[dacoolhand]

My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: Oregon
I'll abbreviate to keep it shorter.
Driver crosses median and smashes into me. I sustain injuries/ med bills totaling 10,000. At fault insurer pays me for totalling my car. time goes on, I continue treatment, now ready to settle. I send demand. Get response that says Liability was denied over a year ago. Due to an emergency med. condition they deny liability. I spoke with adjuster and she said she didn't know why she didn't notify us earlier, but she notified my insurance company. Later I wrote to her that there was no mention of med. emer. condition when she paid for my car, nor is there mention of it in the on-scene police report. I say; I am making an effort to settle the claim in good faith and want to be fair and resonable. If you wont make good faith effort I will file suit. She responds that I should let her know when there is a lawsuit so she can re-assign the claim to someone because no one is currently handling it. I said reassign it immediately and tell me who is handling it immediately as well! So, what do I do? She was the adjuster but now says shes not all this time I've been spending trying to settle and now she tells me shes not even handling it in fact no one is! Is she trying to discourage me or see if I'm bluffing? Don't I have a case that they paid for my car and the fact theres no mention in the police report? If there was a med emergency condition, Cant I make them prove it? And prove it wasn't forseeable? Or that it occurred after impact and not before? They say their insured has no memory of any of it. so how then can they argue that the condition was the cause rather than the result? Please help with advice beyond "seek the help of an attorney". I am looking for a multitude of opinions in addition to my attorney's. Thank you very much !!

[jk]

Don't I have a case that they paid for my car and the fact theres no mention in the police report?

I would suggest that along with that money, there was a statement you had to sign stating they were not accepting liability by making the payment.

Often times, it is cheaper to pay for damages than fight them. An insurance company is in business to make money and they will often take the action that loses them the least amount of money.


anyway, it appears they are denying liability on the part of their client. As such, they have simply said, "no" to paying you. Now you have the option of giving up the chase, filing a suit in court, or retaining an attorney to act in your behalf.

an attorney does more than just file suits and go to court. They also attempt to negotiate a settlement in lieu of going to court, if possible.

Since the insurance company has simply closed the door on you, you have the next move and it apparently will need to be one of the 3 I stated above. Attempting to prove anything outside of court, without at least hiring somebody to get their attention or actually filing suit, to the insurer would be meaningless if they have, for all practical purposes, closed the case.

Outside of court, you cannot force them to do anything they are not willing to do. They have no requirement to even speak to you unless a court orders it. As such, your options are very limited.