Just got back from the Dr.. may have a lifetime injury? Insurance questions.
To start off, my name is Jeff - I'm 20 years old, work in the shop at a car dealership here in town doing mechanic work and body work, or anything that needs done. September 24th, i was on my lunch break riding my 06 GSXR 1000 when a 2006 Pontiac Torrent ran a stop sign, pulled in to my intersection and stopped.. I hit the driver fender, went over the hood, and on to the asphalt. I was wearing my Icon jacket, but no helmet . Regardless, I suffered a lot of back pain, some pelvis pain from hitting the gas tank, and a broken wrist. Minimal road rash due to boots/pants/jacket, and a very small scrape/black eye on my noggin. Bike is a total loss with bent forks, broken frame, broken front wheel, broken fairings, etc.
So i was in a short-arm-thumb-spike cast (for you medical folks) for almost 3 weeks.. I asked for the shortest term possible so I could get back to work (unable to wrench with one hand for the most part, so my boss told me just to take off) Well I went back to the orthopedic clinic today, got my cast cut off (by an ignorant nurse's aid, she asked if it was my femur or hand that was broken.. how many femurs have you seen hidden under a cast covering the left wrist? Then she cut my hand with the saw while removing the cast.. excellent) and had more x-rays taken. Dr looked at the xrays and noted that my scaphoid is broken in one, possibly two places. The next news he gave me is pretty shocking.
Because the scaphoid is such a small (but important) bone, it receives limited blood flow. He said it may be a VERY long time before it's healed correctly, or it simply may not heal at all. If that's the case, I'm potentially looking at a lifetime injury with limited use of my left hand. I go in for a checkup in 3 more weeks to view the progress.
So Here I am, a 20 year old kid living on my own, bills to pay, off work for a minimum of 6 weeks. Who knows if I'll even have a job when I go back, I can't expect my boss to just "sit around and wait" for me to come back, and if I go back partially healed and injure it again, it will be a big mess. Insurance probably won't pay out lost wages untill EVERYTHING is covered.. and they're being real assholes about paying for my bike. I had a local dealership give a quote to replace my bike exactly how it is, and the company ignored it. They're offering me $1400 LESS THAN AVERAGE retail price on NADA. The bike has 4000 miles and was in absolutely pristine condition, well above "average" for an 06. He told me if I didn't like the settlement I was free to make a claim with my company, which I WILL NOT be doing because it is not my fault. The other driver was ticketed, there is no reason I should suffer insurance premium increases for the next several years.
So what can I do to an insurance company in this case? I do know I need some money, and fairly quickly. I have parents that can help me, but I don't like relying on other people for money. I'm out several paychecks (if I even have a job when I'm healed), I have an insurance company not wanting to give me shit for my property damage, and I possibly have a lifetime injury. My grandfather had an arm brace for the last 50 years of his life and wasn't able to use his arm at all, I don't want to be in a similar condition.
Any input is appreciated.
Here's some pics of the bike -
Day I bought it
10.09@143mph
Wrecked
Frame broken at weld
My nuts of steel
Broken in a splint, right out of the ER
__________________
1999 Red SS - 408ci/6spd/12 bolt
Past cars - 94 Z28, 96 SS, 97 Z28, 00 Z28
Past bikes -06 GSXR 600, 06 GSXR 1000
Last edited by FlashLCD33; 10-09-2009 at 08:53 PM..
this is very very simple..... i say that cuz i own a motorcycle dealership and hear about these wrecks all the time
you didnt mention anything about you getting a ticket, did you??? if not then this is very simple and you are in the clear
i read that the driver of the car you hit got a ticket, im assuming cuz they ran a stop sign and didnt yield to oncoming traffic aka you!
if they got a ticket by a police officer cuz they were at fault then you are a lawyers best friend....
if i were you i would call a lawyers office, and not just anybody, i would call a well known lawyer in your area, like the guys in commercials on tv in your area
almost all of them have ZERO fee's from you, they get paid when you win in court and collect and they get a percentage of that so they will try and collect as much as they can so they can get a good chunk
you are a younger guy and the insurance company sounds like they are trying to bully you around thinking they might get lucky but they will not bully a lawyer.... especially if their client was ticketed by police for being in the wrong
i bet this case dosent even go to court..... they will more than likely settle with your lawyer out of court for a pretty good chunk of change, to cover your bike, med bills, physical therapy, lawyer bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering
and once again, if they got ticketed then a lawyer will take your case and start working right away..... you are their next big pay check..... go get it!!!
Ask your job about FMLA it will secure your job for 12 weeks, not sure if it will be the same job that would depend on your employer but get those FMLA papers filed ASAP.
+2 on the attorney.
Good luck and make sure they can't claim your were speeding and don't brag on how fast the bike is.
