Close calls
UFO_Charlie
wrote:
>Anyone got any stories of interesting close-calls you've experienced?
Walking home with mom one day, I must have been seven or so. We're walking
home, we hear 5 loud pops coming from across the street. (We live in a sort
of courtyard, and "across the street" is about 75 yards down.)
We found out later, they were gunshots. Some psycho started shooting at his
ex-girlfriend from a 4th-floor window as she was leaving in a cab. A lot of
my then-good friends lived in the building where it went down. Luckily, no
one (at least no one that I knew) was hurt.
--
***UFO_Charlie***
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[Discombobulate my email address to reply.]
RM Mentock
> Anyone got any stories of interesting close-calls you've experienced?
I was around ten maybe and we were on a family outing (!), picnicking
and fishing in a river. We waded in the river, though it was cold.
My dad jumped in and swam over by the far shore, where it was deep
enough to swim but the current was fast, under a large cliff face.
After we were done and the car was packed, I realized I'd forgotten
something. I ran the couple hundred yards back through the trees
to the river bank, and as I stopped across from it, the entire cliff
face parted and slid explosively into the river. The river boiled
viciously for a few seconds, and then everything was as before.
Nobody else remembers that, though I told everybody at the time.
--
RM Mentock
panta rhei -- Heraclitis
http://mentock.home.mindspring.com/
rob...@bestweb.net
each way, we just avoided a really bad accident behind us as we entered one
with Mother driving. Didn't look that bad as I looked back, but apparently
she'd just gotten beyond someone coming the other way who was veering into
the oncoming lane and hit someone head-on behind us.
Once as I entered a slushy Sprain Brook Parkway southbound at Grasslands
Rd., I spun a full circle and came to rest in the median. Traffic was light
enough that nobody hit me as I crossed 3 lanes, I didn't hit anything, and
fortunately I didn't slip the other way down the steep embankment (guarded
by flimsly railing) near the entrance ramp on the right. Just think how it
might've been had I been in a car at the time! (Just kidding; I was.)
Robert
And knowing is half the battle.
did what it was supposed and we went tooling off. Ooops. Accident just happened
ahead of us.
I thought that if the ATM had coporated, the hospital might have been pulling a
full wallet out of my pocket.
--
"When life hands you a lemon, pull out a gun and start shooting."
"It's all fun and games until somebody gets eaten." - Louis
http://login.internettrash.com/users/lots42/index.html - Mar 6
And knowing is half the battle.
died.
GrapeApe
Sounds like the purpose of Church Picnics are a hope for the children to get to
their heavenly award even sooner, and protect them from this veil of tears.
I remember church gatherings as being huge sin fests. I never saw such hormonal
heat waves pouring off youngsters as then. Apparently the protection of the
Lord made it all hunky dory and copasetic. School gatherings, by comparison,
were never as naughty.
Dana Carpender
I was coming home from Cumberland Falls KY, where I'd been at a
weekend-long massage training. I'd taken our camper to save money on
lodging, so I was towing a trailer. It was about 3 am, the roads were
empty, and I was, I admit, speeding -- doing probably 70 on a St. Rt.
marked for 55, IIRC. Some guy made a left turn out of a state park
(wonder what he was doing leaving a state park at that hour...) right in
front of me, didn't stop at the stop sign, nuthin'. There was no time
to stop. Thank God, there was a pretty wide, flat shoulder right there;
I whipped around him, no harm done, although I may have given him a
heart attack for all I know.
Then I had a nervous breakdown.
--
Dana W. Carpender
Author, How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet -- And Lost Forty Pounds!
http://www.holdthetoast.com
Check out our FREE Low Carb Ezine!
Al Yellon
news:3AA54B86...@kiva.net...
>
> I was coming home from Cumberland Falls KY, where I'd been at a
> weekend-long massage training. I'd taken our camper to save money on
> lodging, so I was towing a trailer. It was about 3 am, the roads were
> empty, and I was, I admit, speeding -- doing probably 70 on a St. Rt.
