Entries Tagged with car accident
September 25th, 2005
Remember that accident I had earlier this summer? I just wanted to whine a little that my back is still not right. Even doing the laundry is a pain in the -er- back and once the pain starts, it’s with me pretty much the rest of the day. Usually it goes away while I’m sleeping but during the day, I just can’t get comfortable enough for it to go away.
And 15 minutes of work is about all I can stand before I have to go sit down and let the agonizing part of the pain subside a little — well, enough to get back up. Yesterday, I painted a shelf for my upstairs bathroom and hung up my mirror and a picture and just doing those things (painting the shelf required sitting somewhere without a back) made me feel quite accomplished since the pain was unbearable. Needless to say that now I don’t have laziness to blame for my not getting my projects done in a timely manner — especially since I now seem to actually have energy and a desire to do things.
I must remember to see if I can find a cheap bar stool with a back to buy to take with me to my art class or I’ll never stand it, literally, when I go back at the beginning of the new semmester…and I have all of that new art to frame in stained glass. :p
Tags: car accident, wellness
August 4th, 2005
- I really need to send in my paperwork for the medical bills from the accident.
- I also need to send in my paperwork to my flexplan.
- I’m going to a baby shower tonight for my next door neighbor who’s name I cannot remember.
- I went into Build-A-Bear to make me a Firefly-type cowboy bear. I was sadly disappointed they didn’t have the right type of accessories. The Batman and Spidermen Bears were precious though.
- The Auto Insurance place is putting my $500 deductible they owe me right into my Savings account probably tomorrow or Monday.
- I have been avoiding the news all day but at some point I’m going to have to re-enter the insane reality.
- Vacation in less than a month. Why am I not more excited about it?
- I really wish I could find a roleplaying group up here…or at least someone to play my Mayfair Rail games.
- My back has been better the last two days, only really bothering me in the car and late in the evening. However, I’ve had migraines every day this week so far. Hmmmm….
- I wonder how long I’ll have to stay at the baby shower.
- I wish I’d switched the upstairs tvs before the accident so I could watch DVDs in bed…I want to watch Firefly and the most comfy position is laying down.
- I haven’t even gotten to read all of my favorite blogs yet today.
Tags: discombobulated, car accident
August 3rd, 2005
That’s the question. My insurance company has already explained (they broached the topic; I’d not even thought of it) that the other insurance company should be calling me to make an offer for pain & suffering after the car repairs and medical bills are paid for. My insurance company cannot handle that part of the process — though it’s nice that they are going to re-emburse me the $500 I shelled out for the deductible direct deposited into my account within a few days.
Peter and Meg have suggested I contact a lawyer now. My cube-neighbor’s daughter works for the highly televized collision-type lawyer here in Portland and she’s offered to get me an appointment.
Meg and Peter say I’m entitled. My dad seemed to agree. My mother seemed very upset when I mentioned it.
The truth is that while it’s been an inconvenience, my medical bills and my auto repair is being paid for. Yes, I’ll probably be in pain for a few months. Yes, it will interfere with me getting my pig stye ready for the parental visit. Yes, I’m popping Tylenol and Advil 4x a day which can’t be good. Yes, I’ve been unable to really enjoy my hobbies of cooking and…well, cooking anyway. 
But overall, what’s the point of a pain & suffering settlement?
I tried to understand Meg’s explanation about some formula involving soft tissue damage or permanent damage or long-term damage, but it kind of made my eyes gloss over. I kind of wish this had happened in New Orleans so one of them could handle my case.
So, I don’t know what to do? Wait and see if the other insurance place really does call, and if so, how long do I wait? Go ahead and call the lawyer and get him going on it? Just forget about it because this country has really gotten too sue happy and really do I want to encourage that?
I mean, sure, I was eyeing up a home theater system yesterday in radio shack, where I forgot the one thing I meant to buy there…and yeah, it’d be nice to have a little money to put in savings for a possible future vehicle or home purchase…
But the lady was very nice and her insurance company has been very compliant from what I understand and really, I keep thinking about if the roles were reversed and how upset I would be for her and how upset I’d be that my car insurance was going up.
Which is interesting because looking back, I don’t feel the same about the angry woman I accidently hit in Alabama 10+ years ago who slammed her breaks on for no reason and then had her mother the passenger sue me for a long list of items despite the fact that I was the only one who had to go to the hospital and the only one who ended up on crutches.
Hmmm…either I’m older or this lady was truly nice…plus, the roles are reversed. Why would I want to put her through what I went through?
