When do you decide to settle on an auto-insurance claim?

Well, it’s your choice. Either go to the ER or suffer, as I do not think that most insurence companies will pay for alternative medical intervention that may or may not be beneficial to the issue at hand.

While accupuncture, chiropractic medicine and other alternatives have their place, the medical coverage of the at fault driver is not going to take any chances.

They might concede after an exam and xrays if some sort of alternative therapy is recommended, but, I think you gotta follow protocol for now.

Whiplash can be serious and, quite frankly, I think you’re being foolishly stubborn.

I am a fan of certain alternative practices, but, if I am hit by a bus you can bet your ass I want to go to the ER and not the accupuncturist. THAT might come later.

You have already waited longer than you should have.

I’m sorry but I think this is like refusing eat a piece of meat when you are starving to death because it goes against your convictions.

@Coloma I see your point clearly and yes you make sense but I am no stranger to Western medicine and how they treat back and neck issues. I was injured several years ago which left me seeking medical help from the V.A. which often times left me in the hospital being treated for my condition. After years of dealing with pain killers and physical therapy I sought alternative help and medicine and began to feel better instantly. It makes no sense to visit the ER and rack up a bill well over 1K when I could seek help from my doctors without the aid of medicines and allow my body to heal itself. I am not just avoiding the hospital to be stubborn, I am avoiding it because they only mask the issues with the neck and back pain, they do not fix them. I hear you though, it may be my only option. Have you dealt with this in the past?

I was rear ended about 5 years ago, and it aggrivated an existing shoulder injury from years ago, but was not whiplash.
I didn’t need medical intervention at the time, but, I did use accupuncture/pressure therapy of which I had already been using.
I’m a big fan of that.
It is just that the insurance companies are “go by the book”, sooo, I don’t think they will consider chinese herbs and massage to be a viable treatment option. They are worried that without proper intervention you could come back and sue them.

I was hit head on by someone who crossed over the double yellow line, totaling my car, and giving me a bad neck and back injury.
Their insurance gave me $700 for my car, and offered another $600 or so for the injury. I turned them down.
I began going to a therapist, dealing with problems sleeping, and my insane ex-boss.
I went back to the insurer, and showed them the bills from the therapist, and they offered $2700. I turned them down.
Several weeks later, I went back, and told them either settle now, or I was getting a lawyer. They offered $6900. I took it.
I am kind of sorry I did. The lower back injury, which made a previous injury worse, still hurts 7 years later. It would have been hard to prove, though.

I think it is too soon to settle with the insurance company. My sister was rear-ended in December 2007 and she just settled this past summer. She ended up enduring years of occipital neuralgia with the accompanying constant pain, she only found relief two years ago with an experimental surgery. My point is that you don’t know what you are going to need to feel better and if you settle now you could be paying years of medical bills (traditional western practitioners or alternative practitioners) out of your own pocket. If might be a good idea to contact an experienced personal injury attorney to see how best to proceed. I know when my sister couldn’t afford treatment the care providers made a deal to take their fee from the settlement when it came through.

When you say insurance company, @judochop, do you mean your own insurance company? Did you have full coverage or only liability insurance on your auto?

@bkcunningham no. The person who hit me, their insurance. I only had liability.

Will your insurance represent you in dealings with the other driver’s insurance? Your (non-western) doctor should be submitting bills to the insurance company. Don’t settle at all with the other driver’s insurance.

Be careful though, that your pre-existing injuries are not used by them to excuse their coverage. They need to understand the accident has aggravated your existing condition that was resolved. That’s why I suggest you use your insurance to deal with them. Your insurance should be covering your medical and then get compensated by the other insurance.

@judochop, you should have gone to the ER at the scene of the accident. It is going to be difficult now, but not impossible. You don’t have personal injury protection (PIP) even with just your liability insurance on your auto or your own private medical insurance or some form of OHP?

A chiropractor might be able to help you. You would not need to take any medicine.

@judochop just as an FYI, my sister refused medical assistance at the scene of the accident too and ended up getting all of her medical bills taken care of, so don’t assume you have to settle because you refused treatment.

You can get any kind of medical care you want. But you should get a lawyer to take over your case. They will supervise your medical care and make sure that all the bills are paid. When you are 100% better, they will negotiate with the insurance company to get your bills paid and to get you compensation for your pain and suffering.

I was rear-ended once, and I used all kinds of alternative care. Chiropractic and acupuncture and herbs and so on. I also needed podiatric care. In the end, the lawyer got me all the care I needed and a decent settlement from the insurance company. I never could have done this on my own.

The insurance company, in offering you $500 is way low-balling you. You have injuries that will cost you tens of thousands to care for at today’s prices. You are being ripped off. I don’t think you know enough to handle this yourself. You should get a lawyer. My injuries were comparable to yours and I got 30k in a settlement. The lawyer kept a third. This was two decades ago or more. Nowadays, for a similar injury to the one I had then, a good lawyer might get me 100K or more as a settlement. I spent the better part of a year trying to get better. If you lose work, your settlement is even higher to cover those costs.

Don’t let yourself get taken advantage of.

@wundayatta, without insurance, how do you suggest @judochop get a doctor to make appointments for treatment?

@bkcunningham I think that is why @wundayatta is suggesting that @judochop hire an attorney, to help him navigate these types of issues.

Will an attorney know doctors that will give treatment in hopes of getting paid from a settlement?

EDIT: I’m not trying to argue. I do understand the need for attorneys in most cases. I just think the first step is getting medical treatment, thus this question.

@bkcunningham I’m not sure. My doctors sent the bills to the lawyer. I don’t know if the lawyer paid, or if they got paid later or what. All I know is that I didn’t have to worry about it, and that meant I could focus on getting better.

@bkcunningham I know in my sister’s case it was the personal injury attorney who referred her to the doctor that did the surgeries that finally took care of the pain. The doctors did what @wundayatta‘s doctors did, sent the bills to the attorneys. The doctors were paid from the final settlement. I totally know you aren’t trying to argue that is not your MO!

@bkcunningham @judochop has to go to a doctor, find some way to do it, or settle now. If @judochop wants to be compensated for whiplash, there needs to be something from a doctor, some documentation, a medical opinion that that he has whiplash. You can’t just tell the insurance company that you have whiplash and expect them to pay you. The burden of proof is on him. Anyone claiming or suing for damages or injury has to be able to show evident that there were damages or injuries.

And, @judochop as to going to the doctor, sooner rather than later would be better. The longer you go without seeking medical attention, the better position the insurance company will be in to settle low, because they would argue “If your injuries were so bad, why did you wait so long to seek medical attention?”

Call an attorney!

thank you everyone for your input. I am not going to settle and I will have to bite the bullet and see a Western Doctor first hopefully to be referred to an Eastern Doc. Thank you everyone.