I was in a car wreck last week. My first and, hopefully, last one. The accident was the other driver’s fault (ran a red light and admitted it to the cop). I have some minor neck and back injuries and did get x-rayed and all that at the hospital. My car is fixable. (YAAY!) Here’s the thing. His adjuster keeps calling me. She also want to meet me.
WTF?
First of all, the only reason I think she wants a face to face is to see if I’m trying to fake my injuries and to try to persuade me to settle out and sign off on filing any more medical claims. I will not do this because I have no idea if my injuries are going to flare up again later. I’m not going to file any unnecessary claims, of course, but I don’t want to get screwed later on. This happened to a friend of mine who ended up having to have back surgery shortly after signing off on the claim. Also, I think her wanting to talk to me on the phone and meet me in person is to try to screw me over.
I pay my insurance company to handle this crap. As far as I’m concerned I shouldn’t have to do anything anymore except forward my hospital bill to my company so they can sue the other one (this per my adjuster.) I should just be able to sit back and wait for my car to be repaired. Right?
I’ve never been through this so I’m confused. I’m thinking I should just call my adjuster now, not return the other adjuster’s call, and let my person handle this so I don’t inadvertantly screw this up.
Oh and here’s another thing that has me concerned. When I’ve told people who his company is (it rhymes with “aggressive”) they roll their eyes and say “Good luck!”
You generally go through your insurance co. If she really needs to verify your injuries,there are ways for her to do so. Ask her to stop calling you and go only through your Agent/adjustor. It doesn’t appear like you are trying to collect anything from her company directly, you are having your company handle your claim vs “the other guy” through subrogation, right?
OTOH, in this sort of injury accident, it could be better for you to get one of those “accident/injury” lawyers, the ones that take 40% or so. They can also get you settlement amounts for lost earnings and “pain & suffering”. Make sure that if you do so, that your new attorney knows that actual medical expenses and actual damages to your car wouldn’t come under what you’re having him recover, or at least discuss this. Consult a friend who is a lawyer and see who they recommend.
I suspect the adjuster wants to offer you a settlement before you get lawyered up (“We’ll give you this much right now, but as soon as you get a lawyer all bets are off and he/she will take a third of whatever you do get.”)
I think this settlement is separate from your medical bills, but that may vary from state to state. Your adjuster will probably advise you to get a lawyer. That might be the best advice.
IANAL and I am not even a very smart person. People who take legal advice from me are even less smart.
Let your insurance company handle everything. I tell you this because it didn’t work for me. The guy who caused my accident insisted that it wasn’t his fault and refused to tell my insurance company who he was insured with. Basically my insurer couldn’t be bothered chasing him and I had to pay the excess. So if your insurer is involved let them play their games and you just forget about it.
Thanks folks. When this happened last Wednesday, my agent told me to file everthing through them. “Them” being my company. Then the next day when they saw the accident report and saw that he admitted to the cop that he ran the light. My adjuster said that due this, his company would then take over paying for everything. I don’t have to pay my company my deductible, nor will the repairs be paid for by my company. It all goes through the RRR’s (red light runner) company. The only thing my company handles directly is the medical. They pay my bill’s, reimburse me for my medication and then sue the other company for reimbursement.
Had he not admitted to running the light and since there were no witnesses my insurance would have paid for eveyrthing then gone after his. I would’ve had to pay my deductible since it would have been a “he said-she said” situation.
This guy’s agent just tried to call me again and I let it go to voicemail and left a message with my agent. I definitely think I should avoid contact with his agent.
I think they do know they are in a bind since not only did he admit to the accident, he never called them to report it. They found out about it through *my * company. I’ll bet you they drop RRR’s ass like a hot potato after this.
So, you guys really think I should consult a lawyer? (Of course I realize this is all opinion and you aren’t my lawyers and any advice I take from you is strictly my own choosing and yadda yadda.)
My company seemed pretty adamant about me turning over any further medical claims to them so they can go after RRR’s company for the money.
Sorry for the double post but I wanted to apologize for my crappy posts. The muscle relaxers and Vicodin have apparently killed the grammar and sentence structure portion of my brain.
I was rear-ended a couple of months ago. No injuries, and my car was still drivable. My agent told me to handle it through the other driver’s company, Allstate. I took the car to their adjuster for inspection to estimate the cost of repairs, gave a recorded statement over the phone to another rep, and everything worked out fine.
