The Shoulder
The Shoulder
48
Insurancecool-fox-304

At-fault driver's insurance fixed my truck but is ghosting me on my medical bills — normal??

So I got rear-ended at a red light a few months back. Pretty standard story — guy behind me wasn't paying attention, hit me hard enough that my head snapped forward and back. I drove myself to urgent care that same evening because my neck was already stiffening up and I was getting a headache I couldn't shake.

Turns out I had a mild concussion and soft tissue damage in my neck. Missed almost two weeks of work because staring at a screen made me want to throw up, and I'm a project coordinator so that's basically my whole job.

Here's where it gets frustrating. The other driver's insurance eventually — after a LOT of back-and-forth — agreed to fix my truck. Fine. Great. But ever since the repair check cleared, total radio silence on the injury side.

I've left multiple voicemails. Sent two emails. Nothing.

My doctor recently told me I'm showing signs of post-concussion syndrome, which apparently can drag on for months. I've got specialist copays piling up, I need follow-up imaging, and my doctor is recommending vestibular therapy that my own insurance only partially covers.

I'm not trying to retire off this. I just want help with the bills that exist because of their driver's mistake.

A few things I'm genuinely confused about:

  • Is the same adjuster who handled my property claim supposed to handle the injury claim, or is it a different department?
  • Is it actually on ME to keep chasing them, or should they be reaching out?
  • Am I doing something wrong here, or is this just how they operate?

Any advice from people who've been through this would really help. I feel like I'm navigating this completely blind.

10replies

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10 replies

  • 21
    sharp-wren-696

    Not legal advice, but — you're at the point where a free consultation with a personal injury attorney is genuinely worth your time. Not because you're necessarily going to sue anyone, but because once an attorney sends a representation letter, adjusters tend to start returning calls. Most PI attorneys work on contingency so there's no upfront cost. The ongoing symptoms and specialist involvement suggest this isn't a simple soft-tissue case that's going to resolve in a few weeks.

  • 18
    hearty-newt-943

    I'll be real with you — property damage and bodily injury are almost always handled by completely separate adjusters and sometimes entirely separate teams within the same company. The person who cut your repair check probably has zero visibility into your injury claim, and vice versa. Also, injury claims tend to sit in a queue until you push them. That's not always malicious, it's just volume. But you do have to push.

    • 3
      calm-rider739

      Solid advice. Getting it in writing is the part most people skip.

  • 18
    quiet-sparrow-446

    Stop leaving voicemails. Send everything in writing — email — so you have a paper trail. And honestly, at this point you should just talk to a PI lawyer. Most people wait way too long. The consultation is free, it doesn't commit you to anything, and it's the fastest way to figure out if you're being strung along.

  • 17
    clever-marten-256

    A couple of practical things: Start documenting every single contact attempt — date, time, method, who you reached or that you got voicemail. That log matters later. Also, most states have regulations requiring insurers to acknowledge claims and respond within a specific window. If they've blown past that you may be able to file a bad faith complaint with your state's department of insurance, which sometimes gets their attention faster than anything else.

    • 0
      weary-parent981

      Same boat here. Did anyone mention a deadline to watch out for?

  • 16
    keen-mole-831

    Oh man, this is almost exactly what happened to me two years ago. Property damage gets handled pretty fast because it's straightforward — they just write a check. Injury claims are a whole separate animal and yes, usually a different adjuster or even a different department entirely. In my experience they're not going to call you. You basically have to keep pushing, which is exhausting when you're also dealing with feeling terrible.

    • 10
      warm-lynx-741

      Please don't let the insurance stress distract you from the medical side. Post-concussion syndrome is real and it can snowball if you're not treating it properly. Vestibular therapy in particular can make a huge difference but you usually have to be consistent with it. Keep all your appointment records, every diagnosis, every treatment recommendation — that documentation isn't just for your health, it's your evidence.

  • 15
    calm-elk-796

    The silence is not an accident. They're hoping you'll either forget about it, get frustrated and go away, or settle for way less than you deserve because you're desperate for any money. Don't give them a timeline of your symptoms in casual conversation with them either — every word you say can be used to minimize your claim later.

  • 6
    tidy-newt-397

    This sounds so stressful on top of already feeling awful from the concussion. I'm sorry you're dealing with this. The fact that they went completely quiet after paying for the truck repair feels really wrong to me. Please don't just let it drop — you deserve to have those medical bills covered.