One of the purposes of this blog is to educate potential clients as to the ins-and-outs of personal injury claims and why good legal representation is so important. As a result, we tend to focus on the general principles of personal injury law. Sometimes, though, a story can teach the same concepts in a much more powerful way. In this post, we’d like to share a story with you that demonstrates some of the general principles we’ve covered in prior posts.
It Was A Typical Tuesday Morning
Carol works as an office manager for a small financial planning firm. She lives in a rural area, about 30 or 40 minutes from the office. She works Monday through Friday, and keeps regular business hours, but does like to get in early.
One Tuesday morning, she got ready for work and left the house shortly after 7 am. She was on the highway in a matter of minutes. There was no traffic, the weather was clear, and visibility was good. Unfortunately, she was involved in a serious car accident within 10 minutes of leaving her home.
Carol was rear-ended by a semi-truck whose driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. She recalls that she was traveling at approximately 55 miles per hour. She was pushed off the road and her vehicle rolled two-and-a-half times. Passersby called 911, and thankfully, emergency personnel were on the scene within 5 minutes.
A Call No One Wants to Receive
Recently retired, Carol’s husband was at home that morning when he received the call that his wife was involved in a serious car accident. He immediately went to the scene of the accident, given the proximity to the home. As a former volunteer firefighter, he was able to quickly assess the situation and ask the right questions. They had removed her from the vehicle and she was being examined by the EMTs. One of the firefighters told Carol’s husband, “If she hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt, I have no doubt she’d be dead.”
Thankfully, Carol suffered only minor injuries. She declined to go in the ambulance, but her husband drove her straight to the ER in order to get checked out. She was discharged a few hours later with the good news that there appeared to be nothing to worry about, but she should plan on taking it easy over the next few days and consider staying home from work.
The Morning After
Carol woke up the next day so stiff and sore she could hardly move. She wound up taking the next three days off of work in order to recover. She started doing physical therapy, which helped a great deal. Within a week, she felt almost back to normal. Then she woke up one morning in a lot of pain. Her husband drove her to the emergency room, where an x-ray showed that the had a rib that had been pushed out of alignment. She was eventually able to get an alignment, which fixed the problem, but it was a couple of more days off of work.
Dealing with the Insurance Company
During her recovery, her insurance company was pressuring Carol to accept a settlement. Carol consulted with a lawyer who was a family friend, who told her not to accept any settlement until she and her doctor were confident that she had made a full recovery. She experienced the episode with her rib shortly after receiving this advice – she would not be compensated for the extra treatment and the time off of work if she had accepted the settlement.
Where Things Stand
Carol seems to be recovering from her accident and doesn’t have plans to hire an attorney at this time. However, she and her husband are very glad they didn’t accept the insurance company’s offer to settle. The entire experience was a good reminder for them how quickly life can change, and that serious car accidents near your home on roads you’ve driven hundreds of times.
Contact an Atlanta Area Car Accident Attorney
The law firm of Slappey & Sadd has been helping car accident victims across the state of Georgia since 1992. If you’ve been injured, our lawyers are here to help. Call us at 404-255-6677 or send us an email in order to schedule a free consultation.