Miami, FLMost people on the road are honest, hard working folk who make sure they have enough insurance to cover them in case of a car accident. However, there are people out there who drive with either very little or no insurance, leaving innocent people to pay for their automobile accidents, even if the accident was caused by the underinsured driver.
Mini was in her car accident 3 or 4 years ago but she still suffers pain in her foot as a result of the accident. She says she was at a dead stop at a stop sign and there was one car behind her. Out of nowhere a third car crashed into the car behind her, pushing that car into hers, twice. Unfortunately, the woman who caused the accident had either no insurance or not enough insurance, leaving Mini to pay for her own medical bills and for repairs to her car.
"I couldn't walk for about a year after the accident," Mini says. "I broke my foot somehow, but it was in a strange place. It took a long time to heal and I didn't know that once the cast was taken off, I would have to learn how to walk again. My foot was like Jell-O. The cast was on for 9 months. At first, they said it would be on for 6 months, but they kept pushing back when they would take it off because they said my foot wasn't ready.
"I also hurt my back and my neck, but that was really minor compared to my foot. Most of the pain was focused on my foot—it hurt more than my back and neck.
"Of course, I wasn't allowed to work for a while, and there were medical bills and credit cards to pay for. I was left to take care of my medical bills. I needed an MRI and all that—some of it [the medical cost] was covered and some was not. There was also damage to my car that I had to pay for."
Underinsured or non-insured drivers leave innocent people like Mini paying for their own medical bills, even if they were not at fault in an accident. Mini was stopped at a stop sign—there was nothing she could do to prevent the car accident, but she is the one paying for someone else's accident. However, when someone is stuck paying their own medical bills in situations like this, sometimes procedures get put off because of their cost.
"I'm trying to avoid surgery," Mini says. "I don't know if they still think I need it, but I can't afford it. They [doctors] said I might need surgery, but I don't want to do it unless it's really necessary. I don't want them to go into my foot for no reason. I still have foot pain, but I try not to think about it.
"I want to know if I can still go after her [the other driver] or her insurance company because this is ridiculous."