> marked for 55, IIRC. Some guy made a left turn out of a state park
> (wonder what he was doing leaving a state park at that hour...) right in
> front of me, didn't stop at the stop sign, nuthin'. There was no time
> to stop. Thank God, there was a pretty wide, flat shoulder right there;
> I whipped around him, no harm done, although I may have given him a
> heart attack for all I know.
Wow.
I had one like this once -- was driving down the NY Thruway near Syracuse in
one of the lake-effect snowstorms so typical of that part of the country. I
spun out on the exit ramp and was having trouble getting out, when I saw a
semi bearing down on me. Luckily I was able to get out in time.
--
**********************************
AY - Charter Member, DBFC
http://www.dbfc.org
**********************************
Jerry Bauer
<GO-SPAM-YO-...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
<<< snipped >>>
>Anyone got any stories of interesting close-calls you've experienced?
>
I've read all responses to this thread up to the time of this writing.
Several people have described brushes with death. So the answer to
your question is: yes.
Flippancy aside, I can recall no such incident happening to me. Have
I lived a charmed life (so far), or are there others who do not recall
such close calls?
Jerry "or am I just repressing the memories" Bauer
Mirhanda Sarko
>
>I was coming home from Cumberland Falls KY,
Did you see the moonbow?
Mirhanda
--
Decapitate my addy to email me
I know who you are!! You are the character who occasionally appears in the
comic strip "Sylvia", as "The Woman Who Does Everything More Beautifully
Than You Do".
Les, speaking of me, in alt.fan.cecil-adams
Dana Carpender
Mirhanda Sarko wrote:
>
> dcar...@kiva.net (Dana Carpender) wrote in alt.fan.cecil-adams:
>
> >
> >I was coming home from Cumberland Falls KY,
>
> Did you see the moonbow?
Nope. At that event, I had no time, and when I went for a long weekend
that 4th of July, with the husband, it was the wrong time of month.
I'll have to go back.
Ixion
I lived a charmed life (so far), or are there others who do not recall
such close calls?>>>
I almost moved in with a woman once.
If I ever had a more horrifying close shave, I'd like to hear about it.
EdGein15
Turn me on, dead man
Mirhanda Sarko
>
>
>Mirhanda Sarko wrote:
>>
>> dcar...@kiva.net (Dana Carpender) wrote in alt.fan.cecil-adams:
>>
>> >
>> >I was coming home from Cumberland Falls KY,
>>
>> Did you see the moonbow?
>
>Nope. At that event, I had no time, and when I went for a long weekend
>that 4th of July, with the husband, it was the wrong time of month.
>I'll have to go back.
>
Definitely. Very cool, the moonbow :)
Richard
working on my multi-engine rating. When you go for your flight test, part
of the exam is to actually shut down an engine in flight and re-start it.
It's every bit as creepy as it sounds, but what's unexpected is how hard the
engine shakes and coughs as you start it back up. It will shake the whole
plane. This is with piston engines on training airplanes, not jets, by the
way.
Anyway, as we were taxiing out, I noticed one engine propeller hub moving
kind of eliptically, as if the whole engine was moving around a little bit.
I looked at the other engine and it wasn't doing the same. I mentioned it
to my examiner, but he dismissed it.
Up we went, flying around, with him "failing" enigines by just pulling the
throttle back. I made a landing with a "fake" failed engine and as we were
taxiing out for the final test, the actual shutdown, I looked again and damn
if that engine wasn't moving around, like it was loose. I pointed it out
again, he dismissed it again--however, right before we took off, he changed
his mind and we just taxied in to have a mechanic look at it. The mechanic
pulled the cowl, reached in and gave a grab at the mounting frame and pulled
it apart.
Sure enough,the engine mount was completely broken. That engine would have
been the one we shut down and re-started, too and it very certainly would
have come off in the air. It might have even come off on the next takeoff.
He gave me the rating, and neither one of us ever mentioned that I didn't
complete the whole checkride.
I have many other stories, but most of them deal with me (almost) being an
idiot. I don't really consider them "close calls", since I could (and did)
control the outcome.
-Richard
Mike Williams
>Anyone got any stories of interesting close-calls you've experienced?
Not particularly interesting ones, but I've been close to death three
times in two different directions.
