Hello worst fears.

[MommaTrish]

So I'm constantly having nightmares about the hubs getting in a wreck on his way to or from work or while at work. I even freak out thinking he must have when he's a little late getting home.
Well, I got a call from him this morning saying he'd been in a wreck on his way to work, but he made it seem like nothing too serious, he just called said he was in a wreck and asked me to call my step-dad to come get him. (they work together) My step-dad calls me when he got there to say I needed to pick up the hubs and take him into the hospital to make sure he was just sort of sore from being tossed around. After spending hours at the hospital and then dentist this is what I have found out...
First his truck:

Some guy ran a stop sign and John hit him going 50. The other driver was ok, but his daughter he had with him had to go to the hospital in non-critical condition. John hit his mouth and chest on his steering wheel and a piece of his dashboard fell off and landed on his knee. (His airbag never went off) He has a chest contusion (bruised sternum), his knee is about 3 times it's normal size (but not broken or dislocated), 4 front bottom teeth knocked loose, one tooth chipped, and a cut on the inside of his cheek where he bit it. He's really woozy and achy. They prescribed him some pain medicine and says he can't go back to work until Friday, but shouldn't go back at all until Monday or Tuesday, he's convinced he'll be good to go back Friday. He can't even stand or sit straight right now and he thinks he'll be back to working on cars and doing heavy lifting by Friday. His dentist said he won't be able to do anything until John gets a lawyer and takes some legal action about the wreck. We hadn't even been planning to take any legal action, I mean we talked about it, but the guy admits it was his fault and has insurance so we didn't see any need to, so it sucks the dentist is saying he won't do anything without it. The hospital was great. They didn't have us pay anything and will contact us soon to see about the insurance information of the other driver so they can bill the company directly.
I don't know why his dentist is being like that, but he'll be going to see another one too. We really don't want to sue the guy if we don't have to, so we're hoping to find one that is going to be more like how the hospital was.

[Paula]

Wow Trish! I am sorry about your hubs and the wreck. I don't understand why your dentist would act like that either, especially since the other guy confessed that it was his fault. His insurance should pay for all the damages.

[suze]

Originally Posted by MommaTrish

So I'm constantly having nightmares about the hubs getting in a wreck on his way to or from work or while at work. I even freak out thinking he must have when he's a little late getting home.
Well, I got a call from him this morning saying he'd been in a wreck on his way to work, but he made it seem like nothing too serious, he just called said he was in a wreck and asked me to call my step-dad to come get him. (they work together) My step-dad calls me when he got there to say I needed to pick up the hubs and take him into the hospital to make sure he was just sort of sore from being tossed around. After spending hours at the hospital and then dentist this is what I have found out...
First his truck:

Some guy ran a stop sign and John hit him going 50. The other driver was ok, but his daughter he had with him had to go to the hospital in non-critical condition. John hit his mouth and chest on his steering wheel and a piece of his dashboard fell off and landed on his knee. (His airbag never went off) He has a chest contusion (bruised sternum), his knee is about 3 times it's normal size (but not broken or dislocated), 4 front bottom teeth knocked loose, one tooth chipped, and a cut on the inside of his cheek where he bit it. He's really woozy and achy. They prescribed him some pain medicine and says he can't go back to work until Friday, but shouldn't go back at all until Monday or Tuesday, he's convinced he'll be good to go back Friday. He can't even stand or sit straight right now and he thinks he'll be back to working on cars and doing heavy lifting by Friday. His dentist said he won't be able to do anything until John gets a lawyer and takes some legal action about the wreck. We hadn't even been planning to take any legal action, I mean we talked about it, but the guy admits it was his fault and has insurance so we didn't see any need to, so it sucks the dentist is saying he won't do anything without it. The hospital was great. They didn't have us pay anything and will contact us soon to see about the insurance information of the other driver so they can bill the company directly.
I don't know why his dentist is being like that, but he'll be going to see another one too. We really don't want to sue the guy if we don't have to, so we're hoping to find one that is going to be more like how the hospital was.

