A little over 2 years ago I made a trip to Orlando. I was heading towards the I-4 ramp. It was slightly raining, but only a very slight drizzle, not really annoying or anything. I went through a green light..

The next thing I remember is thinking to myself, "Damn, I have a massive headache." I can't remember a time when my head hurt that bad, ever. I sort of turned my car to the side and stopped, with most of it still in the road. I went to get out of the car, calmly, and the door wouldn't open. I remember being perplexed as to why the door wouldn't open, but moments later this hispanic woman came running up and jerked open the door. I got out, calmly, and it was mostly surreal. I didn't have any idea who the woman was or why I was getting out of my car. I just knew that my head hurt like a mother fucker.

The hispanic woman took a good look at me and started freaking out, screaming "OMG OMG I KILLED HIM OMG HES GONNA DIE." I went to apply some pressure to my head in an effort to get some relief from this massive headache and noticed that it was went. I pulled my hand down, looked at it, and it was covered in blood. My shirt and pants were completely covered in blood.

I still had no clue what was going on, but called 911 anyway and reported that I had been in a car accident. I couldn't tell them where I was because all I knew is that I was by the highway and there was a sign that said International Drive. After a minute or two the dispatcher told me that she knew where I was and help was on the way. I went and sat on the curb and smoked a cigarette. I borrowed someone's cell phone because I didn't realize that I had one, even though I had just used it and actually had it in my hand.

The paramedics arrived and the first thing they said to me was, "Do you refuse medical service?" Is this standard procedure?

I told them I wanted to go to the hospital. At that point, they told me not to move and I waited while they brought a stretcher. They loaded me up and took me to the hospital.



Now, I had a clear laceration in my head, along with confusion and I was pretty much incoherent. I gave the paramedics the wrong birthday and some other wrong information unintentionally. They did not take me to a level 1 trauma center. Why would they not take me to a level 1 trauma center? I can't imagine that my injury didn't warrant that type of precaution.

I arrived at the hospital and waited, on the stretcher, while they did whatever is they do when they admit a patient. Once admitted, I waited about an hour and finally a doctor came in and said they would a CAT scan. They did the scan, declared nothing wrong, and sent some hispanic orderly in to stitch up my wound. I refused that service and told them that I wanted a plastic surgeon to sew it up. They told me that they didn't have a plastic surgeon, and if I didn't want terrible scarring then I would need to see the one at ORMC (Orlando Regional). I decided that was what I wanted to do, and they began bandaging me up.



I was given papers and told to go to ORMC and see the plastic surgeon. I asked where did I go to get in the ambulance and they told me to get my own transportation. I explained to them that I had just been in a wreck (the state trooper came and explained it to me while I was there) and didn't have any way to get to another hospital. They told me to call a cab. I guess this bothers me because I should have been taken to a level 1 trauma center to begin with, which would have been ORMC, negating the need for this stupid cab ride in my condition.

I took a cab to ORMC and got the plastic surgeon to sew up my head, which looked like (warning, very graphic):



It was over 30 stitches. At no point did I get any type of pain medication to help with any of this. I got some numbing injections, which didn't really numb anything.

Since then, I've been under the care of a neurologist and take several medications on a daily basis. I suffer from severe headaches which never occurred like this prior to the wreck. I also have trouble with comprehension, often having to read something as simple as page in a book several times before finally grasping what is said.

I guess I should probably tell exactly what caused this. I went through a green light at about 30 miles per hour (5 under, but it was slightly raining, and I was taking the ramp onto the highway there). The hispanic woman was coming from the opposite direction and wanted to turn left. She had been sitting at a red light for quite some time and decided she had waited long enough. While I believe that she should have simply moved over to the right lane, gone down the street, and turned around, it really only comes down to the fact that she should have waited until it was clear to run the red light if she was going to willingly break the law. She just ran it when she wanted to and T-boned me in the driver's side door. After the wreck, the state trooper watched the light for 20 minutes and it never changed off of red, so it was actually malfunctioning.

