The weather was overcast when I walked out of the house last Friday, so I drove the wife's car to work because it was behind my car, instead of riding the bike. When I got off work Friday I went to my boss' house to work on my buddy's '31 Dodge. He had a party he had to go to and we didn't have a new brake line made for it, so I took him back to work to get his other car and after I dropped him off I headed home because we were going to eat dinner with my wife's parents in about an hour. I was making my way home when I came on some traffic. The left and middle lanes were stopped but the right lane was completely open with no cars in it. What I didn't see though, was the break in traffic the other two lanes had made to let cars jump across the lanes to pull into the recreation center parking lot. Right as I got to the break in traffic, an older man in a newer Tahoe pulled right in front of me. I barely even had time to hit the brakes and hit him about 40 mph broadside on the p***enger side of his suv. I hit him so hard it knocked his Tahoe over on the left side of the vehicle and my tool bag that I use for work, that was in the trunk of the car, knocked the back seat completely loose. Some how I broke my right wrist. Of course, I'm right handed, so that ****ing ****s. This all happened about 5pm. They finally got us both loaded in the ambulance and took us to the ER. They took me back and did a bunch of x-rays on my back, pelvis, neck and wrist. Since I have had back surgery, and my back was bothering me just a bit, they took some CT scans of my neck and lower back. Everything came back ok finally and they let us go home around midnight. All in all, I feel VERY lucky. I ALMOST rode my bike to work. Had I been riding the motorcycle, I would more than likely be dead right now. Had I been driving the Riviera, I probably would be hurt quite a bit more than I am right now. I think of all of the cars we have, I crashed the safest one. The wife's car is/was an '02 Chevy Malibu we bought new. Coincidentally, I have been wanting to get the wife a new car. Maybe now is the time ! So now what do I need to do about dealing with this guys insurance, getting my wrist fixed, etc ? I'm not interested in getting a lawyer involved and suing anyone, I just need to get everything I can taken care of so I'm not out a bunch of money, time off work, out of a vehicle, etc. Sorry for the long read, and sorry if any of this is misspelled--typing left-handed FTL ! Oh yeah, BE CAREFUL OUT THERE ! -Aaron
tell the insurance company the truth and tell them all about what the road looks like, signs painted lines, all of it. then let them decide.
Yeah, the police officer on scene wrote everything down as it happened and showed in his report that the other driver was at fault 100%. The insurance company has been cooperative so far. They got me a rental car first thing Monday. I haven't heard anything from them since though. I have to go back to the orthopedic doctor next Wednesday to get the splint off and cast put on. -Aaron
Man, are you gonna have fun learning to do everything with your left hand! How is the other driver? Have you heard anything about him?
Kudos to you for not seeking litigation. Unfortunately accidents happen. Hope that rest heals up and good to hear there was no further injury to you or the other driver
Yeah, I can't even put any pressure on my right hand. It still hurts like hell. This coming from a guy who has had back surgery, my stomach cut open and part of my intestines/colon removed, a**** many other surgeries over the years for Crohn's disease, so I know what big pain feels like. The other guy was fine. They had to cut a hole out of his windshield to get him out but he was walking around, without a scratch on him. Yeah, ya know, I understand stuff happens. We're all human, after all. I don't believe in suing over a minor incident like this. Too many people get carried away nowadays over the most ridiculous things. It's really disheartening to see what the world has come to as far as people being so damn litigious. I have been having bad/weird dreams since the accident though. I keep having car crash dreams. I kicked the dog off the bed the other night because of one dream. I was dreaming that I slammed on the brakes and kicked my leg out and kicked the dog. I felt bad that I kicked her. I haven't been able to sleep worth a **** since the accident though. Should I go to my doctor to get a sleeping aid ?
The EXACT SAME THING happened to me in November of last year. Totalled daily, concussion, neck and back f-ed up. If you aren't sleeping you better go to your doc or chiropractor soon, cause something ain't right. You were sleeping fine before the accident, right? Personal injury policy, if you have it on your insurance should cover this... It took almost 5 months for me to feel good/normal after my accident and that was seeing a chiro twice a week... You need to make sure you are feeling well and make sure you seek the treatment you need to get to that point. Insurance is supposed to pay for this, that's the reason we all have it, to make things whole again. If you don't want to get an attorney to seek damages, that's your business but I feel as though it may be helpful. In my case I think the insurance company low balled what our car was worth because they think they can get away with it. Research HARD what a comparable vehicle will cost you and I'll bet the insurance company will come up with an offer of 20-25% less. Whatever you do make sure you feel good when it's all said and done. If you can't sleep because of the pain seek some treatment and make sure your, or the other guy's, insurance covers it. Five years from now this could develop into major issues if left untreated, just some food for thought.... And now, I NEVER, EVER leave any space for people to creep through!
I tell ya what really ****s about all this , Looks like you are not going to be able to letter and pinstripe my car till you heal. Don't worry though, I would not use anyone else. Hope you get better soon and do what the Doc tells ya ! Talk to you next week...
last wreck i had i let my insurance co. know and that it wasn't my fault,i got a copy of the police report and the guys insurance co. paid my hosp bills, fixed my truck and wrote me a check,you may have to be proactive, get the guys insurance name and number and call to find one person to deal with,those dreams will go away after a while,i got nailed from behind so i did alot of mirror driving for awhile,but everyday problems come up and you forget all about it.
glad it's only the wrist and not worse! Do what you know is right and you'll be fine.....Hope you have a quick recovery!
Damn...glad it was your wrist and not your neck...but still thats some hard luck, Hard Luck. Maybe you change your handle to Good Luck.
