Any thoughts or comments about the following?
About six weeks ago, I (driving a '99 Saturn SL2) was rear-ended while trying to leave a parking lot. I was stopped at a red light, inched out a bit to see my way clear for a right turn, and the driver who was stopped behind me (in a Dodge Grand Caravan) apparently put her foot on the gas (!) instead of the brake.
The impact, from my POV, was very loud, sudden, and forceful -- definitely =not= a "love tap" -- and I felt like something had pushed hard against the middle of my back, and that the wind had been knocked out of me. I fully expected to find the rear end of my Saturn reduced to a crumpled mess -- but, to my surprise, there was almost no visible damage at all (just some deforming of the plastic rear bumper cover).
Subsequent repairs (done by a body shop recommended to me by the nearby Saturn retailer) came to roughly $800. The body shop people said they had checked for other damage but found none.
I didn't hit anything (there was no car in front of me, and I was not pushed out into traffic; I had my foot on the brake at the instant of the collision, BTW). Thus, there was no front-end damage at all, and the air bags did =not= go off.
I've had lower back pain ever since the accident. Not searing, stabbing, intolerable pain, thankfully -- more like a very sore feeling at, and below, my belt line. My doctor had it X-rayed, but this revealed only normal degeneration (I'm 52). He says it's probably a sprain of the lumbar region. I've been sent to a physical therapy clinic; I've had one session (mild back exercise, plus electrical stimulation and ice) and have been prescribed six more (twice a week for the next three weeks).
Thankfully, I do not seem to have suffered any neck or head injury. I was wearing my seat belt (I'm guessing that the "wind knocked out of me" sensation may have been from my body being thrown against the shoulder belt). I didn't lose consciousness, and my head definitely did =not= whip forward or strike anything.
In case it matters any, I was rear-ended six years ago (more forcefully than this time). Although it took quite a long time for my back to heal from that incident, I did eventually get better, and I was no longer having back pain by the time I was rear-ended last month (i.e., the pain from this accident is definitely =not= simply a continuation of pain from the earlier accident).
The other driver's insurance company (Allstate) has admitted liability for the collision -- it would of course be very hard for them not to! -- but since there was so little damage to my car, they're making noises to the effect that they intend to treat my injury claim as a "minor impact case", involving only minimal discomfort, and that they plan to agree only to a modest reimbursement for doctor bills. (I have not yet made any demand or agreed to any settlement for my injuries, BTW.)
Some questions:
Given that the impact apparently did not bend the frame or cause significant damage (other than cosmetic damage) to my Saturn's rear end, is there any way to do a rough guess of how fast the Caravan might have been going when it hit me? (I know Saturns are supposed to have 5-mph bumpers, but does that necessarily mean that a collision faster than 5 mph =will= result in damage to more than just the bumper?)
The body shop (supposed to be a very good shop, and recommended to me by the nearby Saturn dealer's service department after I expressed concern that I wanted to be very sure my car would be repaired right) insisted there was no frame or body damage. I'd assume that they're probably right -- if by any chance they were dishonest or incompetent, I'd imagine they'd be more inclined to claim there was more damage rather than less -- and the car does appear to handle just fine as far as I can tell -- but is there any reasonable way to confirm that my vehicle really is (or is not) fine?
Has anyone else out there had long-lasting lower back injury from what appeared to be a minor, slow-speed rear-end collision? How long did it take for your back to heal? What did you have to do to get long-term relief from the pain? Were you able to get the other person's insurance company to believe the true extent of your injury and give you a proper settlement, and if so, how did you do it?
Rich Wales snipped-for-privacy@richw.org