I was in a 97 Corvette. The metal frame that surrounds the window was pushed in, which is what I head my on. The air bag, while presumably intact when the car was purchased, did not deploy. She hit me at about 30mph, so it should have deployed.

I've been in a lawsuit for about a year and a half now. The bitch who hit me had no medical insurance and only $10,000 property insurance. My medical bills are still increasing, and the hospital bills that my insurance wouldn't cover just sit there on my credit report as unpaid. My lawyer was able to get most of the collection calls stopped by sending them letters about the lawsuit. I'm suing my insurance policy for an uninsured motorist claim. Allstate claims that I did not have underinsured motorist coverage, which is what this would fall under. I've asked to see documentation that supports my request to have this removed from my policy and they can't find the document, which as I understand it (I'm not certain here) had to be signed in order to carry this insurance policy without it in NC. Florida is a no-fault state, and apparently they don't require you to have much insurance at all.

My questions about all of this are as follows:

1) Immediately following the wreck, why was I not taken to a level 1 trauma center?

2) While the doctor at the first hospital said that I didn't appear to have a concussion, every doctor that I have seen since about this issue has said that it is almost certain that I did. Are my symptoms in line with a concussion?

3) If one has no medical insurance then they are not insured, right? I understand that some medical insurance, even if it was $500, would move it into the underinsured category, but $0 should = no coverage.

4) Does anyone have any experience with suing a municipality? The city of Orlando is at fault for the malfunctioning light, having no one there to direct traffic. Orlando is a major tourist center, so it seems like they would be willing to settle in this situation. (We aren't at that point yet, but we are meeting all the filing deadlines, obviously)

And as a final note, both Geico (hispanic woman's insurance, or lack thereof) and Allstate (my insurance) both tried to settle with me immediately afterwards for insulting amounts. I didn't even bring up a lawsuit; they just offered, probably in anticipation of one.

1/14/2010 3:04:37 AM

I'm not sure what her not having medical insurance has to do with anything. It's her car insurance that would be the issue and if she has Geico but their shittiest plan then it sounds like she was indeed under-insured rather than uninsured.

1/14/2010 3:22:12 AM

damn dude, this is hardcore

I wish I could offer some advice, but all I have to say is I'm sorry you had to go through an incident like that

1/14/2010 3:47:08 AM

a airbag should only deploy in a frontal impact.. It wouldnt do anything other than make a mess and possibly cause MORE injury in a side impact. I dont believe 97 vettes came with side air bags?

Sorry this happened to you dude! Good luck!

1/14/2010 8:04:45 AM

Quote :

"4) Does anyone have any experience with suing a municipality? The city of Orlando is at fault for the malfunctioning light, having no one there to direct traffic. Orlando is a major tourist center, so it seems like they would be willing to settle in this situation. (We aren't at that point yet, but we are meeting all the filing deadlines, obviously)"

It's not Orlando's fault that you were hit by this woman, it's her fault. I really do hope you get your medical bills taken care of, but stealing from the city is not the way to do it.

1/14/2010 8:27:56 AM

^I agree with the above statement; while I'm no lawyer, and while Orlando did indeed maintain a broken traffic light, they didn't force the woman to make an illegal left turn. She could have undertaken several less dangerous maneuvers.

1/14/2010 10:28:34 AM

Im sorry you had to go through this.

But seriously asking for a ambulance ride to get stiches is a bit much.

And the reason you werent taken to a trauma 1 center is because someone with training made that call. I suppose they also deemed you didnt need the airlift too. It seems like you got into an accident and now are wanting to get as much as you can out of it. Thats how it comes across to me.

Im not sure about the insurance part. But if you didnt pay for a particular coverage, expecting them to cover you for that is absurd. Now if they are really trying to dick you over, then go after them. I have no sympathy for an insurance company trying to not pay for people who are buying coverage.