I once fell under a train.
I once had some scuba gear fail on me and the buddy I was with turned
out to be incapable of managing his half of the buddy-breathing
technique. I ended up having to do a buoyant ascent (which can be very
dangerous if you forget to breathe out).
The close call from the other direction was when the police come round
early one morning with the intention of informing my next of kin that I
had been murdered. The conversation started something like this:-
"Does Michael Williams live in this flat?"
"Yes. I'm Michael Williams."
"I'm sorry, we must have the wrong address."
It turned out that there was another guy with the same name in my
street, and the police didn't know which number he lived at so they went
looking at the names beside the doorbells.
--
Mike Williams
Gentleman of Leisure
Mark Brader
> I once fell under a train.
Wow! How? (And where?)
About 25 years ago was I living near a major railway line, which then
had one level crossing on a side street in the area. (Specifically,
the CPR line to southwestern Ontario, and Montgomery Road in what was
then Etobicoke.) One day I was out for a walk and a train crossed in
front of me. I waited patiently for it to finish passing, but didn't
bother watching for the arms in front of the road traffic to rise
before I stepped smartly across the tracks.
Both tracks.
Including the one where the *other* train was almost up to the crossing.
Missed me by *that* much...
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "Any story that needs a critic to explain it,
m...@vex.net | needs rewriting." -- Larry Niven
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Mike Williams
>Mike Williams writes:
>> I once fell under a train.
>
>Wow! How? (And where?)
There had been a sudden freeze overnight. The street and most of the
platform had been gritted. As I ran to catch the train as it was just
about to pull away I didn't spot the fact that there was a strip along
the edge of the platform where the ice hadn't been gritted. My feet shot
out from under me and I hurtled, feet first, off the edge of the
platform and under the train. Luckily, the guard spotted me and stopped
the train before I got hurt.
Rectory Road station, London, northbound platform.
Mark Brader
> There had been a sudden freeze overnight. The street and most of the
> platform had been gritted. As I ran to catch the train as it was just
> about to pull away I didn't spot the fact that there was a strip along
> the edge of the platform where the ice hadn't been gritted. My feet shot
> out from under me and I hurtled, feet first, off the edge of the
> platform and under the train.
Ouch!
Of course, this is only possible because of the platform being high off
the ground yet not as high as the train floor. A uniquely British idea,
that, TTBOMKAB.
> Luckily, the guard spotted me and stopped the train before I got hurt.
Wheeee-ew.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "[That] statement is so full of hubris
m...@vex.net | you can hear the wax melting." -- Steve Summit
Anny Middon
news:Nkcp6.772$Up.4...@sea-read.news.verio.net...
>
> Flippancy aside, I can recall no such incident happening to me. Have
> I lived a charmed life (so far), or are there others who do not recall
> such close calls?
>
> Jerry "or am I just repressing the memories" Bauer
>
situation to realize it. If you take a minute to do something and then see
a bad accident that occurred on the road where you would have been if you
hadn't taken that minute, you see it as a close call. If you don't do
something you should have that takes a minutes and the accident happens a
minute behind you, you may never realize you had a close call. (Syntax
there seems awfully convoluted. It's just that people say, "If I hadn't
stopped to change my socks, I would have been killed" far more often than
"If I'd stopped to change my socks, I would have been killed".)
Something like this happened to my brother many years ago. There was an el
accident, where the train had come off the tracks and dangled onto the
street and several people were killed. He normally took that train and got
on the stop before where the accident occurred. That day he left work five
minutes early and happened to catch an earlier train. He didn't know
anything about his close call until he got home and found his wife almost in
hysterics. If he had avoided a car accident instead of the newsbreak el
accident, he may never have known.
Anny
Jerry Bauer
Anny Middon <An...@enteractNOSPAM.com> wrote:
>"Jerry Bauer" <ba...@shell3.ba.best.com> wrote in message
>news:Nkcp6.772$Up.4...@sea-read.news.verio.net...
>>
>> Flippancy aside, I can recall no such incident happening to me. Have
>> I lived a charmed life (so far), or are there others who do not recall
>> such close calls?
