Please Help Single Mom Needs Advice about Auto Accident?

On 4/6 I was sitting at a stop light in my Eclipse had some sort of SUV in front of me and was hit from behind without warning by a ford f250.I am told that the rear end of my car was lifted off the ground the spoiler and trunk removed and I was pushed under the SUV in front of me all I remember is the glass shattering. I was transported to the ER had numerous tests no broken bones but plenty of neck and back pain, the worst part is that in 2001 I had back surgery (a cage to replace a disc in my low back) and I was feeling great now this is where I am feeling alot of pain. I work in an alzheimer unit at an assisted living facility I am obviously not going to go back until I heal I am a single mom living paycheck to paycheck ...what do people do when they can't work after an accident how am I gonna feed my kids??? Any information will be much appreciated I have contacted an attorney but have to wait till Monday if u have had this happen to u please give me some hope. Thanks JackiePlease Help Single Mom Needs Advice about Auto Accident?
I'm sorry to hear about your situation, however, this is one of those where you have to decide whether to do what you have to do to feed your kids or stay at home and worry about how you're gonna feed your kids.





If you're hiring an attorney, if they haven't already you told you how it works, it works like this....he'll settle your case when you're done treating. You incur all expenses associated with your medical treatment, or if he's shady, he'll tell the medical doctors to treat you on a lien. He can't pay your bills feed your kids or front you any money....no one will. How you feed your kids and pay your bills is something you have to deal with. Once your case settles...that's when you'll receive money and not a penny before hand.





If your doctors sign a disability form you may be able to recieve disability benefits from your state or your employer, so I would check with your HR department to see how those benefits work, assuming you qualify for them.Please Help Single Mom Needs Advice about Auto Accident?
Well, now that you have hired a lawyer any advice we give you is worthless. If this had happened to me I would have filed a claim with my personal med insurance and disability insurance and worked with the claims adjuster until he/she made me an offer (of course, now you will never, ever know what that would have been). Who knows? You may require surgery, theraphy, etc. This could possibly exhaust the other person's insurance limits -- and now your lawyer will get 40% of that. He/she/it will also drag this out for months (or years) trying to soak you for as much billing as possible. Make no mistake, lawyers work for themselves 100% of the time -- no exceptions. You are a cockroach to them, they do not care about you, they don't want to hear from you and they think everyone in the world is beneath them. Insurance companies are bound by law not to deal directly with you now that you are represented. I only pray that your scum lawyer hasn't promised you the moon.


PS - insurance companies are NOT afraid of lawyers.


Good luck.
I'll tell ya what. it will get worse be fore it gets better. Contact the local church and local temporary welfare/foodstamp place. Think about food centers. don't be afraid to ask family freinds for assistance. Make sure your hounding the guy with the F-250's insurance company 3 times a day writing down every bit of information. You should be on the phone every waking business hour trying to get food, money for bills, resolve your insurance claim and get disability started. I don't know how disability works, contact your unemployment office about that.
Why dont you ask your attorney... since you ran and got one right away? You do realize that with that attorney you have now delayed payment on your claim for likely atleast a year if not several? Attorneys dont care how long it takes before they settle- they just care about getting money. What are you going to do in the meantime? You know you dont get payments fromt he at fault party right? You get one final settlement when everything is said and done. How are you going to afford living expenses in the meantime?





Its saddens me when i see people run off to attorneys before they need to. You could be feeling fine in two weeks and settle the case with the insurance company and move on your life... now youve sentenced yourself for years to come with no settlement.
Again another ? that was asked without telling us what state you are in. If we know what state you are in we could provide better help. OK, I'm done complaining now. So let me suggest the following





1. If you have insurance check your policy to see if has any coverages that might provide for some lost wage coverage. Look for a Personal Injury Protection Coverage (PIP). In some states (Minnesota comes to mind) PIP coverage will pay partial wage loss from your own policy if a DR. disables you.It's not your decision to decide that you can't work under this type of coverage.





2. If no such coverage is available the next best place to look is at work. Check with your employer to see if you have any disability insurance provided through work.





