NNNN

I was hit by a car in early december. I was conscious - answering questions afterward, but I have no memory of it. I basically woke up in the hospital 5 hours later after cat scans and a few staples and 1 stitch. I wasn't hurt very bad, just a concusion from smacking my head on a curb. According to witnesses, I ran a stop sign at an intersection, and the car that hit me was driving on the cross street (aka not head-on) and they DID stop at the intersection. that's all I know. frustrating indeed because that's not like me, and I don't know if maybe there was some miscommunication between me and the driver, like I assumed they saw me and weren't going to hit me, and they didn't see me or whatever. the point is, in the police report, all it says is I broke the law (running the stop sign) but they didn't penalize me for it.

anyway, I've been sending all the medical bills to my health care provider. Now they tell me that because it was technically a motorvehicle accident, it's up to my car insurance provider to pay the med bills, and because I was hurt, the car insurance is going to go after the other driver, who doesn't appear at fault, so eventually my car insurance provider will blame me, and my rate is going to go up. Does that make sense? Pretty weird. I kept thinking of getting a lawyer, and that I'd have SOME leg to stand on, but I've basically given up. I was technically at fault and I don't even remember what happened. Well, the statute of limitation is two years, so I've got about 18 months to remember what happened.

I guess the moral of the story is: wear a helmet, maybe you'll remember enough to build a case.

riotboy

i wonder what would happen if all was the same except you didnt have car insurence.

go cog

You might quiz the witnesses, just to get some sort of perspective of what you were up to.

dobber

If you were at fault then part of the penalty is a potentially higher insurance rate. Then again, insurance companies don't automatically raise your rate due to an accident. Have you actually talked to your agent?

lvleph

How could it be that your auto insurance would cover that. You were not driving your car. That does not make any sense. Do you have a lawyer?

sisham35

A lot states have no-fault auto insurance. It doesn't matter who's at fault, your insurance covers you. I got hit about 6 years ago by a car while on my bike and my auto insurance paid for a very expensive knee reconstruction and is still paying for any future problems with my knee. I consider myself really lucky to have auto insurance or I would have never been able to afford any of my surgeries.

NNNN

Yeah, according to state farm (as of today) they'll cover the med bills for up to 5 grand, and will pay for a new pair of glasses for me (but not repairs to the bike...which only amounted to like $140). They didn't mention the other driver or their insurance, so I don't think they care whose fault it was, so I don't think my rates will go up after all. hmmm, this might actually be pretty sweet.

timmhaan

this happened to me. my health care provider paid for my medical bills and the driver's insurance paid for my bike (at a greatly reduced price...of course). I don't have auto insurance.

if you don't have insurance and can't get the other guy to pay, you're screwed. my 4 hour visit to the hospital for x-rays and asprin was about $500 + a $350 physican fee (to say...you'll be fine) + a $400 ambulence fee (to drive exactly 4 blocks to the hospital) = about $1250 for what was basically a bruise to my leg. when my brother broke his leg, the bills were about $15,000 and that was 15 years ago.

stevo

no-fault states typically protect the uninsured by requiring 'uninsured injured' protection. That is, each policy provides protection in case the other person in the accident does not have insurance (which is oftn the case with peds and bicycles).

So you dont need to get the other guy to pay, his insurance co. will. But I'm sure theyre gonna fight tooth-and-nail since it wasnt their clients fault.

sisham35

I was with Allstate and they treated me like a king trying to get me all fixed up. They didn't buy me a new bike though, the other guy did when I sued his dumbass.

newnoise

my friend was in an accident about a year ago and she was deemed at fault. it was at night, she didn't have a light and a car turned right in front of her and she just hit the side. She ended up with a cracked vertibrae and was in a back brace for like 6 months and even though it was her fault, she still got all her medical bills covered and got a rediculous amounth of money afterwards. i do'nt understand insurance

delicious

dude, you should really really get a lawyer.

SinglSpeedShaun

sounds like a good idea. there's a guy in philly that handles a ton of bike related court cases. dunno though, what do I say? It would be me saying basically "my bike doesnt have a brake...I literally have no memory of what happened" and them saying "we have witnesses that say you ran the stop sign, and the car that hit you did not." I don't really understand insurance or hit-by-car-laws either, but to me that all sounds like me having no leg to stand on. maybe I will look into it though. anyone have any success stories with this type of thing, like the girl with the broken back?

slvoid

Actually you're not screwed. A coworker of mine was nailed by a hit and run while he was on a motorcycle, the car ran a stop sign and creamed him. Somehow, the moron with 5 broken ribs, went to make sure his beloved nextel phone was ok, then rode the bike home before going to the hospital. Homeowners insurance paid for part of lost wages along with the state, no fault paid for the medical.

NNNN

um, actually I said this....I guess my roommate was logged in. I didn't even know he had a BF membership. curious.

doofo

you have more in common than you know


dont fight it

sisham35

Really just call a lawyer. The first visit is almost always free(my last visit cost $13,000). You should really get your advice from a lawyer, not here.

stevo

yeah, lawyers are there to help.

really.

stevo

I'm not sure you really want to pay a lawyer on this. He's in a nofault state which means his bills will be paid (he has health insurance and two auto policies involved).

His biggest concern is really whether his rates will go up. His policy will be paying out initially, then the others will duke it out over compensation. IF his policy winds up with the liability (which it sounds like it will), and they decide to raise his rates over it, it is what it is. Lets say his rates raise $1000 yr/3 years. Except for maybe an initial freebie consultation, the legal fees will prolly exceed that.

having said that; yeah, you really should be cautious when taking advice from strangers over the inet.

my $.02.

sisham35

I agree