Legal Advice on Personal Injury - Legal Advice

Questioner

2 years ago I had an accident one morning, while overtaking a tractor without a flashing light on its plough that spontaneously turned the corner without looking to enter a meadow. In doing so I came to a standstill against a tree while swerving. The car was a total loss, I on the other hand was completely shaken up and got out of the car without any tears in my clothes. After examination by the ambulance staff there was doubt about taking me to the hospital. However, because I had never had an accident before I chose to first deal with all the paperwork. I had to report to the GP around 13:00. He was on the verge of sending me to the emergency room by ambulance, but my wife took me. In the hospital I could barely access my e-mail address and even walking normally was no longer fun. After some drama and trying to get the other party's insurance company to pay the costs and compensation properly. Now, new problems have been playing up for a year. I was wearing a coat with thick buttons, 1 of these buttons was right under the belt that had to lose its strength due to the hard blow on my sternum. It started with chest pain. I went to the GP for this, the expectation was that there might be a small tear in the sternum. After some examinations by the GP I was referred. In the hospital they took a number of pictures of it. This turned out not to be the case. In order to find out exactly what the complaints were I was on a lot of ibuprofen and paracetamol for a while. This solved the problems temporarily. Because this obviously can't go on for the rest of my life, my GP referred me to the pain clinic. The pain clinic also expected it to be a tear, so they immediately looked at the sternum in combination with an ultrasound, but they couldn't find any damage. They therefore assume that it is nerve damage. That is why they injected a (painful) injection between/under my ribs and against the sternum on 23 May 2017. Yesterday (2-8-2017) they repeated this procedure again and gave 2 injections, 1 directly on the sternum and 1 again in the same place as the previous time. The biggest question I have now is whether I can claim these costs of the examinations and injections from the other party's insurance?

Lawyer

How awful that you are still suffering from the accident. Did you also ask the specialist whether they assume that this injury could still be caused by the accident? If so, then you can certainly claim the costs that you are now incurring from the insurer. This is only different if you entered into a settlement agreement with the insurer when you received the compensation. If it states that payment of the compensation amount was given against final settlement, then the insurer will probably object to this.

Lawyer

It is annoying that you are still stuck with the consequences of the accident. Were you able to hold the insurer or the other party liable for your damage at the time? Please note that the insurer of the other party will dispute your current injury due to the passage of time and you will then have to be able to prove that the injury is the result of the accident. It is advisable in any case to hold the insurer or other party liable, unless the case has been settled. If you wish, I can assist you with this. Please contact me directly if you would like more information or have any questions.

Lawyer

Legally it is important to know whether the compensation paid out at that time was against final discharge. If so, you can expect the insurance of the other party to defend itself, regardless of the time lapse. It seems to me that it is up to your current health insurance company whether they wish to recover these costs. The most important thing, of course, is your complete recovery.