Banged Up And Broke: A Personal Injury Lawyer Might Have Helped
Many people in Des Moines have never made the distinction between a Des Moines personal lawyer and a Des Moines personal injury attorney, but get injured in an accident and it will quickly become all too clear that there is a big difference. Generally, after an accident, especially when there is injury severe enough to limit one’s day to day activities, the first thought is getting better. When the healing does not occur immediately or when the cost of treatment begins to impact one’s financial capabilities, then the victim may become aware of the ads on the side of the bus or friends will advise them that they should get a lawyer.
Jane was driving down a side street where she stopped at a red light. There were two cars in front of her, a Volvo in front of a Mercedes which was in front of her. She saw a flash in her rearview mirror, heard the skidding of tires from behind and was slammed into by a Toyota Prius. Her car, a Samurai Suzuki, was pushed into the Mercedes and the Mercedes plowed into the Volvo in front of it. Jane hit the steering wheel and fell back into her seat as the airbag emitted. She immediately pulled herself from the twisted metal and walked around in shock getting information from all the other drivers. A kind policeman called a towing service for her demolished Suzuki and allowed her to sit in his car as her knees and elbows were scraped and bleeding and she had a big purple knot on her collarbone.
Jane decided her injuries were not that bad and did not go to the emergency room. She got back to her house, took a few Tylenols and went to bed. The next day she called all the insurance people and started the ball rolling. Since she had only the most minimal coverage she was unaware that someone’s insurance could pay for a car rental until she could get her car fixed or buy a new one. She was unable to get to work for several days while she tried to find alternate transportation.
Three days later, Jane woke up with shooting pains in her neck and back. She couldn’t move her neck or bend. She managed to get to an emergency room, where x-rays were performed. The x-rays showed no fractures, so the doctors said she had whiplash, gave her a neck brace, pain-killers and anti-inflammatories released her. Jane couldn’t work. Jane had no car. Physical Therapy and Chiropractic Care was suggested, but she couldn’t afford to pay for either of those as her minimal health coverage required a large deductible. A friend suggested that she should hire a lawyer.
After listening to her story, the lawyer friend was very happy to take her case, even though it wasn’t the kind of law he normally did. He said that it looked like she could get a big payout as the other cars were barely touched and hers was totaled. He told her to keep track of all that she spent for health care. The problem was she couldn’t afford to spend on health care and since this wasn’t the attorneys field of practice, he didn’t know that they based the amount of injury settlement on how much care had to be received. Jane eventually lost her job as she was unable to continue at the previous pace and her neck would never be the same again.
Twelve months later, a resolution was reached. Bt this time her lawyer had nearly forgotten about her case and often reminded her that this was just a favor for a friend of his. In the litigated case four plaintiffs filed complaints. The Mercedes had a passenger who was suing as well as the driver of the car and the Volvo driver. Though their vehicles suffered only cosmetic damages, they had, as advised by their personal injury lawyer, spent a great deal of money on medical bills. This treatment included weekly massages and many other forms of therapy. She was the only one who missed any time off from work . The judge returned a decision based solely on the amount of treatment received. Though her car was destroyed and she had obviously suffered the most loss the other plaintiffs received double what Jane received.
Jane discovered the hard way that while personal injury lawyers sometimes receive a bad rap, when you have an accident and it is not your fault, it helps to call in the experts.