Rant !!!!!!!!!!!
 

So, to lead off, 2 years ago, I was riding in the passenger seat of my friend's car.
We were traveling through a green light when a ford taurus ran a red light hitting us at 60 mph.
We went to the ER to get checked out and the car insurance was billed for all of my bills.
I had to fax them all to the insurance company and they told me they were paying for all of the bills and sending me a reimbursment check for the bills I had to pay and pain/ suffering.

The hospital I went to called me 6 months after the accident telling me I still had bills owed.
I calmly let them know the insurance company was to take care of it and gave them the claim #
Again a year later I got another call saying I owe them
Again, I told them the ins. Company was to take care of it.
6 months later, I got a call from them again...
I told them again it was the ins. Company's responsibility
They told me they aren't going to the ins. Company and they are pursuing me for it.
Yesterday, I got served with court papers (8 months after the fact) for $388.
ARE YOU SERIOUS?!
So, in the state of tennessee, you can't go to small claims court unless the amount you are suing for is OVER $500.
They added attorneys fees and processing fees making the claim for $511!!!!!!!!!!!


I'm going to try to call and settle out of court,


Also, I called the the ins. Company yesterday after I got these papers and they have no record of the hospital calling them and told me the pain / suffering check they sent me was to also pay those bills!!!!!!!!!

:rolleyes: Hi `Dustin, :( Life is not fair sometimes/many times 4-Sure :mad: It's sad that your insurance company is claiming that the check they sent you for pain & suffering was also to include paying the hospital the remaining balance...
I'm sure the hospital is trying to find any way to find funds for their shortages, and the insurance company is trying to `SAVE $'s by ignoring their responsibilities :(

You have a good reason to RANT 4-Sure, but you can do your best to settle, or pay out more for an attorney to fight this injustice. There's no easy solution & $388 + can sure hurt
(especially during the holidays)...

Your choice is to try to settle & move on with your life with a expensive lesson, or fight & most likely cost you more.....Life is not Fair, but you can't let the BAD win 4-Sure...

You can either let it get you down, or you can learn & move on with your life....I hope that they will settle with a lower cost...Keep us updated & good luck...:thumbsup:

Insurance companys suck

Life's a beach sometimes. Good luck with the situation. Another example of the rich getting richer.

That is messed up, hope it all gets taken care of the right way

son of a *****, do i hate insurance companies.

That sucks man, sorry to hear. i love how YOU get served court papers, when you 1)weren't the cause of the accident 2) weren't even the driver in the car that got hit and 3)got injured due to someone else's negligence. Now you get to be the one in legal trouble because someone at the hospital office/insurance company didn't know what they were doing when they filed their original report. Good luck ...at least it's not thousands of $$.

And to think our government wants to save us by making sure we all have insurance. God help us. Mind naming that insurance company so we can avoid them?

Given any chance, I let my own insurance pay for the medical bills and let them go after the other company.

Pain & suffer should be a totally separate payment.

That sucks Dustin.

That sucks that you gotta pay. Who's insurance were you dealing with, your friend's or the other driver? If it was the other drivers you may want to contact your friends insurance to see if they can offer any help in getting it settled.

First, did you sign ANY papers stating the insurance company was no longer liable for any further medical expenses? If not, then perhaps you can still pursue them (such as using consumer advicosy groups to assist).

Second, moral of the story, don't assume anything. If the doc's office is calling you about medical expenses, give them the insurance info, then follow up ASAP with the insurance company and make sure they are completing their obligation.

Third, if you did sign anything from the insurance company, dig that paper work out and see exactly what you did agree to at the time.

Forth, if you had health care at the time, you might be able to get that insruance to pick up the tab.

I HATE how our health care system works. Such as, you'll see the Doc and the bill arrives like 4-6 MONTHS later. Uhm, we are in a DIGITAL world people, why is this not 24-48 hours to have the Doc's office submit the claim, then get the insurance response and payment, leaving the balance to submit. PLUS, when the Doc's office and Insurance office talk, the Insurance company can get a lower "negotiated rate" that us average people don't get, how's THAT right?
And auto insurance.... I stay AWAY from an 800# only insurance company. I learned a LONG time ago it's not worth it. Get a GOOD agent, build a relationship with that agent and when you have a problem, you have an office for that agent to visit AND should have someone to steer you right AND when needed, go to bat for you.