>>
>> Jerry "or am I just repressing the memories" Bauer
>>
>I suspect you've had your fair share of close calls and not been in a
>situation to realize it. If you take a minute to do something and then see
>a bad accident that occurred on the road where you would have been if you
>hadn't taken that minute, you see it as a close call. If you don't do
>something you should have that takes a minutes and the accident happens a
>minute behind you, you may never realize you had a close call. (Syntax
>there seems awfully convoluted. It's just that people say, "If I hadn't
>stopped to change my socks, I would have been killed" far more often than
>"If I'd stopped to change my socks, I would have been killed".)
>
I don't live my life in the subjunctive.
Sure, I can imagine all sorts of things that might have happened to
me, but didn't. I can imagine things like, "If I had just bought a
ticket and picked those six numbers, I'd be rich!" That didn't
happen, either. How close must a close call be? I've had friends die
-- is that close? I've been in car accidents; does that count?
When I look back over my almost half-century, I see some hard times,
and events that were painful, experiences that hurt to live through.
But honestly, they all look like blessings from here, now.
So, yes, I guess maybe I've had some close calls.
And I'm lucky to be alive.
Jerry Randal Bauer
Anny Middon
> >I suspect you've had your fair share of close calls and not been in a
> >situation to realize it. If you take a minute to do something and then
see
> >a bad accident that occurred on the road where you would have been if you
> >hadn't taken that minute, you see it as a close call. If you don't do
> >something you should have that takes a minutes and the accident happens a
> >minute behind you, you may never realize you had a close call. (Syntax
> >there seems awfully convoluted. It's just that people say, "If I hadn't
> >stopped to change my socks, I would have been killed" far more often than
> >"If I'd stopped to change my socks, I would have been killed".)
> >
>
> I don't live my life in the subjunctive.
>
> Sure, I can imagine all sorts of things that might have happened to
> me, but didn't. I can imagine things like, "If I had just bought a
> ticket and picked those six numbers, I'd be rich!" That didn't
> happen, either. How close must a close call be? I've had friends die
> -- is that close? I've been in car accidents; does that count?
Gee, I don't know, Jerry. You were the one who said he could recall no
close calls, and wondered if he had lived a charmed life. I merely pointed
out that you may well have had your share of close calls but circumstances
were such that you couldn't recognize them as such.
<shrug> Then again, maybe you do live a charmed life.
Anny
Jerry Bauer
My point, if I had one, would be that things that didn't happen didn't
happen. That which doesn't kill me doesn't kill me.
"Close calls" are just things that happened. They are not things that
almost happened.
So, I don't remember any "close calls" per se, because I didn't and
don't internalize what they were "close" to. As much as I can, I live
in the world in which things happened, not the one in which things
almost happened.
I've been in circumstances in which I could have died. Yet, I don't
remember them as "close calls". I wasn't close to dying. I didn't
die. The situation was dangerous, but things turned out all right.
All sorts of "what if" scenarios could have played out -- only one
did. Which of the others was it close to?
There have been times when I have regretted a past action, and
thought, "... if only I had ...". But beyond the educational value,
the road not taken remains not taken. Memory of the choice and its
consequences may affect future choices, but the past choice remains.
As you wrote:
It's just that people say, "If I hadn't stopped to change my
socks, I would have been killed" far more often than "If I'd
stopped to change my socks, I would have been killed".
You have rightly identified the similarity that each expression has to
reality. It's just that I don't say the first for much the same
reason that most people don't say the second.
Thank goodness I changed my socks this morning! Or not!
Jerry Randal Bauer
Anny Middon
>
> My point, if I had one, would be that things that didn't happen didn't
> happen. That which doesn't kill me doesn't kill me.
>
> "Close calls" are just things that happened. They are not things that
> almost happened.
>
> So, I don't remember any "close calls" per se, because I didn't and
> don't internalize what they were "close" to. As much as I can, I live
> in the world in which things happened, not the one in which things
> almost happened.
Ok, makes sense. It was just that your original post sure made it seem like
you were questioning whether or not you had what others were calling close
calls, not how you perceived them.
