I was driving in slow traffic in December when a driver wasn’t watching where he was going, and his car hit the car in front of him, and it hit my car. My neck was jerked back from the impact, from which I have suffered and continue to suffer whiplash. I was in a similar accident a few years ago in San Luis Obispo, where a driver hit me from behind at a stop light on a rainy night. So I’ve now twice had to deal with car damage and an injured neck.
Dealing with car damage is pretty straightforward, and it wasn’t difficult to deal with this time. (It can be difficult if your car is totaled and the insurance company won’t give you a fair offer.) However, the medical treatment is a pain in the neck (pun definitely intended). See, the insurance companies have figured out that if they just call you periodically and tell you (or even just suggest) that you should have finished treatment by now, they can make you feel guilty, even if only subconsciously, which leads to shorter treatments on average, because people stop treatment before they’re ready.
From day one, my contact at Progressive (the other driver’s insurance company, which has admitted it is at fault and thus is liable for paying my settlement) has been telling me, “Well, given the type of accident, your age, and how long it took you to seek treatment after the accident, it just doesn’t look like you warrant this much treatment.” Again and again. See how they try to make you feel guilty? Hm, well, I did seek treatment five weeks after the accident, instead of right afterward, so maybe I don’t deserve this treatment after all. A couple weeks ago he offered me a total settlement of a hundred bucks to cover the initial chiropractic appointment, and he knows I’ve already racked up over $5,000 in treatment billings over about five months. Screw this guy.
So I got a lawyer. He won’t get paid unless I win a settlement, and nothing gets hashed out until I finish treating. I met with him a couple weeks ago, and it was really simple to get started with him. I just signed a few forms, and he took care of the rest. He mailed me copies the other day, and the letter he sent to Progressive made me beam:
Please be advised that our office will only accept a settlement draft/check for the total amount of the settlement. Named on said draft or check should be our client’s name as above and the name of our firm, The Blank Firm. Please be advised that under Informal Opinion 1736, our office will not sign a Hold Harmless Agreement.
All authorizations, medical or otherwise, are revoked. Feel free to contact our client directly concerning property damage issues, though all other communication with our client shall be directed through this office, except for orignal process.
Please be further advised you shall not communicate with my client’s insurance carrier other than property damage issues and PIP paid.
Finally, someone on my side!