Off Topic Part Cinq

[ashenflowers 5]

So, not to take away from the interesting canning conversation(and it is.. I jammed my first jam this year with my mother in law... apricot.. picked off the tree in their back yard.. good times)... but I have to share this.

I was in a car accident this morning. I've never had this happen before, so I'm like... whuuuut!? I've already contacted my insurance and all that so they're helping things get taken care of. I'd stopped for a pedestrian at a marked pedestrian crossing, and the guy behind me was either going too fast, following too close, or not paying attention, and ended up slamming into me after SLAMMING on his brakes and SQUEALING them, and still probably hit me at 20-25MPH (estimated from witnesses). I think I have whiplash (my neck hurts and back of my head has a sort of weird feeling... cause when he hit me it jolted the car forward about 10 feet and the back of my head hit the seat pretty hard)... but we don't have any proof of our health insurance yet, so I can't go to the doctor about it yet. The guy totally accepts fault (as he should), so that's good... and his vehicle is more damaged than mine was (*point/laugh*).

Maybe this should go in vent? I dunno... anyways.. Yeah. That's what happened. and I feel weird. And it sucks, and why can't life just be GOOD and leave it at that, without stupid BS happening like this and ruining the moment.

P.S. I have a job. lol

[Flames9_RN 358]

Glad ur ok!! I would see a DR ASAP! I got into an accident---was the final episode of the very first survivor,lol---Kid hit me from behind--Iwas stopped at a red light---cops say he "fell asleep" I made the mistake of not going to the DR for a few days (military Dr) and then they didn't believe me that I was hurt!! Was very frustrating!! Luckily I recovered, and wasn't hurt too bad!! No clue how it works for insurance wise down here in the USA! He is at fault, so shouldn't he be covering ur medical stuff?? and congrats on the job!!

[Tick Tock 3]

I wasn't going to log in as I didn't have anything to say today, but I was just glimpsing around.

@ Ashenflowers

I am so sorry to hear you got into a car accident - but glad that it was not too serious! :S What you're describing does sound like whiplash to me. I hope you can get to the doctor soon; is it possible for the health insurance company to forward you some sort of temporary card/document to show that you do have insurance in order to get you to the doctor's quickly? In the meantime, just try to avoid moving your head as much as you can.

It takes the bad to put the good into perspective, I think. Or so I hope, at least. I wouldn't mind a fast-forward button to skip through all of the "bad"... But I think there was a movie about skipping through life, and things didn't go too well for that main character until he realized skipping life was no good (or something like that).

Yay for you having a job!

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Ouch Ashen!

Go to a doctor. It should be covered by his and/or your auto insurance.

The man who hit you was obviously at fault. Does he have insurance? Did you get his information? He is required to cover bodily injury coverage, per state law. This is to pay for the medical expenses of an injured party in the event of an at-fault accident. Each law has specific guidelines, but I don't believe California is a no-fault state, meaning the party who was at-fault pays.

Your own personal auto policy. Do you have PIP (Personal Injury Protection) or Medical Payments coverage? Take a look. If you have one of these, you have medical coverage for yourself to see a doctor, regardless of fault.

If the other driver was not insured, you should have Uninsured Motorist coverage on your policy. This would also pay for your medical expenses if the at-fault party can't pay.

So long story short, go to a doctor, you are covered by a few different angles. Your insurance company really should have told you this if they didn't!

But congrats on the job!! We need details!

[ashenflowers 5]

Thanks guys. I am going to hopefully see the Dr. tomorrow (I haven't even met our new Dr. yet.. lol). My husband got in touch with the benefits/insurance ppl via his employer and he'll be issued a temp card tomorrow morning, thankfully.

It's funny cause I've been trying to move my neck to make sure I don't get too stiff, but I'll leave it alone now. lol

And yes, in theory he should be covering any medical expenses so hopefully I hear back from him soon (I emailed him this afternoon, and my own insurance agent called him twice. lol)

[Hugglebuggles 60]

If you have his policy number, you can call his insurance company and put in a claim yourself. You don't need his approval. They will call him and have him explain what happened, and if he admits fault then everything should be covered by his policy. But, however you want to handle it. I understand wanting to work with him, opposed to creating an unpleasant situation.

I'm just in stupid insurance mode. I had to take this week long online insurance training class, just finished today. My brain needs rest. And next week I have to take my CO Insurance licensing test. A little scary!! But my boss promised not to fire me If I fail...

[ashenflowers 5]

Sorry huggles, I responded before I read your original post.

I don't have his insurance info. He was driving without his insurance information with him (yeeeah... totally could've called the cops and had him cited on that, but I didn't want to be a ###### because he was being cooperative otherwise). We are waiting to hear back from him (I expect most of his day was spent dealing with his truck. LOL). I got the contact information for two witnesses, and the guy's name/phone/home address/email, so we have lots of ways to hassle him re: the insurance. My insurance agent mentioned something about the uninsured thing (like if he was uninsured after all), and we do have that, from the sounds of it. So that's good.

