Recovering from Auto Accident

Hi guys,

I'm posting this sort of out of desperation to reach out to someone who's been through something similar. I was in a car accident in late summer 2011. I was working as a driving instructor. I was rear ended by a huge GMC Safari van so I wasn't at fault. Long story short I hit my head and my life hasn't been the same since. Never having been through a major injury in a car accident before, I was overwhelmed with paperwork from state comp and insurance companies.

I quit my job because my company didn't care about my injury, or about me for that matter. I was an expendable asset... nothing more. If I got hurt they'd just hire another body to replace me. It's depressing but that's the truth.

My symptoms from the injury were (and still are) debilitating. I had terrible mood swings and short-term memory. My left eye is always dry, blurry, and everything is a shade darker than my right eye. For example when I shine a very dim flashlight in my left eye, the light emitted looks duller and darker than when pointed in my right eye. When I'm indoors on a bright sunny day, I noticed the light reflected off of a room's surface is darker through my left eye versus my right.

I had no clue exactly what kind of injury I sustained (or for that matter suffered a concussion) because no one told me. Not even the ER doctor. I never had a concussion before, so how am I supposed to know what that's like? A few months down the road I received an informational pamphlet in the mail about brain injury from sports. I looked at the list of symptoms and everything matched mine to a T. If it took a pamphlet in the mail to give me a proper diagnosis and an ER doctor couldn't tell me that... yeah you get the idea.

That's when I went back to my state comp to seek treatment. Believe it or not almost 2 years later I still haven't been properly diagnosed. I saw a neurologist in January and she asked about my left eye. I saw an optometrist a month earlier to buy new glasses, and was told my eyes were healthy with no signs of damage or illness. The optometrist didn't rush through my appointment and cared about me. Without seeing a shred of paperwork the neurologist said "are you sure about that? I don't think she was thorough enough." with a quizzical look on her face. :shakehead At that point it was obvious she was avoiding the elephant in the room.

I had to find out the hard way insurance companies (especially State Fund) didn't give a rat's hiney about me. I still suffer from my symptoms daily. I've managed to get the mood swings under control, but I can't very well control the blurriness/color shift/dryness in my left eye. I still have short term memory and that's been very rough. :frown: It's clear I suffered some sort of injury to my brain and no one cares.

It's been an incredibly lonely process and I'm hoping someone can relate to my experiences. Anyone been through something similar? Any support or stories relating to similar experiences would be much appreciated.

I'm not big on litigation, but in your situation maybe you should at contact a lawyer or a victim's advocate to see what help they might be able to offer. Insurance companies find it easy to say no to individual policyholders, but are generally afraid of lawyers and might be more willing to work with you.

I haven't been through anything like that, but I wish you the best of luck and hope you can make a full recovery.

Time to get a lawyer. Most will not charge up front as they take a percentage of the money after the settlement.

I agree with thedoc/wll, people I know who've been through what you have often have no where to go except to counsel.

A starting point can be an independent medical examination by a third party, and, tracking down the Safari driver from the accident, as they are the one's who caused your loss. The driving school itself may be partially liable, as you were working for them, and they typically picked the car and its safety features for example, etc.

There can be some complication, legally, when an injury happens on the job due to another party's negligence, but, its your attorney's job to explain your specifics after reviewing the case, etc. Off hand, quitting your job rather than being let go, etc, may come back to bite you....depending on the rest of the details. I hope not.

You should at least be within periods of discovery, etc.

If you have a solid case, the attorneys will typically cover the medical exams, etc, or, may need that report to know if they HAVE a solid case, etc.

I'd try the attorney route first, as they will typically know where to send you for what testing, etc....under either scenario.

DO be aware that they will not give a rat's about you either, just the ~ 40% of what's awarded (Typically, their share of the award). IE: YOU might mostly want to get better #1, and get compensated #2....THEY might mostly want to get compensated as #1, and, well, that's about it. Keep that in mind when considering your options for diagnoses, treatment, etc. You having a permanent injury = more $/less quality of life = larger check for your attorney. You actually getting better = less $ for both of you/higher quality of life.

Food for thought.

- Good luck!

I certainly agree with the advice to seek legal help. In your previous medical exams, did anyone run an MRI on you?

In the mean time, based on your description of the accident, you may have suffered damage such as compression to one or more of the C vertebrae (C1-8) on top of your spine in the neck area. This is common with any whiplash accident. You may find some relief from a chiropractor.

I had at least one employee that had terrible headaches, until I convinced him to go a Chiropractor a few times and after a later treatment, suddenly the pain was gone. Ditto for a girl discharged from the Marines who was told by a Marine doctor that physically, she was a basket case. I sent her to my Chiropractor and it took a year before her spine (including neck) was mostly corrected.

More specifically, most Chiropractors have an adjustable traction device that gently pulls apart the spine in the cervical or lumbar area to relieve pressure on the nerves which pass thru the various vertebrae. There are some cautious chiropractors who will not "take you to the cleaners' and adapt to the patient, both which adjustment as well as the minimal force necessary to make an adjustment.

As importantly, if the Chiropractor runs you thru what seems to be a standard set of adjustments, commonly called in Chiropractor "speak" - "the flying seven", find another Chiropractor.

I wish you well in your search for peace!

Ditto on the the MRI. I would insist on this and I would prefer that it be done on new equipment, maybe a 3 Tesla magnet if you have one around. Most facilities will get you a digital copy for no charge and you'll want the RAW data not just screen saves. You can take those anywhere then for a second opinion. Also, when I hear about violent trama I worry about CSF leakage. This can cause headaches, sensitivity to light, and neckache due to lowered pressure of CSF. MRI can locate any bleeds in the brain and possible areas where membranes can be tore. Additionally, 111-In DTPA testing can be done to confirm a CSF leak. Remember you are the victim and you have the right to receiving only the best testing and treatment treatment. I hope you feel better soon. You have nothing but support here, get well.

not to introduce any further worry into your situation, but regarding MRI scans: The average MRI unit that most of us might find ourselves in (sic) has a field strength of 1-1/2 Tesla. Less common are the 3 Tesla units, still authorized for human tests, but more limited application. There is a 7.4 Tesla MRI unit at the University of Chicago which does have a limited human application authorization. however a 7 Tesla unit will consistently cause vertigo/dizziness and disorientation to any patient when inside the tube, even to doctors themselves in tests. The 9.4 Tesla units has caused dizziness in more sensitive individuals simply walking by outside the exam room. The 16.4 Tesla units, and I know only of 2, are reserved for animal studies. My older daughter (used to be a 3T MRI tech, now a doctor) pointed out that the higher powers are usually used for brain studies. Higher power generally means higher resolution, but at the cost of a longer time during a scan. Notably there is a Youtube video of a live frog being levitated in a 16 Tesla field - complete with legs kicking & bouncing itself off the walls of the tube as it floated around.

The point of this post is for anyone about to undergo an MRI scan, to ensure that you have NO metallic "somethings" in your body. Even some tattoo inks have a metallic compound. In my MRI scans, although I told the tech that as an ex-Mil, I have no shrapnel in me, she was so concerned about anything metalllic that she ran me thru a brief CAT scan for free. She said that the MRI unit I was in would "rip" anything metalllic out of my body, or at least extensively vibrate it thus causing considerable internal damage and hemorrhages. She said that ex-Mils with shrapnel in their lower legs have had pain/discomfort when doing a head/neck MRI scan - for up to a day after the scan.