MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISIONS

"I'll just handle it myself.  The adjuster seems pretty nice, and he said he'd take care of everything.  Their ads say they're all about helping people after all.  How hard could it be to cover an ER bill and pay my chiropractor, and maybe something for the pain I went through.  That way I don't have to deal with a lawyer.  What could go wrong?"

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A hundred things could go wrong.  Liability, causation, damages, insurance coverage, and settlement disbursement  for personal injury claims are incredibly complicated areas of law.  Lawyers squabble everyday about what a statute or court case "really" means, to say nothing of the value of particular cases.  Due to the complexity, its extremely easy to be misled by an adjuster.  Remember, an adjuster doesn't work for you - the very meaning of their job is to "adjust" (limit) your recovery.

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Consider some of the following problems, common to motor vehicle collisions and other personal injury claims:

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• The adjuster denied my claim because he says a jury would find I "contributed" to the accident.  What does that even mean? Do I contribute to an accident by just being on the road that day?​

• The adjuster said there's not enough damage on my car to cause my injuries.  Does he get to decide that?

• The adjuster said they have a "policy" of not covering treatment more than six weeks after the accident, what if I have to treat longer?

• I waited about a week to see if the pain went away on its own, now the adjuster said I waited too long to start treatment.  But my friend in the car went to the doctor immediately, and is being told she started too early. What's going on here?

• If the adjuster "covers" my medical bills, do they pay me or the doctor?

• What do "medical bills" even mean - what the doctor charged? What health insurance pays?  My out-of-pocket?  What if I don't have insurance?  Am I supposed to negotiate down my bills before they pay?

• What if I have insurance, but the hospital didn't submit a claim?  Do they still only have to pay what health insurance would have paid?

• The hospital submitted my bills to my health insurance, but now my health insurance won't pay because there's "third party liability."  What's going on?

• My health insurance did pay my bills, but they're now demanding all their money back out of the settlement.  That leaves me with almost nothing.  What can I do?

• My chiropractor charged me about $4,000.00 - but the adjuster said they overcharged and he'll only cover $2,500.00. Who's right?

• The adjuster says my back pain didn't come from the accident because the x-ray at the hospital found "degeneration" - but my back never hurt before.  What can I do?

• I was hurt in the accident but the police report says "no injuries".  I don't even remember the officer asking me that.  What do I do?

• I was rear-ended in a three-car chain collision. The two people behind me both blame each other - what do I do?

• I have more bills than the other driver has insurance coverage.  What happens now?

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Very few of the above problems have straight-forward solutions or black-and-white answers.  It's a murky mess of poorly-worded statutes, contradictory court cases, and bored, confused juries.  New laws, new cases, and new trial tactics can also change the answers overnight.  All the more reason to hire an attorney to handle the mess for you.

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Call the Law Office of Thomas W. Gooden, PLLC at 704-360-0719 to find out more about how to navigate the complexities of personal injury claims.