Blaming the city for a woman who ran a redlight on an illegal left turn kinda backs my opinion that you are after as much as you can.

Did the insulting amounts cover your medical expenses and fix your car?

What exactly didnt YOUR health insurance cover? I can see them covering less bc you are out of network, but they denied claims based on what? THe hospital will work with you on the actual bill amount, just call. Although the lady should cover these costs, but you might be SOL on that.

1/14/2010 11:14:16 AM

so you had no idea what happened or what your personal information was but you thought it would be smart to snap some pics on your cell phone throughout the process?

sounds shady to me

1/14/2010 11:17:38 AM

Quote :

"But seriously asking for a ambulance ride to get stiches is a bit much."

I think if I had a big gaping hole in my head, confusion, and a totaled car I'd go for the ambulance ride too. Believe it or not, cabbies don't like people bleeding all over their seats. It's bad for business. And besides, I can't tell you how many times I've whistled for a cab and it took so long that I just found another ride. The last time I called one we waited around for over an hour and it still hadn't showed before we found another ride. Should he have walked there?

Quote :

"so you had no idea what happened or what your personal information was but you thought it would be smart to snap some pics on your cell phone throughout the process? sounds shady to me"

Ummm...What is shady about documenting your injuries?

I agree that the city is not at fault. You're barking up the wrong tree there.

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 11:26 AM. Reason : l]

1/14/2010 11:24:21 AM

nothing is shady about documenting your injuries IF you know what they are and what happened

he says he has no idea what happened, didnt know he had any injuries at first, didnt know he had a cell phone at times, somehow knows he's not in a trauma 1 center but doesnt know his birthday or where he lives, yet has the wherewithal to document the progression of his treatment throughout the day from his cell phone

maybe i'm alone in thinking that combination sounds more like selective amnesia

1/14/2010 11:34:46 AM

^It doesnt really add up.

Yes, call a cab. Ambulances are for emergencies and cost a shitton of money. He could have had his stiches done in the place he was currently located in. However, he wanted something better... FINE.. pay for it. Id hate to think the ambulance was late for a real emergency bc it was transfering someone who wanted better stiches. Seriously.

Again, I am sorry you had to go through this.

1/14/2010 11:40:15 AM

TWW... a bunch of fucking great PIs.

snitches bitches get stitches?



[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 11:41 AM. Reason : .]

1/14/2010 11:40:22 AM

I'd definitely say that you had a somewhat severe concussion, given your head injury and disorientation. I received a concussion once in a ski accident and was unconscious for a bit and when I woke up, while I knew who I was and who I was with, I had no idea what the date was or what state I was even in.

I don't think that model year Corvette had side impact air bags; I don't think they were gov't mandated till 1998. And if you were hit in the side there's no reason the frontal airbag should go off, if anything it might have further injured you.

As far as insurance, I'm confused about what you're saying. Your insurance company is claiming that you dropped your uninsured motorist coverage? Seems very odd that you'd request such a thing.

1/14/2010 11:50:20 AM

IANALOADOAEMT, but it seems to be the answers to your questions would be:

1) Because you didn't need to. I mean, realistically, the extent of your injuries was a concussion, and a head laceration. An urgent care clinic could have taken care of those if they really needed to, certainly any hospital would have been more than equipped. Also I imagine you didn't tell the EMTs you wanted to go anywhere in particular, as usually (in my experiences) they ask if you have a particular hospital you want to go to if you don't tell them or they don't ask, they'll take you to whatever one they can get to fastest. As to them asking you if you need or refuse treatment, yes that's pretty standard.

2) Yes it sounds like you probably had a concussion. However, your story isn't clear on the matter, did they say you didn't have a concussion or that the CT scan didn't show any further issues? As far as pain medications for stitches, again in my experience all they really do is apply local anesthesia. In fact in general, it's the patient's responsibility to mention pain and ask for pain medications, as baring obvious needs (such as a local for stitches) most hospitals won't just hand out meds without being asked.

