Hamilton, ALThere are many people who are victims of [car accidents], that do not seem to have serious injuries but suffer a lifetime of pain following their crash. They do not have broken backs and do not suffer brain damage, but they do have severe pain and other problems that can be debilitating and can impact their life.
"I was driving to school and I was on this road that was just a 2 lane road," Mark says. "I was going around a curve and someone [driving in the opposite direction] came over onto my side of the road. I swerved to try to miss them, but they still hit me. My back was hurt and an ambulance took me to the hospital.
"There was a witness that saw the accident and the office wrote up that it was the other person's fault and the other car was speeding.
"The hospital referred me to an orthopedic doctor and a chiropractor. The other guy's insurance paid to have my car fixed and they gave me a rental car to use while it was being repaired. They also paid my medical bills for a month. But, after I got a lawyer they quit paying my medical bills. After six months, I was still hurting and my back and neck were not getting much better, so I was referred to a neurologist, who gave me steroid injections."
Mark said that his accident was years ago, but no settlement was ever reached in the accident and, recently, his lawyer decided to drop the case. He says he doesn't know why that happened, but he has been left to deal with the medical bills.
"I still have slight problems," Mark says. "I'm pretty much better, but my neck pops from driving too long or sitting at the computer. I still have headaches and stuff, but I'm not seriously hurt. I'm not really well but I can cope—I can deal with it.
"I ran up about $20,000 in medical bills. It ruined my credit. All those medical bills are on my credit report. The accident ruined me in a lot of ways but it was his [the other driver's] fault."
Unfortunately, there are people who are innocent victims in car accidents that do not have their medical needs properly met. Insurance companies may refuse to pay bills or refuse to accept liability in some circumstances, leaving those victims to pay their own medical bills—which can run in the tens of thousands of dollars or more depending on the severity of the injury.
Other victims simply refuse further treatment or medication because they can no longer afford it. They manage their pain in their own ways, without the help of vital prescriptions or therapies and hope that one day the pain will simply go away. Unfortunately, it generally does not go away on its own, and these patients are left to cope with serious pain from a car accident that was not their fault.