Get a pro bono lawyer.
Never go in a court vs people who do this for a living!

Good luck.

Call a lawyer. They will talk you for free the first time.

Call YOUR auto insurance and ask them for help as well. Since they'd be the ones covering you if it was YOUR car that got hit.

If you have health insurance, call them as well. Since the hospital that treated you would have soaked your insurance if you'd have been the one hot or doing the hitting.

NUMBER 1 advice.
Squeaky wheel get's the grease.
(meaning the more you bug this insurance, the more likely they will pay up faster)

They screwed so many people here from katrina. State farm paid me 200 buck for a picture I had of Tim Allen with his Mustang. I lost everything on my first floor around
20k in belongings. Luckily we were renting at the time so we didn't have a house to rebuild.
So we purchased a home were it has never flooded It was build in 65. So I feel a little better But I still purchase flood insurance.

Listen to this guy...sounds like he knows from experience:rotfl:

J/k jamao :) making light of a dark situation:thumbsup:

Um, unless you accepted a settlement before that bill came, they are liable to pay that bill

Jester, It's all good.
I haven't been put in a situation like that before.
But anyone going alone with no lawyers vs lawyers is just plain suicide. lol
Never sign papers without reading them or a lawyer present.
Sounds like a scary situation.

Meh, I'm trying to settle out of court, I made an offer for $300, which is only 88 less than the original price they are fighting for.
The lawyer said they are typically really slow at responding to this, but they will still send it in to them. He postponed the court date as well another month.
He seemed really nice until I told him I wanted to try setttling for a lesser amount, then he turned into a jerk. Like I was taking away his livelyhood.

I'm not thinking about fighting it no lawyer.
I have called and spoken to 7 differant lawyers about the situation I'm in, each one of them said
"Even though the auto insurance said they'd pay the amount due, doesn't mean they are liable, I am still the one to be held liable for all bills incured by the accident. Since it has been 2 years since the accident (going on 3 in march), its past statute of limitations for suing the other driver or even the auto insurance company. Also, all of the lawyers told me it'd be cheaper to pay it than fight it, because they charge 2 times as much to represent me.


The company of BOTH drivers (the other driver AND my friend) is Direct auto insurance. I personally have Allstate and MY agent did more for us than his agent did ,including getting the police report for us, (early) filing the claim for me to the other ins. Company on my behalf, and setting everything up for me.... THAT IS WHAT I EXPECT FROM AN INSURANCE COMPANY! TO BE TAKEN CARE OF!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you all for your advice and help.

The squeeky wheel does get the grease. If it were me I would call the jerk that hit you and tell him that you have contacted a lawyer and will be sueing him in court because his insurance has not paid what they are supposed to pay and then send a registered letter stating the same. This will get him off his butt and he will begin harassing his insurance company. Then you call the insurance company and tell them that you have contacted the personal injury attorney that advertises the most in your area and they are wanting to talk to you especially because you have been having back and neck pain since the accident. If you have not signed away your rights, I bet they will pay the bill rather than be on the hook for more. Just a suggestion.

Even though this is past the statute of limitations, I would be inclined to continue what you are doing to settle out of court (so worst case, this is a closed matter), but I'd write letters and make calls to consumer advisory groups (like the news media) informing how you are being wronged by this insurance company. A lot of companies would not take kindly to bad press about a situation they should have resolved. In the end, even if you have to pay the bill to settle out of court, you still may push them into a corner of reimbursing you for it.

And I completely agree with you about what an insurance company should do. I stick with an agent that I can have a relationship with. I used to use an 800# service (I was talked into how good it was and how much I'd save). It was fine until I needed to make a claim, then they stick it to me!! Worst part is, when I switched back to an agent, there was ZERO cost savings sticking with the 800# (and my agent set me up with HIGHER coverage).

THIS!


Dustin ... that sure sucks, no doubt, and I'm sorry you are experiencing this crap. However, I would've followed up when you first received the bills ... and especially after the second receipt. These days, you HAVE to be proactive in situations like this...just the way it is. :(



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