3) Medical insurance has nothing to do with this. Car insurance is the concern, and if she had any at all, that falls under "underinsured" not "uninsured". If you have your statements that list you as having under/uninsured coverage, and the insurance company can't provide evidence to the contrary but is still denying your claim, you probably need to sue them as well. As to your uncovered medical bills, what stuff wasn't covered and have you applied your own medical insurance to it? Yes, usually your medical insurance won't cover what you auto insurance does, but after that they should start picking up the tab.

4) It's really not the city's fault here. Yes, the traffic light was malfunctioning but unless anyone reported it, no one would be there to direct traffic, and ultimately, the person who hit you broke the law, malfunctioning light or not.


Lastly, maybe it's just that as a society we are desensitized to violence, but none of your pictures really qualify as "graphic".

1/14/2010 1:03:31 PM

head injuries are werid thing sometimes, esp in conjunction with car accidents it seems.

my dad was in an accident and did almost the same thing with his phone. made a call, then put it in his pocket and forgot he had it.

he also got concerned over really odd things but forgot about things that really mattered, like his glasses (which he needs to see and we later found in the backseat of the smashed car).

he was walking around on the side of the road fine but ended up being transported to the hospital because he was covered in blood. they later found a big gash in the back of his head. i was at the hospital with him and def asked about shit that made no sense to me to care about at that time, but i guess was a result of his injury. so, who knows....hard to say what goes on the head sometimes

1/14/2010 1:14:35 PM

shut up and take your ass to work.

youre fine. handle your business with the insurance company, besides that fuck off


the hospital aint wrong, the city aint wrong. the only wrong parties are the lady and possibly your insurance company. maybe you should take their settlement offer which more than likely is enough to take care of your expenses

but you probably want to get rich off this, so play on playa

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 1:19 PM. Reason : h]

1/14/2010 1:17:11 PM

City is only at fault is the light has malfunctioned before and they would be reasonable to believe that it would continue to malfunction. It would also help if the malfunctioning of the light has caused prior accidents. If you can't find any of that, then you need to forget about suing the city.

If I had paid more attention in Insurance Law, then I could help you out. I'm also too lazy to dust off those materials. Just ask a local attorney.

1/14/2010 1:38:05 PM

Sucks that it happened to you and all, but it sounds like you have spent too much time recently with a dirtbag lawyer.

As for whether or not your injuries warranted a level 1 trauma center, I am no medical expert, but you were sitting there on the curb smoking a cigarette seemingly coherent. Even now, your worst case scenario is that you had a concussion and a cut on your head. That hardly seems worthy of a level 1 trauma center, particularly when your CAT scan came back clean.

It's the other driver's fault--noone else's. I am sure you already knew that, but you have probably already been advised that it will be more difficult to get money from her. You should tell your lawyer to quit trying to help you scam the system and go after the lady and her insurance.

1/14/2010 2:00:39 PM

Let me get this straight, you can smoke a cig, use the phone, and all you needed was 30 stitches and you think you deserve to be in the same ER as gunshot and stab wounds?


Well shit, why don't you sue the Seminole tribe as well since they are the native inhabitants.

1/14/2010 2:18:49 PM

Quote :

"Even now, your worst case scenario is that you had a concussion and a cut on your head. That hardly seems worthy of a level 1 trauma center, particularly when your CAT scan came back clean. "

the hospital covered its bases...........they CT'd you, it was negative. Even tiny rural hospitals can handle a mild to moderate concussion.


and you shouldnt have needed anything more than a local lidocaine injection for the stitches, and some tylenol for the headache. If the lidocaine didnt numb you sufficiently you should have mentioned it to the doctor.

