Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

I was involved in a car accident last monday. I visited the doctor soon after, but at the time I only complained of minimal neck and back pain. Now one week later, Im experiencing pretty bad back pain. No Fault is taking care of my doctor visits now, but everyone is encouraging me to sue the other driver. I dont see a point in sueing if no fault will take care of my medical bills, but what about future medical bills? This is my first accident so I really dont know how all this works. ANY advice would be greatly appreciated because I really dont know what to do. Thanks!

Re: Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

Oh no, Jenn. I thought the pain had gone for good. no advice, just .

Re: Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

First of all, I'm sorry!!!

Get further testing on that back ASAP. MRI, X-rays, etc.

If something on the MRI or XRay is "off", I'd definitely sue. (Any fractures, herniation, etc.)

Ask the Dr's opinion. Does he/she think this will be over soon, or will it cause you pain in the future? etc.

Re: Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

Re: Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

The worse pain is days afetr the accident happens.

I think many people first say "sue them" but because everyone sues everyone all the insurance rates go up. Not saying that your law suit will break the camel's back but that's how it works. Your Personal Injury portion of the policy does cover for medical expenses.

Hope you feel better soon!!!

Re: Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

Ladies, thank you for the many hugs. Shorty, I have another dr's appt tomorrow. I'll ask if they can do further testing. Thanks for the great advice!!

Re: Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

I hope your pain goes away soon.

No fault insurance covers your medical bills and lost wages. I'm pretty sure the only way you can sue the other driver for pain and suffering is if you have a "serious injury" which includes fractures, significant disfigurement, loss of limb, significant limitation in use of a body function or system, etc. Definitely talk to your doctor and see what kind of future treatment is needed. Your medical bills should be covered under the no fault benefits. As painful as it is, it's probably not considered a serious injury under the law so you most likely cannot sue the other party.

I hope you have a speedy recovery.

Re: Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

Posted by Diva

Ladies, thank you for the many hugs. Shorty, I have another dr's appt tomorrow. I'll ask if they can do further testing. Thanks for the great advice!!

Re: Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

The last car accident I had, like you the pain didnt start until after a while.

No fault is not gonna pay you for time you may need off work, like wages and gas money to dr's and theres also a deductible you will have at the end to pay.

Also, keep in mind that no fault is a set limit of money, if you go over that , and use up yoru benefiits, then everything will need to be out of pocket. Although I work in insurance and if you have medical insurance, they will pick up all dr's visits AFTER you get a letter from no fault saying you exhausted your benefits.

I did sue that time, and I wasnt looking for a lot of money or to just sue. I wasnt insured medically and was afraid of no fault benefits running out, and I also have TMJ and the accident made it worse when I hot my face and the no fault wouldnt cover it and I wanted to be able to have chiro care for it.

I think I ended up with about $5000 and out of that, I did probably end up spening about $1500 on non covered medical expenses, and the no fault deductible( which I believe is $500) ....

The money comes from insurance and the person whos insurance we sued DID NOT have anything put on their license and their insurance DID NOT go up( it was a family members car who I was in and sued their insurance) , that made me feel better by doing it.

I wasnt very hurt at all, some bruises etc and like you I felt badly about sueing cause Im not the type to just go after money, but in the end I was glad I did.

Re: Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

I would sue. No Fault is gonna start sending you to IMEs and those docs will tell you there's nothing wrong with you just so No Fault can stop paying, and then you may ahve probs with your INS bc it's accident related. Don't forget time off from work, etc.

Don't feel bad. That's why we all have auto insurance.

Re: Need some advice regarding a lawsuit

This is what I found from a NY law firm's website:

Just What is No Fault?

The New York No-Fault Insurance Law applies to all automobile or automobile related accidents. It allows, under certain conditions, for some expenses to be paid even if you were at fault. However, you will lose your rights unless you notify your insurance company of any accident within thirty (30) days of the accident date, and you file a proof of claim of medical care within forty-five (45) days of the accident date.

The following should be paid by the insurance company if the treatment was caused by the accident.


DOCTOR BILLS. There are rate schedules which limit the amount a doctor can charge.
HOSPITAL BILLS. These are also subject to rate limitations.
UP TO $25.00 PER DAY for other necessary expenses, such as:
- Someone to care for you, if such care is necessary. But you'll have to get a letter from the attending physician authorizing these services, before payment can be obtained from the insurance carrier. This care may be provided by a relative or spouse if they usually work but can't because they have to stay home and take care of the injured.
Transportation expenses. You can get paid back for your cost of traveling to and from medical treatment. If you are using taxis as your means of transportation, please get a taxi receipt, indicating the date of the appointment, the address where you were picked up, and the address of the doctor you visited. The receipt must indicate the date and amount of the taxi fare. If private transportation is being provided, please forward to the insurance carrier an itemized list indicating the date of the visit, the doctor's and/or hospital name and address, and the round trip number of miles traveled.
MEDICAL NEEDS. Your medication, prescriptions, crutches, bandages, hospital beds, orthopedic devices, wheelchairs, etc. should also be paid for by the insurance carrier. These items must be prescribed by your attending physician. Receipts are required.
80% OF YOUR GROSS REGULAR WAGES (before taxes). If you are unable to work because of the injuries you sustained in the automobile accident, the insurance company should pay 80% of your gross wages. However, there may be certain deductibles and other variations based on the language of the policy.

REMEMBER - YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE NO-FAULT LOST WAGES BENEFITS UNTIL:
- You submit an application for benefits.
- Your doctor returns a form in which he indicates that you are unable to work due to injuries suffered in this accident within forty five (45) days of the accident.
- Your employer submits a form indicating the amount of your gross earnings, dates of time lost from work, normal amount of hours and days worked per week, etc. It usually takes approximately 30 days from the date of submitting all three forms to start receiving wage benefits.

NEW YORK STATE DISABILITY BENEFITS You must apply for New York State Disability Benefits within twenty (20) days from the date you became unable to work. In the event you were in the course of your employment at the time of the accident, you are entitled to and must apply for Worker's Compensation Benefits through your employer, as that insurance would provide primary benefits. Please note: the two benefits listed above are primary and will normally make payment to you before No-Fault, however No-Fault will pay the difference between the amounts paid by one of these insurance companies up to 80% of wages.

HOW DOES NO-FAULT IMPACT YOUR RIGHT TO SUE?
Under the No-Fault law, you can still sue the party who was at fault to recover payment for your pain and suffering. But you must meet certain conditions. Otherwise no matter how negligent the other driver was, you cannot successfully sue for your pain and suffering. To qualify to sue, you must have a "serious injury." "Serious injury" is defined by the law as one of the following types of injuries: a. death; b. dismemberment; c. significant disfigurement; d. a fracture; e. significant loss of use of the body organ, member, function or system; f. permanent consequential limitation of use of body organ or member; g. medically determined injury impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all the material acts which constitutes such person's usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred and eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.

Hope this helps.