I don’t know…
Tags: lawsuit, car accident
July 29th, 2005
Well, I went and met with the Physical Therapist and had a chat. He went on and on about how he could work with me on some theraputic stuff but in the end, it won’t help cure anything faster — it’ll just help ease the pain temporarily. Thinking back to the year I spent going to the chiropractor for 3 times a week to help my migraines (which it didn’t), I asked him if this is like if you get a cold and take cold medicine, the cold will go away in 14 days but if you don’t take the cold medicine, it’ll go away in 2 weeks.
At least he laughed.
But he did say that, yes, that was the case here.
So, even though the woman who hit me would be paying for it, it would be a big pain in the ass to go 3x a week for possible temporary relief. I’ve decided not to go. He said I could change my mind later if I wanted.
He did tell me to keep doing the exercises the other doctor suggested and do 2 Tylenol plu 2 Advil 4 times a day and he recommended those Thermacure patch things.
So we’ll see how it goes. I was a little down-hearted that he said it could be months until the pain goes away rather than that 6 - 8 week thing I’d been told earlier. He also indicated that some people have long-lasting phantom pains that never go away but that he didn’t think that would be the case with me. *sigh*
I’m ready to get back to worrying about the world and the terrorists and the US government…
Tags: physical therapy, wellness, car accident
July 26th, 2005
Gosh it’s been such a bad month for me hasn’t it. I’m glad that July is almost over.
O.K. So, saw the substitute doctor today. He was very nice. I really am impressed with that practice. He did another general physical check of my reflexes and the areas that hurt and my mobility and all. Then I was off to X-ray which was just upstairs. The whole thing took over two hours including having two doctors looking at my X-rays. They did not find any fractures or bone breakage in any part of my back. This is a good thing.
So, the current diagnosis is sprained back. This could take 6-8 weeks to recover, which means I will still be in pain when N2 comes to visit (guess I won’t be wearing the corset to the Ren Faire) and possibly when I go to Atlanta in the beginning of September to DragonCon — not looking to flying with back pain.
The doctor gave me some exercises to do 3 times a day and told me to take 2 tylenol 4x a day and only take the vicodin if it’s really bad. He gave me some more valium to last 5 more days or so, at least until my Friday appointment with the Sports Med people who will develop a Physical Therapy schedule for me.
What an annoying mess. I’m just relieved it’s nothing permanent. After talking to my dad last night about how his friend’s son got a $20K settlement after breaking his wrist on the job because he’ll never be able to use his hand to its full ability again — which of course, as a programmer is one of my worse fears…if I could insure my hands and arms, I would.
Tags: car accident
July 25th, 2005
By now, I think y’all know the basics of my car accident last week and all the doctor fun.
The lady’s insurance company has agreed to pay all car damages and medical bills. Because the car damage will end up being over $500 (they discovered one more part that hast to be replaced that with labor puts it at about $525), my insurance company is going to handle collecting that money plus the medical bill charges from them (including co-pays on meds). (So far, I’ve had one Dr visit and 3 prescriptions but have to go see another Dr tomorrow and will possibly get x-rays.
However, I was informed by my insurance company that they cannot act as my
representative for collecting on pain and suffering even though until they mentioned it, the thought of collecting on pain and suffering hadn’t even occurred to me, and that the lady’s insurance company is supposedly going to be calling me soon to discuss this settlement. I would really rather not involve a lawyer as I don’t know that this is a huge deal, but I’d sure like to be able to discuss the value intelligently so I have an idea of what is appropriate.
I haven’t missed any work yet, but I also haven’t been able to do any housework,
social-type activities, or even really focus well on the medication. I can’t blow dry my hair (dryer too heavy) or lift anything even slightly heavy. I am missing art classes I paid for because I can’t operate the tools and machinery or stand for 2 1/2 hours bent over a work table.
To me, outside of the pain in my back and arms and shoulders, this really has been a big nuisance and another excuse to procrastinate. How does one put a value on such a thing?
Tags: lawsuit, car accident, wellness
July 21st, 2005
O.K. So, a little health update is in order.
I went to the GP last night — missed my stained glass class again because the doctor couldn’t see me until 7:45pm. After an examination, she decided that I probably haven’t broken anything, though if the pain gets worse or doesn’t get better by the end of the weekend, I have to go back in for x-rays. In the meantime, I’m taking valium 3 times a day for 5 days, I have a super-version of alleve that I’m to take 2 times a day for 7 days, and I have vicodin that I may take every 6 hours as needed.
