I was in a car wreck and the other party had no insurance?

Question

There was little damage my car. I was treated for whip lash and finally found out I had three bulging disc in my cervical spine four months later. Apparently I had degenerative disease that was already in my neck. I had never been treated for or even had a head ache prior to the wreck. Had no idea my cervical spine had any kind of disease in it. The auto insurance (my own) is jerking me around over a year and a half. They now want me to take an IME (independent medical exam) no doubt a doctor they paid for. I have a $50,000 uninsured motorist rider on my policy. I at this point was offered $1000 for three discs snapped. Now they are saying they are not pay for degenerative disease. I have called every Attorney on TV bragging about fighting auto insurance companies. Attorneys will help not enough money involved and minimum damage to the car. Anyone out these offer any advice?

Answer 1

Degenerative disc disease as you know is not accident related.  Your bulges were clearly pre-existing.  However, your insurance company does have to take into consideration you did not treat prior to this accident for this condition.  The accident likely aggravated your condition, and at some point you will reach your base line.

You need to go to the IME as a condition to your uninsured motorist coverage.  You have no choice.

You do not say where this loss occurred, but it sounds as if you may live in a state where you must sustain  "serious" injury to be tort eligible.  The $1k offer is a nuisance offer, although it seems a bit low.  

Anyway, you need to file Uninsured Arbitration since this is a UM claim.  An attorney may be able to provide you with some guidance on how to proceed with the arbitration.  

Answer 2

I dont know much about insurance but use an attorney that is recommended.

Answer 3

Perhaps take the  IME  but choose a neutral doctor ? Are you 100% sure you have this degenerative disease? It sounds very convenient for them that you do.

I am not sure I understood the part about you trying to get a lawyer involved, did you or did you not?

You need to ask a lawyer what they think of this.

Have you tried legalmatch? You shoot off your case and their lawyers are shown the info, then someone specialized in this field might choose to take it or not and quote you a price, then you choose who you go with after checking their references. http://locate-lawyer.info/

hope it all goes for the best, I have been in a similar situation and it can be very depressing.

Answer 4

Your insurance carrier is taking "industry standard" steps with you, that's all. The $50K "rider" you refer to is most likely for property damage not bodily injury. In any event, any insurance carrier is going to turn down a "pre-existing condition" such as degenerative disease as it was not "caused" by the accident. It may have been "aggravated" by the crash, however, That is for a panel of physicians to determine. The IME (Independent Medical Evaluation) process is a step to get your condition professionally evaluated and put into the mix to resolve, and pay, your claim.