1/14/2010 2:30:21 PM

Quote :

"nothing is shady about documenting your injuries IF you know what they are and what happened he says he has no idea what happened, didnt know he had any injuries at first, didnt know he had a cell phone at times, somehow knows he's not in a trauma 1 center but doesnt know his birthday or where he lives, yet has the wherewithal to document the progression of his treatment throughout the day from his cell phone "

He was confused, not brain dead. Have you ever had a concussion? TKE-Teg's story is pretty common. You're definitely don't turn retarded; it's more like your thoughts and memories get jumbled up in ways that are totally unpredictable.


I also don't see a problem with seeking out better care in closing the wound (plastic surgeon). It's his face; kindof an important thing to most of us. You're an idiot if you don't get the best treatment possible when something happens that is no fault of your own. That's just looking out for your own best interests. It's just a shame the other driver didn't want to pay the extra $100 every six months for real insurance coverage.

1/14/2010 2:31:10 PM

This is wierd because I have always thought that when a driver insured in an at-fault state got into an accident in a no-fault state their insurance effectively became no-fault (meaning your car insurance would pay out like no-fault and you probably wouldn't have been able to sue the other driver). This is obviously not the case but I swear I've heard/read that before.

As for the city/DOT's liability, I don't think anybody would argue that you could sue them (somebody like the city, dot, contractor, etc) if both lights were green, you had a green light and she had a green arrow, so I'm not sure why the mode of failure would impact your ability to sue or not. I mean I guess fl probably has a law similar to nc where after a certain amount of time you can legally run a red light, but you still have to treat it like a stop sign (that may only be for motorcycles and such though, I'm not sure). I'm not sure if treating it like a stop sign though fully absolves the city/dot/whoever from any liability and the devil is going to be in the details (I mean what if the malfunction had been reported several times over several days and never got fixed or shut-off?).

As for the trauma I and all that, aren't the trauma centers rated on that based on some kind of membership and meeting certain requirements, most of which being crap like X number of doctors on-call 24/7/365, $Y spent on research, and little to do with the overall quality of, or the hospital's ability to provide, care.

I assume you meant bodily injury or whatever instead of medical insurance but fl is a no-fault state meaning that typically (barring huge monetary losses or extreme injury such as death or limb loss or something) you only get money from your own insurance company and cannot sue the other driver or their insurance regardless of fault (thus no-fault).

1/14/2010 2:34:02 PM

actually i have had a concussion although it doesnt sound as severe

i was floating in and out of consciousness and told my friends do not let me fall asleep, but at no time was i unaware that i was injured or where i was, it more just like i was so sleepy but didnt care if i didnt wake back up

of course my friends relegated this job to watching me to the least dependable person you can imagine and when i woke up not only was i alone but he left my front door completely open and my cats ran away while he was visiting a girl

1/14/2010 2:35:15 PM

Quote :

"Let me get this straight, you can smoke a cig, use the phone, and all you needed was 30 stitches and you think you deserve to be in the same ER as gunshot and stab wounds?"

ehhhh, (assuming he's telling the truth)...you can get head injuries that require no stitches that are more serious than say a stab wound. (and the other way around too)

you dont fuck around with head injuries.

1/14/2010 2:36:32 PM

Quote :

"ehhhh, (assuming he's telling the truth)...you can get head injuries that require no stitches that are more serious than say a stab wound. (and the other way around too) you dont fuck around with head injuries."

An EMS team in a city as large as Orlando understands this and made an informed decision that the hospital he was brought to had the ability, and equipment, to treat such an injury effectively. Bringing such a case halfway across the county in a vehicle that may be needed elsewhere to go to a hospital that is equally qualified in concision care yet significantly more crowded with cases of time critical patients with severe hemorrhaging and the such is just downright deplorable. Honestly, for being soaked in blood as he describes his shirt seems rather clean. I had more blood on me in intramurals...

1/14/2010 2:44:28 PM

btw the face you make in pic #2 is guaranteed to give me nightmares tonight, thx for that

1/14/2010 2:46:20 PM

im not trying to prove you wrong dude. (which is the reason i said "and the other way around")
and there are some weird irrelevancies in his stories.

im just saying...the brain can swell without any outward,visible injury.

