CIDP / Auto accident

Hi Barry, Sorry to hear you were in an accident. It is really hard to prove, I had tried to do that from my last accidents also. I had 3 accidents in 3 years in a row. these all occurred before i had cidp, but right after i had gone through Prollo Therapy and dx of Fibrumyalgia(pain). The insurance company did not want to pay my med bills, pain and suffering or anything else other then fixing my car, because of my recent history of health problems-because I couldn’t prove they were seperate. My accident was not my fault, and i was on my way to my dr anyway. i was hit by an escalade crossing a 4 lane road on a red light-his fault. my next one was a rear end collision at a red light-lady thought i was going to go through it even though i was stopped and it was red-her fault. the very first accident was my fault-i rearended a lady making an illegal left turn-my bad:rolleyes: . I could only get my car fixed and a few gs from the escalade and just under 2gs from the other lady, because of the timing of the accidents and my previous health problems. if you are needing additional dr appts because of the accident, make sure your dr only writes accident injuries, specific ones on the reciept and not cidp dx, it will help you if you need to go after the insurance company for money. Good Luck. Take care.

Hello Barry!

I often wonder where you’ve been as your name is forever (well maybe it will change someday) frozen in time, or should I say, on our forums main page, at the bottom, under, [I]currently active users[/I](something like that) 🙂 .

Im am sorry to hear about the accident, its just not something that is pleasant to have to deal with, specially since there are complications associated with it. Unfortunately it is so easy for insrance companies to try and deny any sort of coverage nowadays, and its a pity we have become so jaded and think that they would do anything to try and get out of paying for anything. However, [I]if [/I]you have the energy and inclination, you should try at least request that ‘her’ insurance cover the costs of the doctors visit as well as whatever cervical spine x-ray’s you have had to have, wait for the results, and then take it from there. Surely if there is some kind of damage to the cervical region (with regard to bone and muscle) it has nothing to do with a pre existing condition, since CIDP is peripheral nerves :rolleyes: . Aaaah, its so frustrating because it sounds so logical in a way – but i know it doesnt work like that in the real world.

Have you spoken to either of your insurance companies yet? Let us know what the results were of the x-rays.

All the Best!

Hi Barry,

You have my sympathy. My wife faced a similar problem. She was hit from the rear by a speeding car. She lost control, crossed the medium and almost hit another car head on.

To make a long story short, since she had a history of arthritis the insurance company claimed all the pain was from a preexisting condition. When you are dealing with “soft tissue” injuries it is hard to prove exactly what is going on.

We had to hire a lawyer. Don’t make the same mistake we made. Make sure the lawyer has actually taken cases like yours to court and won them. There are a lot of them out there that say they have “successfully” won, but many of them only settle out of court. The insurance companies know who are the tigers and who are the pussycats [the ones who are afraid to going to trail]. They will deal with the tigers, but ignore the ones that don’t have any real teeth.

PS We are in a “no fault state”. That might make some difference if you aren’t.

Hi Barry,

Last month, my daughter was struck from behind at a red light and pushed into oncoming traffic and struck again. Just like you, I was concerned that the insurance company would “discount” her injuries by claiming a previous condition. For that reason, I took her to a different doctor to specifically address her immediate injuries. Fortunately, she will not have permanent disabilities/injuries from this accident. I was afraid that if I took her to her regular gp, she would be seen primarily as a neurological patient, and from that point, it would be impossible to make a clear distinction. Once her injuries were evaluated and documented, I explained her cidp and discussed my reasons for keeping the two conditions seperate. The doctor understood my concerns.

Keep a pain diary. A pattern of new pain, or increased pattern of pain in specific areas would help doctors (and possibly lawyer) to assess the cause. In addition, it may help identify the different types of pain you are having – muscle and/or joint pain as opposed to nerve pain.

Seatbelts save lives, but they cause a lot of spinal injuries. I had neck/shoulder/hip/lower back seatbelt injuries that have caused me difficulties for years now. (I was t-boned at an intersection) If you feel the severity of the accident warrants it, keep in mind that you have 2 years (Texas; check your state) to make a claim. Down the road, your diary will demonstrate the long range effects of your current physicial evaluation. Oth, you may never need it, and that would be a good thing.

best wishes
cd

Forget the insurance company. Of course they don’t want to pay. Find a good plaintiff’s lawyer.

Barry, I just pmed you again. Hopefully its not too late.:)

I was involved in a car accident back in 1998; while on a street with no stop signs, a tow truck at a stop sign decided he could beat me across the intersection. I broke my left knee & suffered soft tissue damage to my back. The insurance adjuster wanted me to settle the case ASAP at that time. If one is disabled by the car accident for 90 days or longer (which I was), then he said I would receive money for pain & suffering, otherwise it would be just my car & medical bills to date.

I was ready to sign off right then & there, as I was sure I would be on the tennis court that summer. But for some reason my knee never healed right & it actually took 2 1/2 years before I even tried tennis again. I am glad I waited as I was awarded more, but after the lawyer took his 33% it was actually not much. I came down with CIDP 6 months later & was glad I had settled by then, or they would have blamed my knee problems on that.