On Tuesday night, my wife and I were involved in a car crash. The other driver ran a red light. While my wife was taken by ambulance to a hospital—St. Joseph’s, which admitted and released her amazingly quickly—the move was more precautionary because she hit her head against the side window. We’re both sore. We went in for massages on Wednesday, and our backs were full of knots. I’m also going to see a chiropractor. We can be thankful that the crash wasn’t worse than it was. Because I was able to swerve a bit, the collision took place at an angle less than 90 degrees. Most of the energy of the crash went into car damage and tire friction; we were spun around about 180 degrees.
I’m grateful that the other driver and three witnesses provided accurate information to the police and to the insurance companies. So if you’re a primary witness to a crash, please stop, not only to help if needed, but to affirm the basic facts of the case. I’m very thankful for the time of the three witnesses.
I’m also grateful that my insurance, American National, and the other driver’s insurance, State Farm, have so far been very good about things. (I have yet to go through the claims process with State Farm, but I’m hopeful that it will go smoothly.) I’ve been impressed by the rapid responses and consideration shown by agents of both companies.
This is another reminder for us (and maybe for you, too) to keep our priorities straight.
I am glad to hear that neither you, nor your wife were seriously hurt.
I too am glad to hear that for getting in an accident like that you aren’t suffering horribly. Keep seeing your chiropractor – you probably haven’t yet felt the full effects. Speaking as someone who’s experienced a bit of whiplash in an over-40 body, I thought I was fine until about four to five days later, when it was bad enough that I was scared that life might have changed forever. It hadn’t – my body did just what it was supposed to. But I was very uncomfortable for a while. Lord be with you through this!
Mike Spalding, who was having trouble posting, suggests:
Ari, don’t take a settlement for a while. My neighbor was in a crash and it wasn’t until 6 months later that her doctor realized that her jaw needed to be reset because of hidden damage from the crash. It had been causing multi-hour headaches that began 3 months after the crash. You have a year – wait to see what else pops up.