Question

Need legal advice - In June of 2018, I was in an auto accident, the other person is at fault, that totaled my car and left me with over $4k in medical bills. I have Geico (auto) and BCBS (medical) and he has State Farm. I'm dealing with his insurance provider (SF) directly. They keep closing my claim because of "no new information, " which is not true because I literally sent them a medical records release form about a month ago. I'm beyond frustrated as this is going on over a year and a half. I can't figure out how to keep this moving so I can get my refunded the money. Do I need to call BCBS to make sure they got the form from SF? Should I get an attorney? Anyone have any advice on what to do?  

Answer 1

You need to go through Geico!  

Comments

@saransk - they’ve been barely any help in this process

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@emendation maybe a lawyer? It really should go through your insurance Co so weird!  

Answer 2

I would get an attorney.  

Answer 3

You can put a complaint into Illinois Department of Insurance.  

Comments

Agree. If you don't want to go the attorney route, file a complaint with IDOI. They will have to respond to them and its usually surprising how fast things start moving once the DOI is involved.  

Answer 4

At this point I would hire an attorney. To begin with I would have been going through Geico, thats there job to represent you since you pay them for insurance

Comments

@vicious they helped settle the car payment and then nothing beyond that!  

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@emendation that’s crappy. I would get a lawyer

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@emendation Your insurance would only cover your damage to your car. Your bodily injury claim would only go through the other driver's insurance. Just be careful because there is a time limit within which to file your lawsuit against the driver otherwise you are SOL. We who work in the legal field lovely call State Farm, Snake Farm because they love to screw over claimants who don't understand all the rules. I would recommend an attorney since you appear to be at least 6 months away from the two year anniversary of your auto accident.  

Answer 5

I had the same issue. I hired an attorney and when I went for my physical therapy etc I gave them her insurance company etc. Things got resolved a lot faster this way because when you have an attorney they will send a letter to the insurance company letting them know they are representing you and from their they will handle with it.  

Answer 6

When this happened to me, my insurance company made sure I got my payout. I’m pretty sure geico should be handling a lot of this for you.  

Answer 7

Geico should of hired an attorney for you and already had this handled.  

Answer 8

I would hire a personal injury lawyer.  

Answer 9

Once this is settled I would find a new auto insurance company. Geico is supposed to be the ones handling all this for you

Answer 10

I'm not 100% sure but I think it gets wonky with health and auto insurance. When I was in an accident a few years ago, they told me at ER that I shouldn't bill my medical insurance and they gave me pamphlets on how to handle it through auto.  

Comments

@bosom exactly! I think BCBS will need to be refunded and you will need to go through the medical claim from the auto insurance

Answer 11

If they handled 100% of your auto damages they should take care of 100% of the injuries that were a direct result of the accident as well as any lost wages and pain and suffering. Statute of limitations for injuries is 2 years in Illinois so you are getting close. An attorney may be the way to go if you aren’t getting any help but then keep in mind you will have to give a lot of your settlement away.  

Answer 12

I would get an attorney

Answer 13

You need to hire an attorney. The insurance companies will never give you what is fair unless an attorney is fighting for you. There are loopholes that they can find and also get medical bills reduced to help lower that expense. My daughter was hit by a drunk driver. passenger in an under insured car that wasn’t even at fault and our own personal vehicle insurance is the one being utilized. The driver who hit them had no insurance. Also your personal insurance if they haven’t already will expect payment back if a settlement is reached and your able to receive funds! Sounds crazy right? My daughters medical bills surpassed 125k and it’s been over 4 years and ours is still ongoing

Answer 14

It seems like you’ve sent them a release to get all your medical records. They should be actively obtaining all records and then settling. State Farm is a big carrier- something isn’t right. I would definitely file a complaint with the Department of Insurance and try calling again. They don’t want to respond to a complaint and they too want to get this closed and settled so I don’t know why this is happening? As a previous person stated, you have 2 years in the state of IL so I would definitely get a supervisor on the phone. If you do hire an attorney you will split 1/3 of the settlement with them and this isn’t a huge injury case so be sure to keep that in mind.  

Comments

@rhizopod @emendation as a former auto adjuster, I agree 100% with this. If you still have bills, they should still be paying. Make a complaint to the DOI, and then call SF, and speak with a supervisor, letting them know that you’ve called the DOI—it will make them work as quickly as they would with an attorney (who will take 1/3 of your settlement).  

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@tynan I was an adjuster too . I used to respond to those DOI letters. Yuck!  

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@rhizopod Lol no fun at all!  

Answer 15

You dont need to hire an attorney . Your insurance gieco will provide you with one . Im not sure what the parameters are but before you go paying any kind of attorney fees id call ur gieco . Geico gave me an attorney when i got sued after an accident .  

Comments

@gunar apparently they only provide an attorney if you get sued, not the other way around.  

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@emendation ahh i see. Then i agree get an attorney or put pressure on them and be super on thr asses and keep everything in writing . My father is really good at things like that while i shutter at the stress level of trying to balance things like that . Good luck mama ❤️

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@emendation That is correct, your insurance only provides you with legal counsel when you are the party being sued. They will take care of your property damage and then go after SF themselves for the reimbursement for the damage to vehicle only.  