I don’t see any obvious problem with merely talking to the adjuster at this point. You can end the conversation at any point. But since you were injured, the stakes are higher than in my situation. Obviously, be wary of signing anything. And also be careful if they want a recorded statement - assume it will come up as evidence later. Consulting a lawyer or having one present might be a good idea.
Your insurance company will see to you getting your medical bills covered and your car fixed. If you want/need something beyond that you should contact a lawyer.
If you have a lawyer you already use I would consult her or him. Any new lawyer brought into the picture might just recomend suing because that will provide them with a job.
I’m in Florida. Last February I was rear ended in the rain by a 17 year old girl who had been driving her car for 3 days. I had to go to the hospital. I would recommend you get an attorney immediately. In my case, my own insurance company had to pay the initial medical and is responsible for your lost wages. There is a possibility that your own insurance company could get wonky on some of the payments. After hiring a lawyer, BOTH insurance companies work through them, so you don’t have to deal with either.
Also, I recommend this because you may need longer term care than you realize. I was getting therapy and medical care for a good 5 months after my accident. Even when I wasn’t in pain just sitting around, the first time I tried to go out and run it was excruciating. An attorney who is familiar with auto accident claims will be suing for money to cover future medical expenses as well, and a host of other things that you probably don’t realize you are supposed to be reimbursed for (like mileage to the doctor and therapy, for example)
The initial consult is typically free with these attorneys, so there really is no harm in at least contacting one.
Call your insurance agent as his advice. I had a slight accident last year and the other driver’s adjuster called me. My agent told me to let him handle all contact.
Chao, I’ve had personal experience with the insurance company that sounds like ‘aggressive’. Their MO is to try to sucker you into signing off on something that seems inconsequencial, and hidden in the details are the waivers to all claims related to the incident.
Don’t give a rep from Aggressive the time of day. Write them a certified letter telling them to contact your adjuster and your lawyer, in that order. Further attempts to contact you will result in harrassment complaints with the state insurance commission.
I had to do this to keep those clowns from bugging me, and even then my settlement wasn’t satisfactory. To this day, I flip off the occupants of one of their white shystermobiles when I see them, even though I’m in NC and the incident was 6 years ago in Indiana. I love the befuddled look of WTF? on their faces…
Hmm. I totaled my car a little over a year ago, and thank goodness it was entirely someone elses fault. (Cafeteria trucks have HUGE blindspots. My little car was in one. I got run over when the truck changed lanes while I was still using it.)
I made sure I got everybodies names and policy numbers, and they got mine.
I called my insurance company as soon as I could, and gave a taped statement. I had them fax me a copy of the police report, just to be safe.
The “opposing” insurance company also called and got a statement, which my agent said would be OK.
Other than that, it’s between the insurance companies, that’s what they are there for.
I had a similar experience several times (was rear ended 3 times, and was never at fault). No damage to me only my car. My insurance agent said I could go through him, but my rate would go up because I would be filing a claim. Since the other driver admitted fault, it was cheaper for me to deal directly with the other driver’s insurance.
I want to quote and underscore this post because it’s excellent advice–maybe not for this poster (Chao) in this particular accident, but for people involved in serious accidents in general.
Chao, your insurer has two duties–to reimburse you for damages within the terms of your policy, and to defend you if another driver asserts a liability claim against you. Your insurer does not have a duty to sue other drivers on your behalf, or to ensure that you collect all damages for which the other driver may be liable. They’ll do so to recover what they pay you, but not to collect additional damages on your behalf.
So this isn’t necessarily a situation where you can sit back and let your insurer handle everything. You obviously have medical payments coverage as part of your auto insurance. What are the limits and what are the terms and conditions of coverage? Does it cover lost wages? Is it possible that your injuries will exceed the policy limit?
Only you can judge your injuries–if you’re sure that they’re minor, and that all significant costs will be covered by your auto medical payments coverage, then you can let this rest. If not, you, not your insurer, will need to engage an attorney and sue the other driver.
You can do both. Yes, you should consult a lawyer, as only then will you be able to get fair damages for pain, suffering and lost wages. Note that advising someone to *see *a lawyer, and follow the advice of a lawyer is not giving legal advice.