swift-crow-5321d ago

Got hit the same week I finally got my full license back. Of course I did.

I know this is going to sound like a bad joke but I promise it's real.

After almost a year of only having a restricted license — work trips and that's it — I finally got my full driving privileges back last Tuesday. No more scheduling my whole life around a tiny window of legal drive times. I was so relieved.

So Friday I decided to take my nephew out for the first time. Nothing fancy, just grabbing food and maybe hitting a park. We're sitting at a red light maybe four miles from my house and bam — somebody plows into the back of us. Hard enough that we both got thrown forward pretty good.

Cops came, I handed over my shiny "full privileges" license like some kind of cosmic punchline, we exchanged info, and I drove home with a messed up rear bumper and a stiff neck that's gotten worse over the weekend.

Here's the thing though — my nephew kept asking me the whole time I had the restricted license why I never just drove outside the allowed hours when I needed to. I always told him something will go wrong, watch. I wasn't even being that serious but… yeah. Here we are.

Anyway, now I'm dealing with the other driver's insurance and my neck is really bothering me. Went to urgent care Saturday. They said soft tissue and gave me a referral for follow-up.

Has anyone dealt with a rear-end claim where the injuries didn't seem that bad at first but got worse? I'm a little worried the insurance is going to lowball me because I walked away from the scene.

8 replies

Most helpful first

patient-otter-3171d ago
Oh man, the timing on this is brutal. I got rear-ended about two years ago and the exact same thing happened with my neck — felt like a 4/10 at the scene, woke up Monday unable to turn my head. Please keep going to every follow-up appointment they give you and don't skip anything. The gap in treatment is one of the first things insurance uses against you.
quiet-marten-7821d ago
Soft tissue injuries from rear-end collisions are genuinely sneaky. The adrenaline at the scene masks a lot, and inflammation peaks 24–72 hours later. If your neck is getting worse and not better, push for imaging — an urgent care referral is a starting point but it's not the whole picture. Don't let anyone talk you into "wait and see" for too long if the pain is escalating.
- candid-newt-1831d ago
  "I walked away from the scene" is exactly the narrative the adjuster is going to build. They will pull the police report, see no ambulance transport, and use that to argue your injuries aren't serious. Document everything obsessively — photos of your neck if it bruises, a pain journal, every prescription receipt, every appointment. Start now if you haven't already.
genuine-sparrow-1781d ago
I worked claims for years. Honestly, soft tissue rear-ends are the ones we watched most closely for exactly what you're describing — injuries that show up or get worse after the fact. The thing is, that's completely normal medically, but adjusters are trained to treat a delayed symptom report as a red flag. It isn't fair but it's real. Keep a written record with dates and symptom descriptions, even just in your phone's notes app.
keen-lynx-6451d ago
A couple of practical things: First, don't give the other driver's insurance a recorded statement without knowing what you're agreeing to — you're usually not legally required to, and anything you say gets locked in. Second, make sure you're getting treatment through a provider who documents clearly. Vague notes like "patient reports neck pain" help a lot less than detailed functional assessments. It might be worth at least talking to a PI attorney before you settle anything, even if you end up not needing one. Most do free consultations.
silent-stoat-5031d ago
Also please just check on your nephew if he hasn't already seen someone. Kids sometimes don't say anything because they don't want to worry the adult. Even a quick checkup is worth it after a hit like that.
clever-wolf-8891d ago
The one genuinely good thing here? You had your full license. No complications with your status, no extra scrutiny, nothing for anyone to use against you in any way. You were completely in the clear and the other driver hit YOU. That's actually a really clean situation legally even if it doesn't feel that way right now.
gentle-lynx-7521d ago
Stop waiting to see if it gets better on its own and get to a doctor this week — not urgent care, an actual physician or orthopedic who can order imaging if needed. Urgent care did their job but they're not built for ongoing injury management. The longer you wait the harder it is to connect the injury to the accident.