Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick Lee
But 30 min. after they all told me they were fine? C'mon!
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No doubt that insurance scammers abound - however:
One rainy night years ago I t-boned a full sized, stop sign running station wagon in a Renault Le Car - totaled it. Cops arrived, asked if there was any injuries - I said I was fine as did the two in the station wagon.
Then two tow trucks arrived and started to hook up the cars. I approached the cop and said, "Hey, I haven't seen anybody take measurements or pictures!" (there were no witnesses and the other driver denied fault - I saw a problem developing).
Cop said "We don't do all that if there are no injuries - and it's raining". "Well I'm injured and as soon as my wife gets here she's taking me to the hospital to get checked out!" Cop says "You just told me you weren't injured!" "Well now I'm saying that I am - my neck and back hurt!" Cop was visibly irritated but called off the tow trucks and measurements and pics were taken.
I told the emergency room doc what happened and that I was feeling no pain but felt it was wise to get checked out. He said I'd done the right thing because seatbelts can cause internal bleeding and other damage not always immediately apparent.
Well, x-rays, etc., no damages so I went home to bed. Next morning couldn't get out of bed. A single diagonal shoulder strap allows the right half of the drivers torso to be thrown forward violently and I was in severe pain and ended up bed ridden for several days then having to have physical therapy for about a month. Yeah, I got a settlement!
Whiplash can manifest over a period of time also - if I were one of the passengers in the car you hit I'd surely have claimed injury and gone to the hospital just to get checked out and have a little documentation should an insurance co. try to deny a legitimate claim if injury isn't apparent until the next day.
Life's a btich - won't look out for you at all, gotta do it yourself.