The reimbursement for your bike is a separate deal from the injury\suffering\disability part of your case. So search for pricing on bikes similar to yours to submit as replacement cost for your bike to the insurance company.
Good luck with everything.
As all of the others posted; get a lawyer man. That is your best bet out of this situation. Just like Robbie said dude; you might be walking about with a BIG chunk of change man. Talk to a lawyer ASAP! Let us know how it goes man... hope everything turns out for the best.
in my view, the 93-97 is the 4.0 gen and the 98-02 is the 4.5 gen when an LTx camaro had sex with a sebring, and an LTx trans am had sex with the batmobile.
Lawyer up man. Insurance company may try and f*ck you if you don't. i hate to advocate getting lawyers but it's smart in protecting you and your future if the wrist is for sure permanantly damaged
About the wrist... Ask a doctor about getting a Bone Growth Stimulator. I used one on my femur (compound fracture) and it seemed to help. My surgeon told me he used it when he broke his wrist so he could start operating again ASAP. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OVFR3K4dQ8...stimulator.jpg (not me) this is what they look like. You have to wear it for 10 hours a day (I did it mostly while sleeping at night). I don't know how much it will help, but it is worth a shot.
+1 on the lawyer. When it comes to the wrist problem, I really hope that you have good luck with it, maybe trying the Bone Growth Simulatior could help. I broke my scaphoid 6 years ago and my wrist still gives me some fairly serious problems, although that may be from a reinjury 2 years ago where the scaphoid was damaged again. Its definitly not something to mess around with. Good luck.
__________________ 93 Artic White Formula M6
12.94@ 108
02 Suzuki Bandit 1200N
a big chunk of change doesnt fix a possible permanent wrist injury.. that blows.. at least your cars an auto.
No it won't. But it will help him pay his bills and things of that nature if he cannot work. Plus it can help pay for physical therapy and to rehabilitate his wrist so he can get back to work.
Nope no updates yet. I'm searching for an attorney near me to deal with stuff like this.
Their insurance company (Travelers Auto and Boat Insurance?) are being a bunch of Nazis. I called at 4:30 friday knowing damn well they close at 5, left an URGENT message with a secretary and got no call back. Called today and left a message shortly after dinner time, and no call back. We'll see if anything comes tomorrow.
I'm going to get a rental car and let them eat that bill + the storage on my bike... untill they decide to be reasonable for my bike payout. It's been 3 weeks yesterday (Monday) and I believe they're paying $50/day for storage. You'd think they'd be in a little more of a hurry then they are
__________________
1999 Red SS - 408ci/6spd/12 bolt
Past cars - 94 Z28, 96 SS, 97 Z28, 00 Z28
Past bikes -06 GSXR 600, 06 GSXR 1000
Make your calls starting at opening time. They feel no urgency to get back with you at the end of the day. You'll do better to give them time to call in the fat part of the day.
I'd get your insurance company involved as well as a lawyer. You can get a settlement for your bike from your insurance company and yours will just go after the responsible party's insurance company for reimbursement. The accident is on your record no matter if you are at fault or not. Also I would not make matters worse by just "keeping" the rental car and let them eat the storage. You have a duty to mitigate your own losses, and by letting the bike sit somewhere for a month accruing storage at 50 a day, I know they will tell you to eat that and you will be SOL. Trust me I work for an auto insurance company, that stuff is in your contract and they won't budge on it. I know you probably won't like part of my answer but it is what it is.
It's their responsibility to pay the storage fees and provide me with a rental... so I don't know how I'd be responsible for paying any of that. I got the tip from a guy that did claims for 10+ years, so I'm just listening to what he said
__________________
1999 Red SS - 408ci/6spd/12 bolt
Past cars - 94 Z28, 96 SS, 97 Z28, 00 Z28
Past bikes -06 GSXR 600, 06 GSXR 1000
^ It's their responsibilty for a reasonable amount of time, I can tell you they aren't going to pay for it to sit in storage for 2 months. And yes they do provide a rental, but if you are wanting to get the settlement on the bike quicker you may want to go through your own company and let your company deal with the other insurance.
Thats bs cause if they would get off their asses and just pay him a fair amount for the bike, he could buy another car and wouldn't need a rental car. Then the insurance co. could just dump it at an auction and be done. And how is he supposed to buy another vehicle when he is off work cause he was hurt in the accident?
__________________ 2000 Black Z28 A4............................word to ya mutha
Just got back from the Dr.. may have a lifetime injury? Insurance questions. 
. Regardless, I suffered a lot of back pain, some pelvis pain from hitting the gas tank, and a broken wrist. Minimal road rash due to boots/pants/jacket, and a very small scrape/black eye on my noggin. Bike is a total loss with bent forks, broken frame, broken front wheel, broken fairings, etc.
