I was the victim, why do I have to lose everything?

I was in an auto accident May 9th, 2007. A general contractor had lost part of his load of plywood on the interstate and had backed up in the breakdown lane to try to retrieve it. A car in front of me swerved recklessly to avoid the plywood almost causing a side crash with the cars in the left lane, traffic was moderate to heavy. I had a long view to assess what to do so I chose to brake slightly and slow to approximately 50 mph and run over the 3 pieces of perfectly stacked plywood. The contractor walked from his driver door down the white line and stood at the passenger side of the trailer he was hauling loaded with more plywood. I was at least 25 feet from reaching the back of his trailer and a car behind me apparently "woke up" and saw that I had slowed...instead of braking she swerved to the breakdown lane and upon seeing the truck and trailer swerved back intothe right lane hitting the back of my SUV on the drivers side redirecting me directly into the contractor and the trailer he was standing at. I slammed on brakes but to no avail, the contractor could only throw up his hands in horror and he and I locked eyes as I hit him and his trailer. Upon impact, my suv went end over flew up 2 car lengths straight up in the air, did a 360 and landed on its wheels facing back towards the trailer and the highway. No one but me knew there was a man involved until people approached me and I asked about the man...They inquired what man, and then I pointed to his severed leg that layed at the trailer...he was found on my passenger side of my car where I had landed. A Marine had stopped at the scene and started screaming MAN DOWN! and yelled that he was gurgling...Rescue and police arrived as did the helicopter for med flight for the man. The woman who hit me refused treatment. I was taken to the ER for xrays and subsequently released with neck and shoulder injuries which I am currently in PT for. The MRI showed no bulging disc or nerve imapairment but they feel I have nerve damage in my shoulder and if PT is unable to relieve will have to go to an orthopedist for evaluation. The woman was found guilty of following too closely. My 2007 SUV was totaled and my insurance company was reimbursed by the womans insurance and the contractor's insurance as he if he had lived would have been charged with failure to secure load. As you may well expect, physically I expect to regain normal function for the present and can expect difficulty as I get older...but emotionally I am in counseling due to the horrific nature of seeing me crush and kill a man with my vehicle and the following horrors immediately following the accident. My projected medical cost is approx $10000.00 but since the accident, I have lost my employer paid insurance, which now I am forced to pay and have lost my job due to my being unable to work. I have no disability insurance, my out of pocket medical expenses are 300 a week not including my insurance premium. I have lost a $3000 a month net pay and when able will have to find a new job. However due to the horrific nature of the accident, I have been left unable to drive physically temporarily and unable to drive emotionally for an undetermined amount of time. My attorney has stated that getting my medical and lost wages would be not a problem but that I would probably not be compensated for my emotional damages. He is waiting until I am as good as I can be before filing against both insurance companies which means I will have to sue the man's estate... Isnt there anything that can be done for me now? He says no because this is Virginia so in the meantime, I will probably lose my home, ruin my credit and suffer more stress from that...In all accounts, I was the victim. I was found by the laser investigation, the state police to be a non contributor. The contractor and the woman were found to be the only contributors and at fault. Is this a case that can stand before a jury and they see the damage this has done to my entire life?? My attorney says he doesnt know. Can you help me with advice?

I can only offer a few suggestions to help alleviate some of the stress you're currently facing. It's only been approximately 45 days, accepting your post as face value, and not too late to take control of your financial circumstances. If you haven't already, I'd suggest you contact each of your creditors individually, both via telephone and in writing. Given such an unusual situation, most should be willing to work with you and at the very least, grant a temporary deferrment on your account .. some will even go so far as to forgive both interest and late fees. If you're persistent and include as much documentation with your written requests, you should be able to work out a short-term arrangement. It's not unusual to go as long as 6 months with either reduced or deferred payments, depending on the creditor.

I'm also posting a link below to help you in the meantime. Sections 805-811 should help you understand what a creditor can do in the way they attempt to collect on overdue accounts.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.shtm

I can assure you that this is an unusual set of circumstances and although you may have 'black marks' on your credit history in the near future, it won't prevent you from obtaining new credit in the future. The sooner you contact your individual lenders, the sooner you have a record that demonstrates your willingness to repay and in particular, willingness to work with them during an admittedly very difficult time. In the credit sense, your "entire life" hasn't been ruined, it has only been temporarily affected. I understand this isn't quite what you asked, but I believe it may help in getting at least a little control over some very difficult circumstances. It may not seem so now, but I think you're very lucky to have survived an admittedly horrible experience.

Good luck to you.

I know it's been a long time since the first post but....

Was the driver of the truck with the uncovered load "on the Job"? If so you you can seek remedy from the employer.

Negligence in employment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've just been involved in an accident where the driver fell asleep at the wheel while he was on the job.

By his own admission, he said that this had happend 3 previous times while he was on the job. My attorney got a copy of his DMV record and his company keeps bailing him out somehow and there were more than just three violations of various sources that caused accidents. They guy is a menace to society!

Has anyone on this forum had any experinece with claims involving accidents caused by or involving drivers under employment?

My husband and a 22 year old co worker were killed May 3 of last year when the work truck they were riding in was struck head on by a school bus. I won a sizeable workmans comp settlement (since he was at work when he was killed) and I have a wrongful death suit and a survivors suit against the state ( not the school bus driver personally) since he was acting in the scope of his job when he caused the accident. My state caps out on the amounts of those lawsuits at 600K per person ( meaning for my family and the same amount for the young man that was killed). Other employers do not have this 'cap', but since my suit is against the state, it has a maximum. The bus driver is suing my husbands employer, trying to assert a claim that somehow the truck driver had some liability. However, I havent followed that proverbial train very closely since my husband was a passenger---and his participation on those tragic events that day aren't in question.