Well...last week I spent 2 days in court.
4 years ago I was walking in a parking lot. I looked, no car coming, and started tossing the 2 lanes. I heard an engine accelerating, didn't even get my head turned and WHAM! I flew 22 feet, cracked my head on the pavement, and hurt my right knee and back.
I went through the last 4 years of hell. Steroid shots in my spine, knee, hip and groin. Still horrible pain. So they did a shot into my back disc, and discovered my disc was blown out, leaking fluid and putting pressure on my spinal nerves. I had spinal fusion surgery.
I have 316 thousand dollars in medical bills alone.
I had to sue to try to get them to pay for it. The driver that hit me was a pizza delivery person and admitted to the cops (and me) she wasn't looking out her windshield and that was why she hit me.
In court she LIED under oath, and her lawyer twisted and lied.
Well, I "won" the case. But the jury gave me only 80 grand for past medical costs, 25 grand for past pain and suffering, and 15 grand for future medical. 120 grand total, with over 300 grand just in bills.
Where is there justice in this?
I am in pain 24/7 and will be for the rest of my life.
I don't even feel like "me" anymore.
The lawyer got to twist everything to screw up the jury enough to screw me.
Why are they allowed to do that? And how do they sleep at night?
I don't know what to do now. I'm waiting to hear from my lawyer to know what's next.

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Sorry to hear. who was your case against, the girl/woman, her employer, their insurance companies?

Is your bills after insurance? Did they say you were partially at fault? From what I have seen, it seems pretty rare for an accident to make it all the way to a jury.

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Cheesey , I'm very sorry to hear of your difficulties . Are there any gov't agencies or charities or victims groups that can come to your aid ? Was or has your story been a TV News story , sometimes the super rich silently step in and help out . If all else fails , you may want to file for bankruptcy . In the end Social Security Disability can come to your rescue .

Best of Luck to you !

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I was wondering how your accident turned out. Sorry it went so wrong.

I have seen awards like this a few times including my Dad. A rural mailman ran a stop sign and t-boned Dad's car. He's a federal employee. You can't have a jury trial if you sue the Fed. The judge is the arbiter and he acted like he was the US Attorney defending the case instead of being the judge. They lied too. I told our attorney about one of the lies that I was tied to and they just shrugged it off. In the end they awarded Dad a pittance for his medical, pain and suffering and loss of use of his body.

My father in law drove a CTA bus and was rear ended when Chicago's finest were in a high speed chase with a stolen car. He got almost nothing despite there being a special fund for City of Chicago events like this. Despite him being nearly crippled for the rest of his life.

Sorry Cheesey it's rare when a jury opens the purse and pulls out a wad of money. Even the millions that were awarded in the McDonald's hot coffee suit were reduced.

I know you won't want to but you have to declare bankruptcy and walk away form your medical bills.

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wpr , that sentence reads funny without a comma between the "to" and the "but" .

It's no shame to declare bankruptcy in the face of over inflated Medical charges . Were it not for the Insurance that Doctors must carry to protect themselves from suit, they could charge less . Still I've never heard of a poor M.D. or Insurance Agent . I have heard of patients driven insane by bill collectors and their ruthless methods. It's not an official record , but a great number of suicides are a result of the shameless debt collectors that harass people to their limit of sanity.
Bankruptcy is an honorable and very legal course of action. It was instituted as a relief to overwhelming financial debt .

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You are prob right about the comma. It was late and I was tired. Oddly enough, I frequently use punctuation in my posts. One of the rules of social media is that punctuation is not a requirement.

Your comment seems funny to me because you so frequently use the wrong spelling for a word in your posts.

Your comment on doctors and insurance agents is completely wrong. I ave know more than a few doctors who were struggling to make ends meet.Perhaps they are not poor but they are certainly not wealthy either. As a matter of fact most doctors are just average middle class in wealth. Considering the amount of time and money they invest in their educations they are behind most people. No one whats a doctor who is right 99% of the time. We want them to be perfect in all things and when they are not we sue. My wife worked for a physician who was sued many times because a baby was born with birth defects. It never mattered that the mother smoke, drank or took drugs or that the parents were predisposed to genetic issues. The doctor was there to catch the baby when it popped out so it was her fault.

Likewise insurance agents typically are far from wealthy. It is one of the few places that the more you put in the more you can be rewarded. My Dad was not wealthy but he did alright for himself. In order to do so he frequently worked 80 hours a week. It was not uncommon for him to put between 80 and 100,000 miles a year on his car. You may look at his house and say he has it made but you would never have looked at how hard he worked and said you want to do that too. I am an ins agent. I don't have the income Dad had but I don't work as hard as he did. That was my choice.

