swift-vole-5221d ago

Crash left me with multiple fractures, a totaled car, and now I might lose my apartment — where do I even start?

I don't even know how to organize this so bear with me. A few months ago I was driving back from visiting family when a pickup blew a yield sign and T-boned me at highway speed. I had the right of way — there were two witnesses who stopped and told the police exactly that.

The injuries were bad. I ended up with a broken collarbone, two cracked ribs, and a pretty serious wrist fracture that needed a plate and screws. I was in the hospital for almost a week and I've been in PT ever since. I can't work my normal job right now because it's physical labor and my doctor has me on restrictions.

Here's where it gets really overwhelming. I rent a room from a private landlord and my income basically dried up the moment I got hurt. I've been draining my savings just to cover rent and I'm probably two or three weeks away from not being able to make it. My car was totaled and the payout the other driver's insurance offered was genuinely insulting — nowhere close to what I need to replace it.

I have a public insurance plan through my state and I honestly have no idea how that affects any kind of settlement or claim. Someone mentioned something called a "lien" and I don't fully understand what that means for me.

I feel like I'm drowning. Every time I figure out one piece of this there are four more things I don't understand. Has anyone been through something like this — especially the financial spiral part? What did you do first? I'm not even sure if I should be talking to a lawyer before I respond to the insurance adjuster who keeps calling me.

9 replies

Most helpful first

mellow-mole-3851d ago
Please stop answering that adjuster's calls. Seriously. They are not calling to help you — they're calling to get you to say something that limits what they have to pay you. Even something innocent like "I'm doing a little better" can be used against you. Let it go to voicemail until you know more about your options.
gentle-lynx-5451d ago
I went through something really similar last year — not as severe injury-wise but the financial spiral you're describing is SO real and nobody talks about it enough. I burned through my emergency fund in about six weeks and was terrified about rent. What helped me most was getting a PI attorney involved quickly because a lot of them will advance costs in hardship situations, or at least explain your timeline so you can talk to your landlord from a more informed place. Hang in there. This part is genuinely the hardest and it does move eventually.
- hearty-marmot-8911d ago
  I used to work on the insurance side of these claims and I want to be real with you: that "insulting" offer on your vehicle is almost certainly a lowball opener. Adjusters are evaluated on how little they pay out. You're allowed to push back, get your own comparable vehicle listings, and negotiate. Same goes for the injury side of things. The first offer is almost never the final word — but if you accept it, it IS final.
cool-marmot-0941d ago
The lien thing you mentioned is real and worth understanding early. When you have public insurance (Medicaid or similar state coverage) and you get a settlement, the state often has the right to be reimbursed for what they paid toward your medical care out of that settlement — that's the lien. The size of it and whether it can be negotiated down varies a lot by state. A PI attorney will deal with this as part of your case, it's not something you have to figure out alone. Just know it's a normal part of the process, not a death sentence for your recovery money.
genuine-marten-6181d ago
Collarbone plus ribs plus a wrist repair is a lot of healing happening at the same time and the fatigue alone from that is exhausting, never mind the stress you're under. Please make sure your PT and follow-up appointments are all documented carefully — every single one. Gaps in treatment can get used as an argument that you weren't really that hurt. I know it's hard to keep up with appointments when everything else is on fire, but it matters.
candid-swan-2431d ago
Two things to do right now: 1) Don't sign or agree to ANYTHING from the other driver's insurance. Not even a medical release. 2) Call a PI attorney for a free consult this week. Most take zero upfront and work on contingency. You're losing nothing by talking to one and you could be protecting yourself a lot. Everything else can wait — those two things can't.
- wise-crane-6521d ago
  I know it's hard to see right now but you have a lot going for you on the legal side — witnesses, a clear at-fault driver, documented injuries, and the fact that you haven't settled yet. A lot of people in bad situations have already given up their rights before they realized what they had. You still have options and that genuinely matters.
candid-kestrel-8011d ago
I just want to say I'm really sorry. You got hurt through no fault of your own and now you're fighting on like five fronts at once. That's not okay and you don't deserve this. I hope you have at least one person in your corner right now, even just someone to help you keep track of paperwork and calls. You shouldn't have to navigate this completely alone.
keen-beaver-1301d ago
Did you get a copy of the police report yet? And do you know what the other driver's liability coverage limits are? Those two things will tell you a lot about what you're actually working with here. The answers change the advice significantly.