3. If 1%26amp; 2 are feasible then you will need to ask the attorney on Monday for their advice since they will know what the options are in your state.





4. Don't listen to la42882 they are clueless. I spent 15 years working at insurance companies settling injury claims. I hate injury lawyers more than anybody, HOWEVER, there are cases where having one is a good thing. I think your case may be one since you still have to support and feed your family.





5. In most states, any coverage for lost wages will have to come from one of your policies. The insurance for the guy that hit you will not pay your med bills or lost wages on an ongoing basis. They will settle the claim with a ';lump sum'; payment in exchange for a release of all claims.





Goof Luck.
Depending upon the labor laws in your state, you may be eligible for some sort of compensation for your injuries while they hold your job for you.





Monday do all of the following:





Contact your local Red Cross office (they should have a 24 hour number) and ask for an appointment to arrange temporary help for your family. They can more than likely assist with food, money for your housing payment and in some cases help you find temporary transportation for your appointments.





Call your doctor and ask him if your condition will require him signing a waiver for you to get government assistance/health care coverage.





Contact your insurance company and see if they have any provisions for payments for your loss of income.





If you have a local church family, ask your minister or pastor for some assistance to help tide your family over during this difficult time. They may even have a food pantry in your church that can help with feeding your children.





Make sure on Monday to get a copy of the police department accident report and copies of your medical reports from both the ambulance company and the emergency room. Your attorney can do this if you sign the paperwork authorizing him/her to be your representative.





If photographs were taken, obtain copies of them.





I hope this helps.
Since you have contacted an attorney, ask him any questions you might have regarding what to do in your situation. By doing that, you gave up your right to ask here.
depending on the severity of the injury, and the type of insurance coverage you have, you may be able to get some assistance from your insurance company. if you have either pip or medical in your car policy, file claims for bills you recieve, and use the money to support yourself as best you can. the other insurance will not settle unless it's a single lump sum, part for auto liability, which you can handle yourself by either filing on your policy or the other party for property damage alone to the car. the personal injury is another matter and should be handled as a seperate claim altogether. if physical problems are severe, have the attorney handle just that and not the property damage. he will collect from 33 1/3 to 40% of the award plus expenses. he shpould be a good liability attorney, not just an attorney. the difference is that most liability attorneys can handsle the personal injury portion and get a larger award.


do not make the mistake of settling too soon since it will give you a lower award. if it has to go to court, it will take as long as five years so be prepared to wait.


if you have disability insurance at work, file on it immediately. it will provide some income. if you are paying for disability insurance for long term, it will be enough to keep you going for as long as you are disabled, and it is also non-ytaxable since you are paying for it. short term disability is usually paid for by the employer and is for about six months and provides about 0% of your salary. long term is from six months onward and is usually ggoing to provide full salary benefits as long as you are disabled. if your disability is permanent, and certified as such by a doctor, you can file for social security disability whoich will be paid to you monthly and will also give you an allowance for each child. but you cannot collect ssdi for a minimum of six months from the time of the disability.


hopoe this helps, and best wishes.
You have done the right thing by immediately contacting an attorney for assistance in dealing with the insurance companies.





As for loss of work, the doctors providing you treatment should be willing to provide written notice that you are unable to perform the functions of your job due to the car accident. This will help you recover money from the responsible insurance co. for your time off of work. Documentation is key here. After you return to work, it would be good for your employer to provide a breakdown of how much time you were off of work and your hourly rate so that the total amount of lost wages can be calculated.





Check with your employer and see if they have any short term disability that would replace part of your wages.
I'm not real big on lawsuits and lawyers. But call one first thing tomorrow morning. This sounds like one of those times that it would be best to seek legal counsel and to have a lawyer working in your best interests. An insurance company works in THEIR best interests (so pain/sufferning/out of work is not as important to them as you). Open up your phone book, and there's no doubt a lawyer that would take on your case.
Check into government assistance. People like you who don't work when you can't work are the ones who should take advantage of welfare.
depending on the laws in your state you may be able for some sort of compensation.