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 2:54 PM. Reason : and you know what, it still sometimes amazes me that there isn't more documentation from the hcp. ]

1/14/2010 2:53:25 PM

Quote :

"ehhhh, (assuming he's telling the truth)...you can get head injuries that require no stitches that are more serious than say a stab wound. (and the other way around too) you dont fuck around with head injuries. "

theres head injuries....and then there are lacerations

I dont think your opinion applies. its a cut. not everything needs super awesome medical attention

if its a clean cut, take your asds to the nurse and get stitched. if its a ragged laceration or some cunk is missing, then hed be more warranted to seek the treatment of plastic surgery


LOL "head injury"

he got a concussion and a scrape on the ol forehead, i been knocked the fuck out before and maybe i got a concussion, maybe i didnt. I am against CAT scans and I went by symptoms in the next couple weeks. not vomit, no headaches and i remember everything. Therefore i think the hospital did its job and cleared him. Theres no real issue


he damn sure can make a post of biblical proportions on tdub just fine, and take cute photos

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 3:49 PM. Reason : f]

1/14/2010 3:46:31 PM

Thats why a CT was done Joie, it was clean. You are right though, think about that actress that died after falling while skiing. She got back up and went on, but she was bleeding and pressure was building. But nothing here indicates that he wasnt treated properly.

1/14/2010 4:00:03 PM

not in the usual dick way of saying this but


why did you bring all this to TWW? there are so many people more qualified to actually answer your questions and if it's an ongoing lawsuit it can't help you in any way to disclose all of this, i would imagine.

1/14/2010 4:00:15 PM

the best advice i can give you is to not come to tww for medical and/or legal advice

1/14/2010 4:06:39 PM

and not to spit out frivolous lawsuits

1/14/2010 4:08:29 PM

Quote :

"you dont fuck around with head injuries."

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 4:13 PM. Reason : FUCK IT]

1/14/2010 4:08:34 PM

Quote :

"Forbidden You don't have permission to access /moviesdb/images/NatashaRichardson-1-300-2.jpg on this server."

1/14/2010 4:09:26 PM

Quote :

"the best advice i can give you is to not come to tww for medical and/or legal advice"

exactly

sure you MAY find a diamond in the rough and get some decent information, but mostly this site is just a bunch of douchebags trying to sound like internet badasses. Essentially every post is saying "I too can talk shit," in one way or another. "Shit if that happened to me I'd sew my own head up, bend the car back in shape and drive off. what a fucking pussy!!"

there are many things this site is useful for...but a situation like this is not one of them.



i will say though, if the OPP had popped in a Bel-Air at the end it woulda been EPIC

1/14/2010 4:23:54 PM

what the fuck else would he expect given his account of the situation

1/14/2010 4:30:37 PM

ok, guys


pay attention to my post here.
please. read it in its entirety.

as i stated before, yes things about his story are weird.
did i say that i agreed with him?
no.

i am simply stated that i would freak out at a head injury.

and according to his story
he waited a full hour before even receiving the cat scan.
if it HAD been a serious one...isn't that a little long?
or am i wrong.
other than that i think he was treated A OK

and bighit...youre right.
but how would he know?
i mean how do you distinguish a laceration from a head injury?
if he is telling the truth, then it sounds like it could have been a concussion.
youre a freaking fighter, some people get beat up easier.
i had a friend in high school who cracked three of her ribs on three different occasions.
by sneezing. no shit. (this is only a long list of her problems, poor girl)

i'm just not a fan of possible brain injuries.