Anny
Bobby Denrod
<GO-SPAM-YO-...@bigfoot.com> Wrote:
| Anyone got any stories of interesting close-calls you've experienced?
|
A bunch of years ago, a few buds and I went to the Hinckley parachute center
(Hinckley, IL --sp?) to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Turns out
that plane wasn't so perfectly good. The next weekend, a bunch of people
died when the plane crashed seconds after take-off. I still remember calling
my friend on the Friday before the crash to see if he wanted to go back.
Thank God he had a date.
Also, in '95, I was climbing in Golden, Co., when a rock fell and did some
serious damage to the cabeza of the guy standing about 10 feet to my left.
He turned out to be OK, but had a heck of a lump and one of the weirdest
looking bruises I've ever seen. <<Shudder>>
RM Mentock
>
> <GO-SPAM-YO-...@bigfoot.com> Wrote:
> | Anyone got any stories of interesting close-calls you've experienced?
> |
> | -- Geno
>
> A bunch of years ago, a few buds and I went to the Hinckley parachute center
> (Hinckley, IL --sp?) to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Turns out
O yeah, my first jump was a fiasco. The wind shifted, I landed a half
mile from the target area, in the midst of power lines, barn, corrals,
barking dogs chasing me, and some very agitated horses. I screamed so
loud from the exhileration of being on the ground that both dogs turned
tail and ran.
Rich Clancey
+ Anyone got any stories of interesting close-calls you've experienced?
+ -- Geno
In the summer of 1969 I was in Isla Vista near the University
of California at Santa Barbara. I had an overnight shift on the
universityradio station, KCSB, and one night somebody didn't show so
they asked me to fill in. I bicycled over and played a couple of
hours of Miles Davis or something, when Mr. DJ showed up half
pahlookad and a two hours late for his show. I packed up and headed
home through the very sleepy deserted streets of Isla Vista.
The next morning, the bodies of two or three students were
found on the beach, hacked to small pieces sometime in the middle of
the night. They never did solve the crime. I saw a van driving up
from the beach, and it was probably the ax murderer, since nobody else
is ever up at that hour there.
I was also awake one night a few years back in an apartment
with a lovely view of the Gardner Museum in Boston. I was sitting at
the window reading, having decided not to try to take a walk at that
hour. Turns out that at the time a couple of guys had forced their
way into the museum and taken several priceless paintings including
Rembrandt's only seascape. Had I gone for a stroll I probably would
have bumped into them, they were parked right accross the street. I'm
sure I saw the car drive by.
--
rich clancey r...@world.std.com rcla...@massart.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I often think there should exist a special typographical sign
for a smile -- some sort of concave mark, a supine round bracket.
~ Vladimir Nabokov, April 1969
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Goss
>Flippancy aside, I can recall no such incident happening to me. Have
>I lived a charmed life (so far), or are there others who do not recall
>such close calls?
I've spun out in my brother's car. No big deal. He lost control on
snow, and eventually we hit the guardrail at maybe 25 MPH. And drove
off again.
A few years later, I lost contol while speeding on snow, and ended up
spinning into a snowbank at well over thirty. Some of my joints hurt
for a week, but no big deal.
Another time, I had a car spinning at me down my lane of the highway.
I moved over into her lane and watched her go by. I was scared I
might have to explain things to the insurance company if she regained
control and her own lane. I turned around and helped push her out of
a snowbank. No big deal.
I had to drive across someone's lawn to avoid hitting a police car
once.
I think that some of us shrug off an uncontrolled situation more
lightly than others do.
tooloud10
news:5tfbatk9thftnn3o7...@4ax.com...
> ba...@shell3.ba.best.com (Jerry Bauer) wrote:
>
> >Flippancy aside, I can recall no such incident happening to me. Have
> >I lived a charmed life (so far), or are there others who do not recall
> >such close calls?
>
> I've spun out in my brother's car. No big deal. He lost control on
> snow, and eventually we hit the guardrail at maybe 25 MPH. And drove
> off again.