Of course, I got out of there so late that no pharmacies were open as far as I could tell. This is the first time that the lack of 24 hour service has really annoyed me since I moved out of the City That Never Sleeps to rural New England.
So, then this morning, I saw the Allergist. They did the prick test on my back and my left arm. I look like I’ve been attacked by boxing fairies. Anyway, according to the allergist, I am not allergic to anything at all. In fact, he thinks I can’t possibly be in the 20% of the population that has allergies. Heh. However, should I have another massive attack like the one I had earlier in the month, I should go see him immediately so he can see it first hand and analyze what’s going on.
Ummm…yeah…
Oh, and I saw my shrink today. She wanted to know if the increase in Effexor dosage had increased my energy. I told her that it was hard to tell as I’d pretty much been sick from the last time I saw her. However I did mention that I was starting to get excited about writing again and I had read the whole Harry Potter book in two days — it’s been a long time since I’d finished a book let alone read one so fast. I think these are good signs.
Anyway I’m on the road to recovery, I think. Yippie.
Tags: car accident
July 20th, 2005
My left arm and back are worse today. I am still having intermittent pain in my left leg as well. I also thing both ankles may be sore but the pain isn’t constant, even when I’m walking. Today I woke up with the pain whereas yesterday it took a good hour of moving around in my daily routine to get the ache going.
So, I called my doctor’s office. The soonest they could get me in is 7:45pm tonight.
I did talk to my mommy who called me really early as she was going out to work Hurricane Emily for Red Cross. She didn’t freak out as much as I thought she would about my left arm — I have broken my left elbow twice and was told by doctors that one more time would probably mean paralysis from my elbow down and that was the end of being a Tomboy.
She thinks I probably have a pinched nerve and need a good muscle relaxer which will make me sleepy. I hope it’s as simple as that. I really don’t want to have one of those niggling injuries that haunts me the rest of my life. I have enough medical issues just from my genetics.
Tags: car accident
July 19th, 2005
O.K. So remember that accident I had yesterday? I took my car to the collision place this afternoon at lunch. The guy took digital pictures and did the estimate - $494 and some change. Now, the estimate for the 2 inch scratch I got from the accident in June 2004 was over $700.
Why is replacing a bumper less money than fixing a scratch? I just don’t get it.
The irony of course is that the police weren’t going to send a guy out to make an accident report unless we decided that the damage was more than $500. Of course, based on the estimate from the scratch, I thought the damage was surely more than that.
Now, the collision guy did say that once they get the bumper off, there could be damage he can’t see and then it would be more than $500 probably.
He also mentioned that it’s getting hard to find parts for the ‘95 Jeep Cherokee Sport…which my regular mechanic had commented on when he replaced my headlight.
My insurance claims guy is waiting to hear back from the woman’s insurance company to be sure they are accepting full liability. Now, if the damage stays under $500, I have to personally file with her company to get my money back, but if it goes over even by $1, then my insurance company will handle the whole thing.
I guess I should start thinking about buying a new Jeep next year. Looks like it’ll probably be a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. Not only do I not like how girly the Liberties look, but I’ve been warned by car-wise friends that they don’t have the build to withstand damage like the Cherokee does. Still, I looked at the price on Jeep.com and I wasn’t excited about the $27K sticker price for the basic package. I paid about $17K for my Sport 10 years ago and I thought that was high then. I certainly didn’t like the look of the $481/mo financing. That’s most of what I’m currently putting into savings (not including retirement) each month and I just got to where I like not being in debt.
My left arm from my shoulder to my fingertips is bothering me. It hurts and it hurts more if I try to lift anything, even a microwave popcorn bag. My upper back and left leg hurt intermittently. I discussed with my claims guy that if it is still bothering me in the morning, I’m calling my doctor. If that’s the case, I have to call him too and he has to hand over my case to a different person. I don’t know why. Anyway, because my dad convinced me last year to add an option to my auto policy that stated that if I was hurt in my car, the insurance is 100% responsible (he made me do this because of my lack of health insurance while unemployed), my insurance will completely cover the medical and apparently aren’t going to bother her insurance with it…or at least that’s how I understood it.
On a good note, however, my Dyson Animal. It arrived at the office while I was at the collision place. The box itself is smaller than I thought the vacuum would be. I’m very anxious to get it home and try it out. I wonder if it will work on tile…probably not. But the light weight should be good for the stairs. Yay.
