Q: I was recently in a car accident and the other driver was at fault.

A: Yes, the insurance company needs to ensure that you have recovered from your current complaints before they can settle your injury claim. They will also need to see your doctor bills/reports regarding possible future treatment you may need in order to finalize your future medical payment claim. As long as you confirm the payments he's offering you at this point do not prejudice your rights to further future payments and you don't sign any release of claims, you can cash these initial checks.

A: do yourself a favor and contact a local PI lawyer to assist you.

You should NOT be talking to the insurance co........you can only hurt your case by saying something you didn't mean to say or their thinking you said something you did NOT say.

if the accident was not your fault, you should be seeing doctors to validate that claim.

otherwise, you won't collect anything for what you are going through.

A: Insurance carrier adjusters are paid to investigate and limit how much is paid by insurance companies especially when dealing trauma victims without an attorney.

Given you had a pre-existing surgery, you are more susceptible to an aggravation of your pre-existing condition. Many people are unaware they sustained an aggravation due it being a progressively worsening condition over many months. Examples are increasing bladder, sexual and/or bladder dysfunction cause by a lumbar spine injury to name a few. Unfortunately, many doctors are merely gate keepers for HMOs, who don’t order needed diagnostic studies due to insurance companies wanting to limit medical costs and/or simply they don’t have the experience to evaluate and treat traumatic injuries.

Experienced attorneys who have represented many clients, who sustained similar injuries are able to guide you and provide recommendations on the value of any potential settlement. That experienced attorney can also review your medical records and identify issues needing an evaluation by a medical doctor who has experience with traumatic injuries. An experienced attorney generally gets better settlements than an unrepresented person.

You have nothing to lose by getting an evaluation by an experienced attorney, who should be willing to provide an initial free consultation. I strongly recommend you avail yourself with such a consultation.