My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: OK
My kids and I were in stopped at a light and were hit from behind hard by a large pickup. I was dazed when it happened but my son started talking to me and the other driver came up and I was able to focus after a few minutes. We agreed to drive to a close side street in order to not cause another accident, and I called the police. Quite a bit of damage to my van, needs a complete back trunk and drivers side bumper. Main impact was on rear drivers side. My kids all said they were fine and seemed okay, I immediately had back and neck pain but it seemed minor. We exchanged insurance info, police came and wrote a report that said the other driver was 100% at fault, but issued no citation. When I initially spoke with his insurance the adjuster said it was a new policy so he needed to verify coverage, but that he was sure everything was fine. I have never had back or neck issues, and I hoped it would resolve with time, but the next day it was worse. I went to ER two days after accident, they took xrays and prescribed meds. I saw my primary doctor on the fifth day after the accident, he wanted to wait a week and see if it resolved. My kids still haven't had any complaints of pain, but I did take them to their primary doctor just to be safe. On the sixth day, the adjuster called and said that the at fault driver's new policy was not yet effective, so he wasn't insured on date of accident and they were denying the claim. I then called my insurance, I have full coverage. They sent out an adjuster for the inspection, my car has about $3500 worth of damage. The adjuster would not open the trunk because he knew he wouldn't get it closed again. I had to pay for a rental car out of my pocket since it's not part of my coverage, but I do have uninsured motorist coverage.
My car is now in the shop, with the shop owner telling me that as hard as I was hit, he is certain that he'll find more damage once he gets working on it. I have been taking the prescribed meds for two weeks with no relief, the pain is in my upper back,neck, right shoulder and down right arm. I can't work because my job is entirely computer work, and it kills my arm and neck. I can't sleep, have dizziness and nausea. I saw an orthopedic specialist and will be starting PT four times a week next week. If the pain isn't gone or much improved after four weeks, he'll do an MRI. Here are my questions:
1. I have Medpay up to $1000 on my auto coverage. I've surely used that up already, so do I have the dr continue to bill my auto insurance (State Farm) or just bill my health insurance now?
2. Since I have the Uninsured Motorist coverage, shouldn't that coverage pay all my medical bills and copays, rental car expense, lost wages up to my policy limit ($50,000)? Before the at fault drivers insurance claim was denied, my insurance agent made sure to tell me that they'd only cover up to $1000 medical, and anything over that or lost wages I'd have to sue the other driver for. But now that they have a denial from the other insurance company, shouldn't my UIM coverage kick in?
3. The at fault driver has contacted me and apologized for the insurance mess, and said he knows this will come out of his pocket. However, he has not made any offer to pay for anything, even though my insurance company said he could go ahead and pay me directly for my deductible and rental car expense, as long as I don't sign any release. Is it best to just not deal with him directly since my insurance company is involved now? I hate to say this, but if he helped with my out of pocket costs right now it would be great, this isn't something I was prepared for and I know it will be awhile before I get anything reimbursed from the insurance company.
4. I assume that since my insurance is going to cover this, there will be no settlement for medical, lost wages or pain and suffering, is that right? My insurance will pay for the things they are required to pay then go after the at fault driver, is that how it works?
Thank you for any advice. I've never been in this situation, and I can't afford these extra expenses right now. My insurance company has not mentioned my UIM coverage to me at all, all they said is that they will pay for the car repair and for up to $1000 in medical, so I've been trying to research this and figure out if there's anything else they are supposed to pay for.