Tags: car accident, car insurance
July 18th, 2005
So, as I was driving to work this morning, about the time I hit exit 8 (2 miles from my exit to get to work), I was thinking how the weather and the traffic (not to mention that I was trying to get to work early to get something done before 9am) reminded me of that accident last year where the guy side-swiped me and that led to past reminiscing about past car accidents.
In particular, I was reminded of the time in high school when I was driving two classmates home from school and we were rear-ended by a big red pickup truck. I remember it as kind of funny because the guy in the backseat on the passenger side was eating Twinkies and his Twinkies ended up under my break pedal.
Anyay, by exit 6A & B, I was done reminiscing and was focused on getting off the interstate and getting on to work. There was a line of course on the off-ramp but eventually I made it to the bottom and just as I was about to pull into traffic on the busy road the ramp spills onto, a speeding car changed into the lane I wanted to be in (without his turn signal, mind you). So I didn’t go.
But the woman behind me did.
She hit me hard enough that the scarf I was using as a headband was knocked off. I hit my head, I know, but not hard.
So…the driver’s side rear bumper is now pushed under my Jeep.
I just want to say that today, Jeep gained a lifetime buyer. If I ever have to buy another car, it’ll be a Jeep. All the times cars, particularly bigger vehicles, have hit me, my Jeep Cherokee Sport has protected me and taken little damage. Really this is the most damage I’ve ever received.
I am o.k., I think. My back and neck are sore and I have a mild headache at the moment. I think I may still be in shock. I thought I might cry about 2 hours ago, but it didn’t happen. I’m not angry. The woman was nice. I don’t even think I’m all that upset.
My dad pointed out that I might want to find a new way to work since the last accident was at the top of the ramp.
I do find it odd that I’d thought about being rear-ended just prior to it happening. ESP maybe?
Tags: car accident
June 22nd, 2005
Remember that car accident I was involved in a year ago this month? Remember that stupid lying bastard who sideswiped me and smacked into the backend of the other woman’s car, sending her to the hospital? Remember how he was trying to blame it all on me?
Well, I got a call yesterday afternoon, from my car insurance company. Apparently the guy is now suing me/my insurance for the damages done to his car and the damages done to the car he hit! WTF?
On top of that, the police report is still wrong and my recorded testimony from a year ago has disappeared plus the case worker is no longer employed there.
I was in a real pissy mood last evening, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I recorded new testimony and they have my diagram of the accident that I drew after seeing the incorrect police report. I think they have the photos of my car too. I should have offered to go take pictures of the site where it happened.
I just hope my insurance doesn’t go up because of this.
It’s a wonder I’m not half-way through a bag of Doritos right now. 
Tags: car accident, lawsuit
June 15th, 2004
So far June isn’t going real dandy.
On June 1rst, I was driving to work on I-295. It was overcast and rainy and the traffic was heavier than usual due to people leftover from the Memorial Day weekend. Exit 6A is where I usually get off the interstate and it is one of the more poorly designed off ramp in that at the beginning of the ramp, it’s actually an entrance ramp for cars wanting to get onto the interstate. After the entrance ramp, the interstate widens into a three lane for a few feet so that cars can also exit the interstate at that time.
There was a line of cars on the entrance ramp. Traffic was, as I mentioned, quite heavy and travelling slower than usual. I noted as I approached that there were two vehicles (a truck and a sedan-like car) in the emergency shoulder lane exactly prior to the entrance ramp. I believe they had their turn signals on — in any case, accessing the situation, I assumed they were both trying to get over to the exit part of the ramp and were waiting for a vehicle to come off the entrance ramp. Since I also needed the exit ramp, I slowed down quite a bit more with my turn signal on. I was maybe an inch or two in the emergency shoulder lane to the left and behind of the sedan-like car. Suddenly, I felt my jeep shake as one of those big ass pickup trucks side-swiped me on my right side and then slammed into the back of the sedan-like car, pushing it into the entrance ramp traffic and into the back of the pickup truch in front of it that had begun making it’s way into the exit lane.
I very specifically did not move my jeep, which may or may not have been a wise idea as I wanted the police to be able to view the position of the vehicles at the end of the accident. For the most part, my jeep and the big ass pickup were all in the emergency shoulder, the sedan-like car had been pushed just beyond the entrance ramp so she wasn’t blocking it and the other truck drove to just down the exit ramp a little and parked in the emergency shoulder there.