I am going to go to the Dr. tomorrow for sure. And my insurance agent is being super helpful, and is taking care of a lot of the details for me, so that's nice.

added: We're also hopefully finding a body shop tomorrow and taking the car in for an estimate on the damages.

Will tell more of the job details later. Am still processing everything that happened today. lol

Edited August 20, 2010 by ashenflowers

[OBX 51]

Ashen sorry to hear about the accident, hope there are no lasting injuries. Definitely get yourself checked out.

YAY on the job.

[Colleens 40]

Sorry to hear about the accident Ashen. I hope that you get in touch with the guy soon and get things sorted out. I was rear ended a few weeks before I left Canada, then again the week after I came back to the US with my visa. They were both quite slow speed, but it is amazing how much effect they can have on you when you are not expecting a jolt like that. I hope that you are feeling better soon!

Congrats on the job!!!

[The_Dude 1,142]

Sorry huggles, I responded before I read your original post.

I don't have his insurance info. He was driving without his insurance information with him (yeeeah... totally could've called the cops and had him cited on that, but I didn't want to be a ###### because he was being cooperative otherwise). We are waiting to hear back from him (I expect most of his day was spent dealing with his truck. LOL). I got the contact information for two witnesses, and the guy's name/phone/home address/email, so we have lots of ways to hassle him re: the insurance. My insurance agent mentioned something about the uninsured thing (like if he was uninsured after all), and we do have that, from the sounds of it. So that's good.

I am going to go to the Dr. tomorrow for sure. And my insurance agent is being super helpful, and is taking care of a lot of the details for me, so that's nice.

added: We're also hopefully finding a body shop tomorrow and taking the car in for an estimate on the damages.

Will tell more of the job details later. Am still processing everything that happened today. lol

Actually, you should have called the cops, especially with a suspected injury.

[ashenflowers 5]

Actually, you should have called the cops, especially with a suspected injury.

There was no suspected injury at the time. The guy claimed he was totally fine. And my head/neck didn't really hurt much until afterwards.

Also, I don't have a cell phone. He did, but he didn't call the cops either.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I would have dobne my hit from behind a lot different!! Cops were called, but I didnt go to the hospital right away--which I should have (Happened in Canada, so medical isnt really a concern!!) Ya, he isn't going to cal the cops, as he is in the wrong! Hope the info you have for him is correct, ie DL #

[ashenflowers 5]

I would have dobne my hit from behind a lot different!! Cops were called, but I didnt go to the hospital right away--which I should have (Happened in Canada, so medical isnt really a concern!!) Ya, he isn't going to cal the cops, as he is in the wrong! Hope the info you have for him is correct, ie DL #

Yeah it's easy to say afterwards what should or shouldn't have happened (I wish I took pictures, for example). Hopefully my husband gets the health insurance info from work today, so we can go to urgent care though (I just called our dr's office and thats what they suggested). I'm not dying or anything. I just want it on record that I went, and that there's no permanent damage.

And yes, he would've been an idiot to call the cops himself. LOL He didn't have his insurance on him! That's a $250 fine right there. He knows I have insurance, and we have two witnesses, so he'd be pretty dumb not to cooperate. Haven't heard back from him yet though. tsk.

On the plus side... I get a free cell phone with my new job! *SQUEEEE*

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I'm still waiting on the job details Ashen!!

Calling the cops is also helpful if the other party refuses to admit fault. The cops come and determine fault pretty easy, and a copy of the police report makes it to the insurance companies. But, if he admitted fault then no concerns there. I would have called the cops because I'm a mean spirited person, and working in insurance makes me way to aware of all the that can happen!

Speaking of which, we had tons of auto claims today, it was unreal. And, one of my coworkers got in an accident on her way to work. It's like there is some strange magnetic field afflicting the earth and impairing everyone's ability to drive

[ashenflowers 5]

yeah. Again, if I'd had my own cell phone, it probably would've been different. But I don't have one right now, so there wasn't a lot of calling around that I could've done.

There's no doubt that it's this guy's fault, but the longer he takes to respond to us to give us his insurance information, the more irritated I get at him. lol It's delaying my ability to proceed with anything.

I can't take the car in for an estimate until Monday because all the places are closed on the weekend too. And I can't go to the Dr. yet because we just found out our insurance doesn't go into effect until Sept 1st. We haven't decided if we want to open a claim on our own insurance without having his information yet. GAWD, I'm glad this didn't happen a few months ago when I was REALLY ready to move back to Canada, cause I'd have just said 'eff youuu' to it all and left. haha

I hope your coworker is ok Huggles.