Answer 16

I just talked to Geico and my claim rep is going to call me by Thursday or I have been instructed to call her directly.  

Answer 17

You need to hire an attorney. In my experience, State Farm is terrible to deal with, hence why we changed insurance companies

Answer 18

Contact Michael Goldberg in Shorewood. I used to work for him and he's a great Medical attorney

Answer 19

Omg I’m going thru exact same thing with State Farm!  

Answer 20

I would get a attorney ASAP

Answer 21

Absolutely get an attorney and fast! You have 2 years from date of accident to file legal proceedings.  

Answer 22

Sent u a pm

Answer 23

My husband was hit by a car a few year bad (he was on a bicycle) I can tell you after dealing with BS for months, we got an attorney, and it was the best thing we did. They guy that hit him continually stated it was his fault, and he did not wish to fight us. We had state farm and the person that hit him also had state farm. They were messing with us, until we got an attorney.  

Answer 24

I just filed a complaint with the IL Department of Insurance!  

Answer 25

Get a attorney, I was rear ended & the person had StateFarm they were horrible. I had over 15, 000 in medical bills, still have problems with my neck & back over 10 years later. I would have got nothing without a attorney.  

Answer 26

I didn’t read comments, but BCBS should be paying your medical bills and be looking to subrogate (make someone else pay) the rest.  

Answer 27

If you need an attorney, I would be more than happy to give you my husband's information. He is a partner at his law firm Woodruff, Johnson and Evans in Aurora. He can take a look at your case for free and let you know the next steps and if he can honestly help you. If you would like his contact information, don't hesitate to ask!  

Answer 28

Your insurance should be dealing with his insurance.  

Comments

@namedropping3358 This

Answer 29

Hi @emendation! I’m an attorney and one the attorneys I work with handles personal injury. I would contact an attorney ASAP as the statue of limitations is running out (2 years I believe). At that point you have no recourse. An attorney will help settle the claim to account for damages to vechile, medical, and pain/suffering. You can contact me directly if you want the info for the attorney at my office. Good luck.  

Answer 30

@emendation my husband got bit by a neighbors dog and we hired Dan Flaherty out of downtown Plainfield. He was exceptional at his job.  

Answer 31

Thank you everyone for all of the help and guidance! I talked to an attorney and since I recovered well with minimal injury and low medical bills, it's better for me to go out and get my medical records to send to State Farm. I've spoken to State Farm, BCBS of IL, and Geico - I'm just going to have to keep this in my hands as State Farm is trying to be sneaky with my claim. If sending the records myself doesn't work, the attorney will step in, and he is ready to go!  

Answer 32

I would say get an attorney and make the stipulation to cover your legal fees. State Farm is known as a company that will do whatever it takes not to payout claim. @emendation

Answer 33

Yep, get a lawyer. I was in an accident in August, same deal. I’m still dealing with the pain & getting treatment. All bills are going to my attorney. He tells me where to go & I show up. Then they bill him. Once all my treatment has been completed, he will take care of being reimbursed via the responsible party’s insurance.  

Answer 34

As long as your accident was 100% covered all of your injuries (check max coverage dollars) then there’s no reason for you to be doing any work whatsoever. You should get reimbursed by the at fault’s company plus some (a lot) for your pain and suffering. Don’t just accept payment for your bills.  

Comments

@karttikeya definitely - 100% should be covered. They are aware they owe me for lost time at work plus pain and suffering! I know the dollar value to cover my bills and I’m not budging on the other areas they owe me for.  

Answer 35

Are you bringing a claim directly to State Farm or asking Geico to do it ? Geico will only pursue State Farm for what Geico paid. not what you paid or for pain/suffering/general damages. If you present a bodily injury claim to State Farm then they will respond directly to you. Something is missing here. I do this day in and out. If you decide to hire an attorney, Keep in mind that they take 33% (at least) and the statute runs 2 years from the date of accident. If you get close to that date and the claim remains open. you will need to file a lawsuit.  

Comments

Feel free to DM if you have more questions

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@aback Geico went after the auto claim and that got settled instantly. BCBS and I are going after the medical costs. I just got all of the medical records and am going to send them directly to State Farm since they claim they can’t get the records even though they have the release form and the providers with exact dollar amounts. If nothing happens within 30 days, then I’ll get the lawyer involved.  

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Good luck. Send them an official “demand” and they will respond. List all the bills and include a lump sum amount of what you looking for. Go by the amount of the bills VS the BCBS paid amounts. They of course will negotiate lower but you won’t sell yourself short.  

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@aback thank you - that’s the plan and I’m sticking to it!  

Answer 36

Get an attorney. I got rear ended a few years back and the best decision over made was getting an attorney. If it ever happens again get an attorney immediately. It was such a relief not having to deal with anything.  

Answer 37

You have two years from the day of the accident to file a complaint

Comments

@duce91 complaint has been filed and is now being actively investigated!  

Answer 38

SF is the worst when you’re filing a claim against them. We were in an accident and it took almost 2 years to get a settlement with them.  

Answer 39

Get an attorney and get them to pay for it!