Here is my .02 man, and it's probably worth less than that. First, quit worrying about the "If"s , there is no room in life for that junk. Second, getting a lawyer doesnt make you sue happy, it makes you smart. It's your job to protect your family and what they have. The insurance company is a company, they have a bottom line, and right now, your screwing with it. I wouldnt waste anyones time with lawsuits either, but I WOULD get an attorney to make sure I was being treated correctly. If you exit this situation with a loss of any kind, you will be sorry. Just be honest, it seems you are, and be glad, you appear to be that too, but be protective of what is yours and what you lost. Cheers Hodge
LOL, yeah, thanks for waiting ! I PM'd you the ****** guy's info, BTW. I called my insurance company and let them know Monday morning. I also went to the police station first thing Monday morning and got a copy of the police report and called his insurance as soon as I got home and got the ball rolling. They got me a rental car that day and I haven't heard from them since. I got a letter in the mail for the towing/storage fees from the towing company, so I called the insurance and they said the towing company has to send that, by law, and that they had already taken care of the fees, so that was a relief. Yeah, that's what I tell people. It could have been worse ! I talked to someone the other day and asked how their day was going and they said, "better than yours, it looks like !", and I just smiled and said, "nah, I'm doing pretty good !" Everyone I talk to that asks me how I'm doing I tell them "Great ! It could have been a lot worse !" Yeah, I think everything happens for a reason. I mean, obviously I was driving the wife's car because it is/was the safest car we had to crash ! LOL ! Funny thing about it all is, I have actually been wanting to get the wife a new car and had joked about smashing her car ! Yeah, I would have gotten more money out of smashing the Riviera, but I more than likely would have come out with more serious injuries, so I consider it a wash. LOL ! Thanks. What's funny is, on another message board I post on, and the name I use when pinstriping, is CRASH. I know what you mean about the "what-if's". It's just so easy to think about "what could have happened", ya know ? I'll probably see if I can find an attorney in my area that I can talk to and keep on retainer, as a just in case. I know that trying to intimidate the insurance with an attorney threat will just shut them down with trying to help out my case and that's when they start going in "***hole insurance company" mode. Thanks for all the kinds words, and the advice/info guys. I have just been hanging out at the house, and taking it easy the last week. My little girl got the chickenpox last week, but since she's had the vaccine twice, it wasn't really bad. She has just been itchy, but overall has been really good about the whole thing. Plus it's given us some time to hang out together. She cracks me up. They're so funny at this age....she's 8. Honestly, the thing that aggravates me the most out of this whole deal is that I can't pinstripe or work on my cars. I actually made a hole in my garage here at the house to bring my '59 Chevy big back window pickup down from my dad's shop so I could get some stuff done to it. Not to mention I'm missing out on at least 3 pinstriping jobs that I could do right now. I think the ones that I have lined up will wait for me to get healed up, so that's pretty cool. Hell, it hurts just to try to write as it is right now. Oh well, it will all work out ! -Aaron
Glad to hear you're alright, but as someone who's had two wrist surgurerys all I can say is a non-sarcastic good luck. Everyone always says how lucky it is to have only hurt your wrist, but as you'll see it affects a whole lot of daily living, and really makes you alter how you work on your ride! Hoping you a speedy recovery!
Man, I hope it doesn't mess with my pinstriping. Hopefully since it was a non-displaced fracture, and they don't have to do surgery, it will heal a little easier/faster. I guess only time will tell ! Thanks for the heads up though.
Aaron, glad to hear your OK. Sorry about your "Hard Luck" ( I couldnt resist). You might also want to look into some simple physical therapy execises for your wrist after it heals. The same thing happend to my old Tattoo artist and cramping was his worst problem after healing. See you around bro, Rick
Thanks Rick. I figure after I get the cast off my doc will have me doing some physical therapy. I went to the same orthopedic doctor that did my back surgery. Just gotta take it easy.
Remember this, you will never get a letter from an insurance company that has not been approved by their lawyers. Unfortunately being a good guy is not to your benefit. Hope your injuries heal quickly and you get back to striping soon.
I would still talk to a lawyer. Most insurance companies won't pay for bodily harm unless you have a broken bone. So you are in like Flynn. Not like you're going to get a million out of it, but you are en***led something for pain and suffering. Even if they lay $10-15K on you, it can make a difference in buying your wife a new car. If you have reportable income from pinstriping you should be compensated for your down time. Good luck and heal fast. Bob
Well, just an update to this little saga. I got a call from the insurance company and they offered me about TWICE as much as I figured we would get for my wife's car. It was enough to pay off my motorcycle, which I did yesterday. I got a cast put on last week, and they said probably 6-8 weeks in it and I can't use my right hand/arm for work, because I do physical, service work. I had two doctor's appointments this morning. Then when I went in to work today, they had to let me go. Times are hard, and they just got harder. At least I'm debt free, other than day to day living expenses and the house rent. Being in a cast and looking for work is going to be tough. Damn, I need to get this cast off ASAP and find something to do for work ! -Aaron
So did you get let go because you're in a cast and can't do your job? Sounds that way to me.... I would really think about calling an attorney at this point in time. I know for me max unemployment is less than half what I make in a normal week. Kudos to you for having all your bills paid, but 6-8 weeks of lost wages cause you can't work? And you can't enjoy your hobbies/stripping? I would for sure be talking with an attorney before I signed off and walked away from this one! Just my .02!
Yeah man, at this point I'm not really sure what I should do. I'm kinda screwed at the moment because I can't just go find another job with a cast on my dominant hand. I have a hard enough time writing, much less doing ANYTHING else. Only time will tell I guess. -Aaron
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