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 4:35 PM. Reason : i know anecdotal evidence is a no no but it kinda fit ]

1/14/2010 4:33:09 PM

the laceration issue and the head injury issue are too different things


the head injury was sufficiently addressed, so my only conclusion was that your post was with regards to the cut

and on a side note, i feel like ive nearly fucked a rib up by jerking up in my chair, thats certainly believable

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 4:36 PM. Reason : f]

1/14/2010 4:35:59 PM

ahahah the cut?? NAHHHH

eff that.

im surprised he wants to see a plastic surgeon.
it doesnt look that bad.

1/14/2010 4:37:31 PM

I think there are some clear misunderstandings of how insurance works in an accident.

If the other party is at fault their insurance kicks in. Depending on the state there are mandatory insurance minimums.

In North Carolina your required to carry this:
$30,000 for bodily injury for one person; $60,000 bodily injury for two or more people and $25,000 property damage.



Flordia

Auto Insurance Regulations In Florida

All registered vehicles must be insured: Insurance is required for all vehicles in Florida. Anyone who lives in Florida for 90 days (total, not consecutive) in a 365-day period is required to purchase personal injury protection and property damage liability insurance to cover their vehicles.
Financial Responsibility: Under the Financial Responsibility Law, vehicle owners must have minimum coverage to cover damage to other people or vehicles. This involves situations such as crashes or DUI citations. The minimum requirements are $10,000 to cover bodily injury liability for one person, $20,000 to cover bodily injury liability to more than one person, and $10,000 for property damage liability.
No-Fault: Under the No-Fault Law, you are required to obtain coverage for your vehicle and yourself if you suffer injuries in an accident. The minimums are $10,000 for personal injury protection and $10,000 for property damage liability.
Regulations apply to all vehicles: Any vehicle with a valid tag and registration in the state of Florida must be covered by an insurance policy. This applies to garaged vehicles and vehicles that are driven daily. If you fail to get proper insurance, you risk losing driving privileges.
Steep penalties: Failure to have insurance that meets minimum coverage standards can result in a three-year suspension of your license and registration, plus a fee up to $500.
Keep your policies current: Your insurance company will notify the state of Florida when you renew or fail to renew your policy. If you cancel your coverage, the state will immediately request a verification of new insurance from you. Failure to respond can result in suspension of your license until you obtain new coverage.

In this case, the other driver under at least current (2010) Florida law should have had 10k in property coverage (to fix your car), and another 10k (to fix you)

Now comes in Underinsurned and uninsured coverage

This law has changed alot recently,

I think on last reading you were required to carry UM and UIM equal to your highest liability

so if you have the base 30k, you should have 30k in uim and um, however if this was before 2008, I dont think uim or um was required. (and we should be dealing with UIM here, as the lady should have had 10k bodily injury).

If you had 25k in injuries,

it would pay out 10k form her and 15k from your UM/UIM, that is if you have it.

If you had 35k in injuries, you would get 10k from her and 20k from your policy, but you would be 5k out of pocket (a good law firm should be able to get your medical bills reduced).

Im not a lawyer, but I doubt you would be looking at more than 10k in personal injury.

It sounds like the ambulance took you to a place that treated you, you should be able to get the medical records from when you were admitted, if the CT scan shows a concussion then your lawyer could perhaps higher a doctor to say that they screwed up.

Also your going to have to sue in flordia, because thats where the accident happened, i think somebody else posted about contrib in FL.

Good luck, but your best bet is just being happy with your car being on the road and your bills paid. I woulddnt expect anything in your pocket when the day is done.

On airbags:

Frontal Airbags trigger on decelleration, rapid deceleration (IE hitting a brick wall or a stationary car), they do not trigger if you get rear ended, or t boned).