OMG this is one of my biggest fears too. You and your hubby will be in my thoughts too.

Neither of us had a good day today did we

[CA Dreamer]

Oh no, That is awful. Your poor hubby. I hope he gets better quickly and that there are no other injuries that pop up. I hope he is able to take it easy until he is fully healed. Friday seems really too soon, imho....

That is an odd reaction from the dentist, don't you think? Maybe he has seen this kind of thing once before and that is how it went down. He still should assess the situation and treat him. A lawsuit could take forever and who needs the hassle of all that when the other guys admits guilt and his insurance is already on board with all that.

I hope tomorrow is a better day.

[MandaT]

P&PT coming your way. Hope things get worked out.



It's one of my worst fears as well, hubby works in transportation. We were in an accident together when we first started dating. SO scary!

[KristinCB]

oh so scary!!! i hope he feels better soon and doesn't have any pain show up in the next few days

[kristijoy]

I was in a wreck about 7 years ago. Nothing as bad as your DH. I did not hire a personal injury lawyer, but after all was said and done, I really wish I had. Even if you are not at fault, it gets ugly when you are dealing with YOUR OWN INSURANCE COMPANY. You may have paid them for the insurance, but they are definitely not interested in getting you well. The lawyer will take a cut, but I really think it would've help me navigate through all the insurance, doctor, PT, etc... Plus I would've had a better settlement to begin with.

The dentist wants to make sure he's going to get paid. That's why he wants you to have legal representation. Also, at least in my state...my insurance company had to cover the liabilities until they got paid from the other (at fault) company. It's confusing and a total mess.

Sending prayers for you all!

[Julie Billingsley]

oh my gosh! What a picture! I hope your hubby will be okay and heals up quickly. And the little girl in the other car too. hugs! That picture just really grabs you. The vehicle looks awful. wow. Wishing him well.

As for the dentist, I use to work for a surgeon that did a lot of car accident injuries, so I know where the dentist is coming from. Even with the other guy admitting his fault, his insurance will try to pay as little as possible to you. Some times they won't pay medical/dental until you reach a settlement. That could take years if you don't like the amount they offer. So, the dentist would be rendering services that he might not even get paid on. However if you paid out of pocket to the dentist and got reimbursed from the auto insurance, the dentist would have no reason to not do the work needed. Or if you are going legal, the lawyer could pay the dentist and recoup the money from the auto insurance final settlement. Basically, the dentist was probably screwed over by auto claims in the past. I did the billing for the surgeon and that was his policy too. You might find a dentist that will do the work if they are hungry enough. I hope all is well for his teeth!

[Julie Billingsley]

and since the airbag didn't deploy, you might have some claim against the auto company. Hope it doesn't come to that, but companies are rare to stand up and accept fault without lawyers involved.

[jessica31876]

the airbags do not always deploy. If it did not hit on a sensor it wont deploy. We were in a car accident in 2008 and my husband was in two in our last car and those three accidents never set off an airbag.

I would reccomend consulting an attorney if for nothing else to get advice. The process for making a claim can be very confusing and it can be lengthy even when there is a clear at fault party. You are not sueing the guy as he has insurance to protect himself if he causes an accident and that is what it is there for. We have been on both sides as my husband rear-ended a car years ago and we got sued by the person he hit and we had to get a lawyer when we got rear-ended. Our car did not look nearly as bad as your husbands and I can tell you two years later I am still dealing with pain from it. I hope your husband does not have the same experience but if he does the lawyer is really your advocate because both your own and the other guys insurance company are going to try to pay the very bare minimum and having an attorney can help you from being short-changed in the end.

Hope he has a quick recovery though!! Ive gotten that call twice now and was with my husband the one time and it sucks having a car accident!!

Originally Posted by Julie Billingsley

and since the airbag didn't deploy, you might have some claim against the auto company. Hope it doesn't come to that, but companies are rare to stand up and accept fault without lawyers involved.

[Chantal Miller]

oh my. Lotsa hugs to your family.

and in case you need to go the legal route, please convince him to follow the doctors orders.