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The insurance company was American Family. They insured both the driver and Domino's, the company the woman was working for at the time.
She had 150,000 liability insurance, Domino's 1 million. Yet I get stuck for something that was not my fault. Insult to injury.
The lies are what just tore me up. Like the woman that hit me, said that I "jumped up onto her car". I was walking across 2 lanes, was more then half way across when she hit me. I was at a slight angle away from her car. I had a split second to TRY to brace myself, sticking my right hand out. It left a print on her hood, and a dent above her driver side headlight where my body was hit.
The insurance lawyer said that I "walked into the side of a slow moving vehicle". HUH!?!?
Then why did I end up 22 feet from where she hit me, down the road???
What is "slow moving?" A car going 15mph hitting another car, yes. A car going 15mph hitting a HUMAN??? Not "slow".
Yet he was allowed to spread what I term as "what a farmer spreads on his crops to make them grow".
I don't understand this. I really thought truth would prevail over lies. I don't believe that anymore.

I am in pain literally 24 hours a day. And now because I didn't get any money, I can't even see my pain specialist who has been helping me the last 2 and a half years.
All I had was Medicare part A. So that only covers hospitalization. We were "surviving" on my disability check of $975 a month. So I didn't have any money to get Medicare part B.

I'm still waiting to hear from my lawyer, to see what's next.
I'm devastated by this. I have been fighting depression all along, as I haven't been able to do the things I used to do. I've lost all joy for life. I really thought that at LEAST I would get compensated for the constant pain. Now I get reminded of the accident every second of every day for the rest of my life, and she gets off with a slap on the wrist.
Oh....something else I learned. Accident reports are not admissible in court. She admitted to the cop she wasn't looking in front of her, and that was why she hit me. The reason for the accident in the report is "inattentive driving". All this was in the report, but wasn't said. And because it's been over 4 years, the cop didn't remember the accident.
Had this been put into the court case, I bet it would have made a difference. Just another way I got screwed.
The puddle of blood from my head wound was 15 by 15 inches. I went there the next day and took photos (along with a tape measure).
I'm so sick over this....and there's nothing I can do.
Lies win over the truth.
Justice

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I stopped ordering "Domino's" many years ago .

I've been screwed by the court and the justice system in the past myself . Some scars just don't heal and serve to open ones eyes to the reality of injustice .

Regardless of how much some defend the Ins. Company's , most of us know how quick an Ins Co. will cancel you for a late payment or try to screw you on an accident appraisal or that they don't cover this or that situation . They are happy to take your money , but scream like a wounded piglet when they have to pay. No wonder the lawyers are so busy .

Cheesy , your lawyer should tell you ALL of your options and the most recommended among them . He should know without being told that he represents you and no one else . Also, Social Services can help with food aid and other help that you may not be aware of . At this point, fuck pride and do what's best for you and your family . Also , don't get depressed , you have friends right here in this forum that are ready and willing to listen at any time . I know that advice is not always what is wanted , but a quiet ear that supports and cares .

I too am on a fixed income and understand the challenges it brings . Good Luck !

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Oh...and I was doing so well after my open heart surgery. I hit the pavement so hard that it bruised my whole left side and hurt where my chest was cracked open. For months after the accident, my chest hurt like it did after open heart surgery.

My wife worked 17 years at a factory, messed up her back (4 discs removed) they closed the plant and she got nothing. She worked 12 hours a day. You get used up, and disguarded.
Again, justice?

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Oh while I remember if I just bumped her hood why is it my lung deflated - so sick! The insurance company even told my
Lawyer that I had to forefit my right to have them
Look at all my posts on packershome - so other then I feel violated they wouldn't let my wife help me either any fight she fights she fights for my protection - like my open heart surgery-- my shoulder surgery - she took what very little money she got to pay for our trying this case the basics my wife has even said she would leave just because I'm that miserable - she believes there's a miracle maybe you guys can help for it - the way they said I was the decimation of character & yet they let her lie on the stand - the cop that said he couldn't remember I told my wife what he looked like since they wouldn't let her involved & anyways / the three stooges were there at the seen - why am I not laughing - not once did my wife say anything of my personality change or my meanness too her this will take more then time to heal & prayer - I'm so not feeling sorry for my self but I do know my wife is not a bitch but I've tested her limits - it's not right because she's gone thru so much for me & us & putting Seth angel to sleep was more pain then we both could handle this case costs us more then - any amount of money I just don't think ssd should fit the bill & even then I'm
Only on A and still younger - maybe the lawyer could by pass the bill of a 1/3 paid to them - you know my wife has worked the usps job her full time & a part time just to pay for high premiums that hmo didn't fit our status you add that to trying to have kids & cant & paying bills you wonder why the big companies that had other caragory family units that there premiums were less it wasn't unusual to have my wife work 80 to 100 hours in a week or your & did I forget to say she used her medical nursing talent - to try to work the government to pay her to take care of me but we couldn't afford the renewal licenses verses my 250.00 for insulin - two months ago she tried to get primary care doctor - no success - thanks guys for listening - I was being monitored if anything I'd say or do but after this - I had to tell you just to stop it from over an over in my head - thank you Alan

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