[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 4:43 PM. Reason : dd]

1/14/2010 4:38:18 PM

i think this is the MO around here

someone else's head injury - talk shit
your own head injury - best care possible


i will join in on the shit talking to a small degree though, since this post does bring his ultimate motivations into question:

Quote :

"Really? Did they think I'd be dumb enough to settle for $2000 and my deductible? I told them not to fucking touch my car. Allstate has handled all the repairs, and very soon my life will be filled with cheeeeerrrrr$$$$$$$ :p"

message_topic.aspx?topic=561325&page=1#12737735

1/14/2010 4:38:51 PM

youre right

1/14/2010 4:40:33 PM

higher a doctor


other than that, good post bro


^^not really, good try though

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 4:41 PM. Reason : e]

1/14/2010 4:40:48 PM

There is No Fault insurance reuqired to be carried in flordia

but there is also

Financial Responsability laws, for when you are at fault (like the other driver), which means you have to carry BIL


http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0324/SEC021.HTM&Title=-%3E2009-%3ECh0324-%3ESection%20021#0324.021



[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 5:04 PM. Reason : Prizon Lawz Wut Wut]

1/14/2010 5:01:25 PM

Quote :

" I am against CAT scans"

Wait... what? Why?

1/14/2010 5:01:43 PM

I try to avoid that kind of procedure, especially right on my freakin head and i dont feel it necessary

not a big fan of xrays either

1/14/2010 5:04:05 PM

Doesn't a Level Trauma center mean that there is specialist there instead of on call? I mean if you went there you might have had the same diagnoses.

1/14/2010 5:16:00 PM

Quote :

"Really? Did they think I'd be dumb enough to settle for $2000 and my deductible? I told them not to fucking touch my car. Allstate has handled all the repairs, and very soon my life will be filled with cheeeeerrrrr$$$$$$$ :p"

message_topic.aspx?topic=561325&page=1#12737735

Amazing. I think I am going to link this thread to Geico, Allstate, and the Orange County clerk of courts just so they can see if this story conflicts with the one he already gave them and so they can see how his ultimate intention is pocketing money.

Call me a douchebag all you want, but its shit claims like this that raise insurance costs for the rest of us and leave the courts riddled with pointless, time consuming, law suits.


Edit: This quote is even better!
http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=561325&page=1#12741067

Quote :

"I was driving a 97 Vette. Geico estimated the damage at $4500. $17,000 worth of repairs later, it still wasn't close to fixed (who did they have working on this?) so I demanded it be totaled. Took the $19,000 check, bought the car from them for $5500, and fixed the remaining repairs for ~$2000. So I basically got the Vette and $11,500, and now I'm in litigation."

[Edited on January 14, 2010 at 5:30 PM. Reason : New quote!]

1/14/2010 5:27:09 PM

as Hank and his buddies would say....

"yup"

1/14/2010 5:30:34 PM

^^This is common knowledge to all parties involved. Feel free to pass it on.

BigHitSunday - I'm not sure why you're so angry, but whatever.

I think some of you are looking too deep into my post, or just assuming things even though I haven't said anything of the sort. I'm looking to have the medical bills and other expenses directly related to the accident paid. Yes, some of the dollar amount owed was paid from various sources, but they all have not been paid. Does anyone really feel that justice is served by being stuck with thousands of dollars in medical bills, thousands of estimated dollars for current and future treatment, and a lower credit score because I can't just write a check to cover something that wasn't my fault?

The woman who hit me had $10,000 property coverage and $0 bodily injury coverage.

I don't know about standard EMT procedures, which is why I asked. I've stated in this thread that things were very confusing right after the accident, but all of these pictures were taken 45 mins to an hour later at the hospital. What would you think about if you were laying there, waiting on something to happen? It seemed like a good opportunity for some great MySpace pics. I'm 12 hours from home, no one is there with me, and no family is nearby to come hang out with me while they're doing whatever. It's really one of those times where you be an adult and don't freak out.

I'm not looking to be declared disabled and live off of whatever you people pay in taxes. As far as litigation, obviously I want all of the medical bills paid, and whatever else comes through that process is fine with me. I'm the one who lives with the pain. I'm the one with the bills.

If there's something that is unclear about my story, I'll be glad to clarify it, but this really shouldn't come across as unbelievable.

1/14/2010 5:58:43 PM