My husband and I are honest people and not scammers and we believe that most people are decent and will do the right thing, but we sure learned our lesson with this experience!!!!

Additional info re: 7/25/08 car accident:

State Farm cannot dispute fault because the 7/25/08 accident was witnessed by a DuPage County sheriff’s police officer who clearly saw that my husband had the green light as he went through the intersection when the young lady, who was talking on her cell phone, decided to make a left turn.  This officer spoke with the responding Wheaton officer and the young lady was issued a citation.  It was obvious that this was not a staged accident to scam the insurance company.

Just as it was not immediately apparent that my car had frame damage and was totaled, it was not immediately apparent that my husband was indeed injured (no external bleeding, didn’t feel as if there were broken bones and he was in shock). 

State Farm cannot dispute injury because the doctor’s official dx according to the paperwork from the 7/29/08 appointment was neck strain and spasm (with swelling and bruising on the shoulder) due to a car accident on 7/25/08.

When you are not a doctor and have never studied medicine, you have to rely on the judgment of the ‘professional’ (who you pay for their expertise) – your doctor.  Our now former doctor (given the severity of the accident and the fact that there was swelling and bruising, indicating an internal injury) should have sent my husband for x-rays and an MRI and possibly back to the orthopedic surgeon he had seen the year before (especially in light of the fact that my husband had been treated for pain in his shoulder by him at a prior date and it was probable that an existing problem could have been aggravated).  If she had indeed written in his medical record that his previous pain was work related, it was certainly news to my husband as she had not mentioned that to him and he had never told her that he had been injured at work.  Had he been injured at work, he would have been sent to a company approved facility for evaluation and treatment.  Had the orthopedic surgeon told him that his pain was work related (and he hadn’t because I was there with him), he would have followed the proper company procedures and filed a workman’s compensation claim and his company’s workman’s comp insurance not our health insurance would have paid the bills and saved us quite a bit of money in out of pocket co-pays and deductibles for 2+ months of physical therapy.  

It is true that our former doctor dropped the ball in her treatment or rather lack thereof.  She examined my husband and told him he was fine except for some swelling and the bruise.  She prescribed 3 months worth of ibuprofen, told him to ice his shoulder and to remember that since he was a diabetic, it would take longer to heal than if he wasn’t.  She had him make an appointment in 3 months.  Her official dx according to the paperwork from the 7/29/08 appointment was neck strain and spasm due to a car accident.  When he complained of continued pain at his appointment in October, she blew it off, told him to take over the counter ibuprofen and didn’t even record it in his medical record.  When my husband told her he was seeking other help for the pain in January since she was not doing anything for him, I’m sure she realized that she screwed up and could possible be sued.  That would explain her covering her ass with a claim of a previous ‘workman’s comp injury’ in her report to State Farm. 

However, even this should not absolve State Farm from settling the claim in a fair and equitable manner.  Just because you can deny a legitimate claim by law does not make it right or fair.   It’s all about money and greed.   We were screwed by our former doctor and by State Farm because we were not out to make a quick buck from this accident and therefore hadn’t hired an attorney. 

And so, in hindsight, I recommend:

Don’t be stupid like we were.  Hire an attorney.  Go to the emergency room.  Take photos of any visible signs of injury.  Run up doctor bills.  No matter how nice the claim representative is – remember he/she is out to screw you especially when you are honest and only want what’s right.  They get rewarded when they save the company money – that’s their job.