<snip>
You just made me realize how many close calls I've had. I've been in one
fairly high-speed rollover, a t-bone at roughly 40 mph or so, a rear-ending
several years ago, hitting a deer at 80 mph in my little pickup, and got
rear-ended last September while I was completely stopped and a 4X4 pickup
travelling 55 mph slammed directly into my car.
The only major problem I've had is a back injury from the last incident. I'm
*still* sorting out bills and battling an insurance adjustor who apparently
thinks $3500 is an accurate dollar amount to affix to a potential lifetime
of back pain. <sigh> Lovely people, I tell you...
--
Jake
Remove nothing to reply
Rick Howard
tooloud10 wrote
> You just made me realize how many close calls I've had. I've been in one
> fairly high-speed rollover, a t-bone at roughly 40 mph or so, a
rear-ending
> several years ago, hitting a deer at 80 mph in my little pickup, and got
> rear-ended last September while I was completely stopped and a 4X4 pickup
> travelling 55 mph slammed directly into my car.
>
> The only major problem I've had is a back injury from the last incident.
I'm
> *still* sorting out bills and battling an insurance adjustor who
apparently
> thinks $3500 is an accurate dollar amount to affix to a potential lifetime
> of back pain. <sigh> Lovely people, I tell you...
Ouch! Do you have a diagnosis yet?
Big David
Rick Howard <ri...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:98f5gv$ra1$1...@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net...
More importantly, do you have a lwyer yet?
--
Big David
If you want to send me email, you should be smart enough to figure out how.
"There is no right not to be offended by words, actions, or symbols".
Richard E. Sincere, Jr.
tooloud10
news:ArHq6.169684$B6.37...@news1.rdc1.md.home.com...
>
>
> Rick Howard <ri...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:98f5gv$ra1$1...@nntp9.atl.mindspring.net...
> >
> > tooloud10 wrote
> >
> >
> > > You just made me realize how many close calls I've had. I've been in
one
> > > fairly high-speed rollover, a t-bone at roughly 40 mph or so, a
> > rear-ending
> > > several years ago, hitting a deer at 80 mph in my little pickup, and
got
> > > rear-ended last September while I was completely stopped and a 4X4
> pickup
> > > travelling 55 mph slammed directly into my car.
> > >
> > > The only major problem I've had is a back injury from the last
incident.
> > I'm
> > > *still* sorting out bills and battling an insurance adjustor who
> > apparently
> > > thinks $3500 is an accurate dollar amount to affix to a potential
> lifetime
> > > of back pain. <sigh> Lovely people, I tell you...
> >
> >
> > Ouch! Do you have a diagnosis yet?
I've been through physical therapy with a little success. However, I
consistently have back pain almost every day yet. Some days are better than
others.
> More importantly, do you have a lwyer yet?
Well, see, that's the thing--I've been struggling with the decision. Many
people are telling me that accounting for the lawyer's fees, I'd be able to
negotiate a better deal on my own. Others are telling me that I'm stupid for
not contacting a lawyer.
I'm not trying to make a million bucks on this deal, but considering my
overwhelming innocence in this incident, I feel that I should be compensated
for my pain, hassle, and time. It was 5 PM on a beautiful Friday afternoon.
I was properly stopped with my blinker on waiting to turn, and three
19-year-old kids in a huge Chevy 4X4 just creamed me. I watched in disbelief
through the rear-view mirror while the driver nonchalantly looked at and
spoke to his friend in the passenger seat while he hit me. Don't ask me
anything after that--I don't remember much.
I guess I have a gut feeling that I'm going to get royally screwed on the
whole deal either way, and I've been pretty depressed about it, to tell you
the truth. I think I'll call a law friend to get a recommendation. I suppose
it can't be any worse than it already is... ;)
> --
> Big David
> If you want to send me email, you should be smart enough to figure out
how.
> "There is no right not to be offended by words, actions, or symbols".
> Richard E. Sincere, Jr.
--
Big David
> "Big David" <dbo...@etspamhome.com> wrote in message
> > More importantly, do you have a lwyer yet?
> Well, see, that's the thing--I've been struggling with the decision. Many
> people are telling me that accounting for the lawyer's fees, I'd be able
to
> negotiate a better deal on my own. Others are telling me that I'm stupid
for
> not contacting a lawyer.
