Rear-ended at a construction zone merge, other driver's insurance ghosting us for months — what do I do?

The going-quiet thing happened to me too and it was SO demoralizing. What I eventually learned is that silence is often a tactic — they're hoping you'll either give up or accept a lowball offer just to end it. Don't let the silence make you feel like your claim isn't valid. It very much sounds like it is.

"Reconsidering liability" after initially accepting partial fault is a classic move. They sized up your claim, realized there might be real money involved (especially with your sister's injuries), and hit the reset button hoping you wouldn't push back. Do not let them re-litigate what they already half-admitted. Document every single contact — dates, times, names of whoever you did manage to reach, even if it's just a voicemail log.

I used to work on the carrier side and I'll be straight with you: when a file goes quiet for months it usually means it got reassigned or it's sitting in a queue waiting for someone to escalate it. You are not being prioritized because you haven't made noise yet. Send a written demand — certified mail — to the claims department asking for a status update and a named adjuster contact within 10 business days. Suddenly files start moving when there's a paper trail.

A couple of practical things worth knowing: most states have what's called a statute of limitations for personal injury claims — it's typically 2-3 years but it varies, and the clock usually starts from the date of the accident. So you probably haven't missed anything yet, but you should verify the specific deadline for your state sooner rather than later. Also, filing with your own insurer doesn't automatically spike your rates if you're not at fault — worth asking your agent directly. A lot of people avoid it unnecessarily.

Not legal advice, but: the fact that they initially acknowledged partial liability and then reversed course is actually useful information for an attorney evaluating your case. Most PI lawyers offer free consultations and work on contingency — meaning no upfront cost to you. Given that you have a police report, documented injuries, and a paper trail of the carrier's flip-flop, this sounds like something worth at least getting a professional opinion on before you engage further with them on your own.

Please don't let the claims stuff crowd out your health. Whiplash and soft tissue injuries from impacts like you described can genuinely take weeks or months to fully show up — or to get worse. If your neck is still giving you trouble, go back and get it documented. Gaps in treatment (meaning stretches where you didn't see a doctor) can sometimes be used against you later, so staying consistent with care matters both for your health and your claim.

You did everything right and you're still dealing with this — that's genuinely unfair and I'm sorry. Please don't blame yourself for not knowing the "system." Most people don't until they're stuck in it.

Stop calling. Send everything in writing from here on out — email at minimum, certified mail for anything important. Phone calls are easy to ignore and hard to prove. A written timeline of their non-responses is actually evidence if this goes further. And seriously, get a free consult with a PI attorney this week. Not next month. This week.