end up with less money due to attorneys fees when I would’ve offered them the same amount.

You’re lucky to be in this situation that you’re not in a rush to settle. Keep in mind they may make a low offer at first not knowing the severity of your injuries… But as they receive your medical bills and more information on lost wages that will likely significantly increase

 

[patrick8]

@4bears As a former adjuster myself, did any alarm bell go off for u when they said it’s a low back injury from a rear end impact?

I’d like to see a pic of the cars and that driver seat before I agree to this one.

 

[gratitudeisthebest]

@patrick8 I drive an SUV. The back hatch and bumper are mildly dented. The rear quarter panels (i think that’s what they are called) are also mildly dented but enough that they have separated from the black half circle thing that goes over the wheel. This isn’t my car, the part just shows up better against the red. The car didn’t sustain nearly as much damage as it felt like! I think what got me was I saw him approaching, so I tensed up. But also I was stopped, and he was going fast enough that he hit me 2 times very quickly. My daughter was making a recording at the time and the two hits are about 1 second apart. I knew the first one was coming, I def didn’t expect the second.

And I didn’t understand the comment about the seat. But hopefully that gives some insight.

https://preview.redd.it/rft7ekqykpy...bp&s=4f418075a80c833ba7e2183010ce35e8eb188774

 

[patrick8]

@gratitudeisthebest If u were wearing a seatbelt and were rear ended it is basically impossible for your low back to flex enough to cause serious injury. Neck would make sense, low back doesn’t. The lumbar/sacrum are immobilized between the seat and the seat belt. A T-bone impact would be different and a logical mechanism for low back injury.

The point of the seat and the impact damage (which yours doesn’t support serious acute injury from impact) is that if you got smoked so bad that the seat was ripped from the floor it would negate my argument.

I’ve litigated over 100 cases like yours and nearly always mitigated the value when the injury is low back. Bad jury/venue was always my only concern. It’s far more common that a pre existing condition is to blame more than a minor/moderate rear end causing a low back injury. It’s just the physical evidence that doesn’t line up.

 

[gratitudeisthebest]

@patrick8 I did an appointment with othro last week. I am paraphrasing here, but on my x-rays, my pevis is tilted due to the muscles being tight enough to pull it. My doctor said the impact was similar to that of being tackled by the whole football team. I genuinely wish this was all an embellishment, but unfortunately, it’s not. Today I was able to stand long enough to peel carrots, but that’s been the extent of it. I can’t sit upright in a chair without pain. I don’t need you to believe me, but I do think it’s worth accepting that not all people are built the same. You don’t have to believe me for it to be true.

 

[patrick8]

@gratitudeisthebest Just telling u the argument you’ll face and the uphill battle that an accident recon specialist will argue. If scans point to anything degenerative (age or prior injury related) they ain’t gonna buy it. With or without counsel. Orthos are proven wrong all the time by other medical professionals.

 

[gratitudeisthebest]

@patrick8 Well, it is what it is. I can’t do anything about what my images show, but it sounds to me like what she was seeing was acute and easily visualized. I just want to get back to status quo.

 

[ifitry]

@4bears

I always tell people “give me a chance… If you think my offer is bogus… Then by all means get an attorney“

advising people against an attorney, which is pretty explicit legal advice, would be an insta-termination at any carrier i've ever worked at lol

not that i disagree with the content of the message of course, just the audacity of actually delivering it

your manager know you're doing that?

 

[4bears]

@ifitry And just to be more clear my general language is “it’s your choice if you get an attorney or not please note I will treat your claim the same regardless“… Hopefully that clarifies. but thank you for your concern