[Lizzy257]

Very scary. Hope you're both doing ok.

[joelsgirl]

What a scary day! I hope he gets better quick.

[Milmomma]

wow, sending well wishes and lots of prayers and positive thoughts!

[emmasmommy]

oh my gosh! how scary!!

[SweetMelissa]

Sending you lots of T&P's. A car accident is one of my biggest fears as well. I hope that he gets better quick.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Scary..hope y'all get things worked out and glad he wasn't injured more seriously!

[*Celeste*]

i'm the same way. i'm so sorry he was in a wreck - thankfully he wasn't hurt too badly.

[MamaBee]

yikes!! I pray that he has a speedy recovery. I'm a huge worrier, too... and this is a constant fear of mine and I have a nail almost gone waiting from him to get home from long distant car trips.

[ColleenSwerb]

I definitely think you need to, at the very least, consult with a lawyer. I understand about sensors on cars and airbags, but that's a front end crash and there's no reason why a sensor should not have tripped to set off the airbag. Seriously. Why even bother with airbags at all if THAT didn't trip a sensor.

The insurance companies are going to screw you over. And PLEASE get your hubby to follow dr's orders. If he doesn't, and it does go to court, he could really end up screwing you guys over. ("Well your honor, yes he does have some lasting injuries but since he went back to work against dr's orders, we can't be certain that the injuries were caused by the accident, and therefore we shouldn't be held accountable for treatment." I can just see the arguement now!)

[scrap2day]

Hope he feels better soon!

[nietis]

Hope he gets speedy recover! *hugs*

[HeatherKS]

Yikes! Glad he wasn't too seriously injured! Hope you can get things straightened out with the dentist and insurance companies.

[g6scrapped]

That is one of my biggest fears too.. How scary!!

[nun69]

omg how scary~I hope you get the dentist thing worked out~

[MissKim]

Praying your dh gets back to normal quickly... and thankful that his injuries are so minor. This is my own fear for me. I hate the screetch of tires..

[lovely1m]

How scary! I hope he feels better soon!

I was in a car accident at 17, I still have issues due to it. I wish I had sued them when I could instead of just allowing the insurance companies to pay my doctor bills and dealing with it.

[LoriJ]

Goodness, that is so scary. That is one of my biggest fears too. I hate winter driving. I hope that he starts to feel better sooner than later!

[heathergw]

oh how scary! praying for a quick recovery and things get sorted out

[junebug]

i'd get a lawyer too. i have never had a serious car accident that requiered me to have a lawyer; just fender benders but still i'd look into one if i were you.

so glad he wan't hurt worse than he is. ((hugs))

[Joy2Scrapbook]

That is really scary! Hope your hubby feels better soon and you find a dentist to take care of him! I'm not a big fan of driving, so I somethimes think of this kind of thing too!

[newfiemountiewife]

I would definitely get a lawyer, we had one when Tony was injured, and it worked out great for us. Even if you don't think you need it, they will deal with the person-at-fault's insurance company to make sure your DH's injuries are taken care of at the very least...especially if he requires anything long term (like physiotherapy).

I hope he feels better soon!

ETA: injuries and problems may show up later as well, another reason to have a lawyer who can possibly get a settlement to help you down the road. Tony is 10 years after his accident (he was hit by a car while he was standing) and still has many problems with his knees. After I flipped my van 3 years ago, I still have shoulder problems too (I hydroplaned and busted my rotator cuff). So it's possible his injuries may be ongoing for a long time to come. Just something to think about.

[Joana1n]

Gosh, how scary. It's one of my fears, too. I echo the advice to consult with a lawyer. They're well-versed on dealing with insurance companies and the others are right, the insurance companies will try to pay as little as possible. It's unfortunate, but that's sadly the way it works. DH & DD were in an accident 3 years ago and even with a lawyer's help we had to fight with the insurance company.

I'd also recommend having your husband see a chiropractor.

Hope everything gets sorted out smoothly and quickly!