Approx 2yrs ago I was rear ended by a car whilst on a motorbike, her insurance assumed responsibility for vehicle write-off & medical expenses.
At time of accident I was taken to hospital experiencing pain to my lower back, neck, leg, and wrist. Was discharged from hospital later that day, neck and leg was deemed thumbs up, perhaps just the tensing up at point of impact. The back had numerous physiotherapy treatments in the 10 months immediately following and was giving me some grief, run of the mill office job did not help.
The wrist was the most troubling, at particular angles it triggered immense sharp pain at the joint and travelled up my forearm. Multiple x-ray, ultrasound, CT, and MRI were conducted over a period of 12 months, visits were made to some top wrist specialists, none were able to pinpoint exactly what the issue was, some scans revealed swelling of tendons, however no resolution was provided. Physiotherapy treatments came and went but they only gave temporary relief.
The final word seems to be either put up with it for life because we don't actually know what's wrong with you, or proceed to (unanimously not recommended due to complexity) surgery but we're not sure it'll fix the problem. It has gotten only ever so slightly better over the last 2yrs.
Fast forward to this week, received a letter asking for official closure, once I accept no further claims will be possible. They will pay $10,000 less incurred medical expenses of ~$4,000.
So… Should I:
a) Accept $6,000 cheque, it's money I'd otherwise not have anyway.
b) Obtain legal advise with pure intention of more money. I assume this is no easy feat(?)
Has anyone been in a similar situation and taken route b? I think the child in me is just bitter that I could have been killed/disabled, or in this case having to live with something for life because some bimbo couldn't wait until getting to work to like a pic of her pointless life. And a $6,000 cheque is supposed to bury the hatchet forever.
You have a chance, so fight it. Go for option B. Put on the case of what activities it has stopped you from taking part in, any hindrance to your professional life. Compensation from that, and the fact that your health issues are continuing and will continue to the near future.
I had a similar case back in 2009; except, the driver who intentionally hit me had no insurance. (I was a pedestrian). I was only covered by TAC for the initial hospital visit and treatment. Court got her on a good behavior bond, that's about it. My spinal cord is still compressed against the nerves at the lower back because of the injury. Still have ongoing pain, can't lift anything heavy, can't walk for too long, can't stand for too long. So pretty much any job which involves physical activity, I can rule them out. Am coping all the expenses (and pain) by myself. Simple tasks like mowing the lawn is a feat for me. I didn't have the resources or information about my rights back then.