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mellow-crow-721

Rear-ended by a semi, now two more accidents later — is my original claim dead?

I don't even know where to start with this but I need to talk to people who might understand because my family is kind of over hearing about it.

About two years ago I was a passenger in my boyfriend's car when a fully loaded semi blew through a merge and slammed into us at highway speed. The impact was violent — like nothing I've ever felt. We both walked away but I started feeling it within an hour. Neck, mid-back, and this deep aching in my lower back that just never went away.

I'd never had back problems in my life before that day. Not once. Since then I've done two rounds of PT, a round of injections, multiple MRIs, and I'm now being evaluated for a procedure on my lumbar spine. The imaging showed a disc issue that my doctors keep calling 'degenerative' even though I was completely pain-free before the crash. That label terrifies me honestly.

Here's where it gets complicated. In the months after the original crash — while I was still actively in treatment — I got rear-ended twice by other distracted drivers. Separate incidents, both times the other drivers were clearly at fault and their insurance accepted liability. My attorney at the time told me not to worry, that those were minor and I was already in treatment anyway.

But I've since switched attorneys and now I'm second-guessing everything. Like — does having two subsequent accidents completely tank my original claim? Does it make me look like I'm just a magnet for fraud or something?

I'm genuinely in pain every single day. I'm not exaggerating. I just want to know if anyone has been through something like this and how it played out. 😞

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9 replies

  • 11
    bright-marmot-027

    Not legal advice, but I'll say this: multiple accidents in a short window is a known challenge in personal injury, not an automatic case-killer. Courts deal with this through something called 'apportionment' — essentially, trying to figure out what injuries came from which event. The documentation trail matters enormously here. If your pre-accident medical history shows zero back issues and your records right after the semi crash document the disc problem, that's meaningful. Your new attorney really needs to dig into the full medical chronology before anyone makes assumptions about where your case stands.

  • 9
    sharp-finch-474

    Oh wow, I could have written parts of this myself. I was in a bad accident and then got rear-ended again maybe four months later while still in treatment. My attorney told me the same thing yours did — basically 'we'll handle it, don't stress.' What I learned is that multiple accidents complicate things but don't automatically destroy your case. The key is having really solid medical documentation that ties your symptoms back to each specific incident. It's messy but it's not a death sentence for your claim.

  • 11
    daring-beaver-846

    From a process standpoint — and I'm just talking generally here — cases with multiple accidents usually require what's called a 'medical narrative' or causation letter from the treating provider. This is a document where the doctor explains which injuries are attributable to which event. If your new attorney hasn't already requested this, it's worth asking about. Also make sure all three incidents are disclosed fully. Hiding or downplaying the subsequent accidents would be way more damaging than just being upfront.

  • 6
    curious-fox-036

    Can I ask — were the two subsequent accidents documented with police reports and did you seek any medical treatment after those? I'm not doubting you, I just think the answer to your question probably depends a lot on how much of a paper trail exists for each event separately. If both the second and third accidents are just insurance liability acceptances with no medical records attached, that's a very different situation than if you went to the ER each time.

  • 7
    gentle-newt-239

    Here's the blunt version: yes, it complicates things. No, it's not over. Stop waiting and get in front of your new attorney with a written timeline — every date, every doctor visit, every incident. Don't let them piece it together from memory in a meeting. Show up organized and make them engage with the full picture. That's the most useful thing you can do right now.

  • 4
    genuine-elk-895

    The insurance company for the original semi is absolutely going to use those two subsequent accidents against you — count on it. They'll argue that those crashes caused your current pain, not theirs. Adjusters are trained to look for exactly this kind of thing. Please make sure your new attorney knows the full timeline down to every detail, because the other side definitely already does.

    • 8
      sharp-stoat-680

      The 'degenerative' label is so frustrating because it sounds like a pre-existing thing even when it's trauma-induced. Discs can be accelerated into a degenerative state by a traumatic impact — that's real and documented in medical literature. Ask your treating physician if they're willing to write a narrative note specifically addressing causation and your pre-accident baseline. That kind of note can carry real weight.

  • 7
    quick-elk-325

    I used to work claims and I want to be straight with you: when we saw multiple accidents in a claimant's history, the first instinct was to start building a causation argument — basically pointing fingers at the other accidents. That said, it's not a slam dunk for the defense either. If your medical records from right after the original crash clearly document your injuries, a good attorney can timeline this in a way that separates each event. The 'degenerative' language from your doctors is actually the bigger headache in my experience — that's what defense teams love to grab onto.

  • 4
    candid-crane-264

    I just want to say — you don't sound like someone faking anything. You sound exhausted and in real pain and scared. That comes through clearly. I hope your new attorney is actually listening to you and not just treating you like a file number. You deserve someone in your corner who takes this seriously.