Car Accident Questions. Is a lawyer recommended?

[Richie Poor]

On Tuesday, 9/18, I was driving my family home from a short beach vacation and was involved in a pretty gnarly car accident. I was driving in the right lane of a two lane interstate going between 70-75 mph (limit was 75). I see from a distance a few vehicles gaining ground behind me. Vehicle A is in my lane and seems to want to pass me. Vehicle B is in the left lane near Vehicle A. I suspect Vehicle B was in the blind spot. Vehicle A moves to the left lane and Vehicle B swerves to avoid it onto the left shoulder and starts swaying like it has lost control. I set my eyes back to the road in front of me and my vehicle gets hit hard in the rear. The impact at that speed forced me across the left lane and into the center median ditch, and then my minivan rolled a couple of times (at least twice).

Miraculously the frame held and my family wasn't crushed. My two toddlers were completely unharmed. Me and my pregnant wife are banged up a bit but no significant injuries. The entire family went by ambulance to the hospital. I had some neck/shoulder pain and was diagnosed with a shoulder sprain. I'm in quiet a bit of pain and considering seeing a back/neck specialist to be sure but was advised to wait a couple of days for the inflammation to go down. My wife seems to be just sore and bruised and after an ultrasound we were pleased to hear a strong heartbeat. One other driver was taken to the hospital but I don't think there were severe injuries. After seeing the wreckage it is amazing there were not more serious injuries.

Since I was taken to the hospital I never got insurance information. I haven't been able to contact Highway patrol to get it from them. I have left messages. I think my options are to find the other party's insurance and work with them, call my own insurance and have them work it out, or maybe call a lawyer? The easiest and fastest solution would be to call my insurance company but I'm told that could go on my record as a no fault accident and still increase my rates. I would like to work with the other party's insurance but I can't find them yet and am not sure how long it would take. I would like to get a rental until we can find a replacement minivan.

Would a lawyer be worth it? I guess there is a chance they take around 33% of any claim without adding much value but I assume they would be so much better at negotiating than me it would work itself out. The goal isn't to get rich but I would like to protect myself medically and would like to be reimbursed for things like the $800 flight my wife was scheduled to take tomorrow but cannot due to our injuries.

If anyone has any experience with this kind of thing and can offer advise I would appreciate it.

[calimom]

Wow, sorry to hear about this and glad you are your family are safe - that's the most important thing. It would be best to get the information from the police about insurance before proceeding with anything else. And that's what your insurance company should be doing for you (it's their job). And then you can see what gaps there are. The at-fault insurance may be prepared to offer an amount over and above medical costs and vehicle damage.

Good luck and take care of yourselves. Some injuries can show up later, so be careful. And you've likely already been told this, but the car seats that saved your children from serious injury or worse, must be destroyed. They can only go through one crash.

[vivian]

Glad to hear you are mostly OK, but this is rough. I can tell you my experience from the other side. I was in a bad accident and was declared at fault. I never spoke to the other driver directly, but heard a short while later that they received a settlement from my insurance. Then, two years later, I got served with papers and sued by the driver. Apparently, there were some lengthy health effects. I’m not sure exactly how it ended, but my insurance handled it all.


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[Richie Poor]

Wow, sorry to hear about this and glad you are your family are safe - that's the most important thing. It would be best to get the information from the police about insurance before proceeding with anything else. And that's what your insurance company should be doing for you (it's their job). And then you can see what gaps there are. The at-fault insurance may be prepared to offer an amount over and above medical costs and vehicle damage.

Good luck and take care of yourselves. Some injuries can show up later, so be careful. And you've likely already been told this, but the car seats that saved your children from serious injury or worse, must be destroyed. They can only go through one crash.

Good advice. I think I will contact my own insurance and let them handle it. I was just worried that it would drive up my own rates even though it wasn't my fault.

When I emptied the van from the wreck yard I left the car seats behind and bought new ones for the ride back home. The car seats were awesome. It's funny how many times I curse the car seat buckles when it takes forever to click in. On the day I hoped I'd never see they did there job though. The kids seemed completely unphased by the high speed collision.