A police officer amazingly arrived in short order. He checked on the woman in the sedan who had not gotten out but had been checked on by the driver of the big ass pickup. The girl in the other truck had come back to touch base. The police officer asked me to pull up my jeep in front of his car, which was parked in the exit lane and wait inside since it was cold and rainy. He came back and got my info in a while. The EMTs arrived and asked me if I needed to go to the hospital or be checked over. I didn’t but the lady in the sedan went off in a stretcher. Eventually the policeman gave me back my license and insurance and gave me his name and told me to go on and leave.
To me, it all seemed so clear and straight-forward to me, despite the big ass pickup’s driver’s complaints that everyone was slowing down. I mean, he hit two vehicles in the emergency shoulder. Seemed clear to me.
I called my insurance company and gave my report. I was waiting to hear back on when an inspector would be out to look at my damage — completely cosmetic, a scratch in the paint from about the bumper to the tire well on my right side.
Almost two weeks later, I get a call from my insurance company. The woman in the sedan had filed against my insurance company. *blink* She expected for my insurance to pay for her car rental too. *blink* The nice woman at my insurance said that the accident report said that my vehicle was a contributing factor in the accident, not that I was at fault. I’m still not sure how I was a contributing factor. Interesting thing about the report is that according to the insurance lady, there’s no mention of the emergency shoulder. It indicates that I was changing lanes into a lane the big ass truck was in and that in order to avoid hitting me, he hit her instead. *blink*
So an inspector came out Friday and looked at my jeep — estimate of $700 or so in damage. Then he got my story and went out to take pictures of the site. I tried to volunteer to go with him. What a mess! The big ass pickup’s insurance called and left a message at my house. My insurance company told me not to talk to them and that they would handle it. I’m really not sure what’s going on at this point.
So then Friday night, El, El’s hyperactive beaux, and PW were in El’s little 10-year-old Thunderbird on their way to see Garfield (because he wanted to though they wanted to see something good or play a game). It was raining. The story I’ve been told by PW is that El started to change lanes (I think to the left) didn’t see anyone over there at first, then saw a blur, so she tried to quickly get back into the lane she was in. They were hit squarely from behind though they were at an angle, so whoever hit them was at an angle too. The Thunderbird was totalled and tossed about. The rear window shattered all over PW in the back who wasn’t wearing a seat belt. Not one of them has a cut or injury other than a minor, expected bruise. The white truck that hit them apparently pulled into a nearby parking lot for a minute or so and then drove off. Fortunately someone got the license plate, but no word yet on if the driver’s been caught. From everything I heard from talking to El, El’s mom, and PW, it’s amazing they lived let alone weren’t hurt. And poor El was in such shock that all she could say after the accident was that she was sorry PW couldn’t buy the car from her now — as that had been a topic of discussion for some time.
Having discussed this with PW and not feeling all that well anyway, I got in my car Saturday afternoon and drove to the grocery in Freeport. I wasn’t paying attention, was thinking about their accident, and I managed to hit a very high curb at the wrong angle. Very embarrassing for someone from New Orleans who learned to drive with high curbs. Anyway, I never saw the air go out of a tire so fast. So today the jeep is back at the mechanic getting the brand new tire I bought 3 weeks ago replaced.
However, my headaches are better, though I’m back to having some stomach issues which I now think is related to my high fiber/too low fat diet. I’ve been trying to follow WW online. I’ve not lost much and in fact last week I binged for about 5 days and ate anything and everything even when I didn’t want to eat — I really have some sort of issue. I’m now trying to figure out how to increase my fat intake and lower my fiber intake and still feel like I’m eating enough. Heh.
I still don’t have any friends up here but I did go see Shrek 2 and Harry Potter by myself. I learnt that going to a movie on opening night by yourself becomes a real problem when there’s no one to hold your place in line or your seat when you have to go to the bathroom or concession stand. It was a weird experience at HP because people applauded when the movie started and then again at the end and in the scene where Hermonine punched Draco, they cheered. I’ve not seen that sort of interactive crowd except at conventions.
Speaking of conventions, I am going to one this weekend in Portland. It’s an anime/gaming con. I’m looking forward to it with some anxiety as I’m not really good at meeting new people. I’m really a wallflower and I am going to have to force myself to meet and great total strangers and convention goers are generally an odd lot to begin with and treat conventions as the moment to bein their oddest. I’m not relaxed enough with strangers to be at my oddest yet.
Anyway, I’m going.
Tags: car accident