Speaking not as a lawyer but as a fellow former accident victim, since you
(and I) both acknowledge that it may not make a huge difference in the
ultimate payout, I'd let the lawyer do the negotiating for you and deal with
the psychic headaches that come with such foolishness. They get to get
aggravated on your behalf and you can concentrate on getting well. S/he may
even be able to finagle a few extra dollars for you out of the mess. The
insurance companies (both yours and the other guys) will try to screw you.
They are not going to look out for your best interests, but their
shareholders or policy holders, depending on whether they are a stock or a
mutual company. I'm not saying you are stupid and, if you feel qualified or
up to it, there is nothing preventing you from doing it yourself.
Personally, my lawyer when I had my accident was worth the money he made
simply because I did not have to deal with the pricks at the insurance
companies myself (this was long before I ever went to law school myself).
Get well soon, Jake.
tooloud10
I appreciate your comments. You made a good point about taking the
aggravation out of the whole deal by getting a lawyer. I think I'll do
that--even if I don't get any more money than I would have myself, at least
I won't have to deal with these people. I apologize to any insurance agents
or adjustors out there, but this has not been fun. At several points the
adjustor has made comments that this was partially my fault; a laughable
statement to anyone that knows the details of this situation. Thanks again,
David.
> --
> Big David
> If you want to send me email, you should be smart enough to figure out
how.
> "There is no right not to be offended by words, actions, or symbols".
> Richard E. Sincere, Jr.
--
StarChaser_Tyger
>You just made me realize how many close calls I've had. I've been in one
>fairly high-speed rollover, a t-bone at roughly 40 mph or so, a rear-ending
>several years ago, hitting a deer at 80 mph in my little pickup, and got
>rear-ended last September while I was completely stopped and a 4X4 pickup
>travelling 55 mph slammed directly into my car.
Was running along at 75 or so behind another <rental car company>
driver, when someone in front of him started to slow to go into a
strip mall. We slowed down, the someone continued on most of the way
past the mall entrance, then slammed on his brakes and turned into it.
I'd been at a safe distance, until the mook started slowing, and I'd
closed up some. Now I didn't have space to stop. Left lane had a semi,
couldn't go there; so I whipped the wheel hard right then left, went
through the parking lot of the strip mall on no more than three wheels
and someone else said two, back onto the road without slowing down <If
I'd hit the brakes, I'd have slid and lost it>...Got where we were
going and asked the other guy if he was ok...that was the whitest
black man I -ever- saw...
--
Visit the Furry Artist InFURmation Page! Contact information, which artists
do and don't want their work posted. http://web.tampabay.rr.com/starchsr/
Address no longer munged for the inconvienence of spammers.
(Yes, this really is me.)
And knowing is half the battle.
>
>I guess I have a gut feeling that I'm going to get royally screwed on the
>whole deal either way, and I've been pretty depressed about it, to tell you
>the truth. I think I'll call a law friend to get a recommendation. I suppose
>it can't be any worse than it already is... ;)
I would be calling right now. The case as you described it sounds properly
juicy and lawyery correct to me and *ahem* I'm not even a lawyer.
Dana Carpender
Here's what my pal who recently retired from the insurance industry told
me: The industry formula for pain and suffering is two to ten times
your medical bills. He told me that they would offer me jack, and I
should refuse, and insist on going to court. The insurance guys would
set a court date, and then, one or two days before we were going to
court, they'd call and offer 6-7 times medical bills, at which point I
should take it.
Just passing it on. At this point, my attorney is the problem. If he
doesn't get in the habit of calling me back, I'm getting another lawyer.
tooloud10
news:3AAD4C14...@kiva.net...
<snip>
> Here's what my pal who recently retired from the insurance industry told
> me: The industry formula for pain and suffering is two to ten times
> your medical bills. He told me that they would offer me jack, and I
> should refuse, and insist on going to court. The insurance guys would
> set a court date, and then, one or two days before we were going to
> court, they'd call and offer 6-7 times medical bills, at which point I
> should take it.
>
> Just passing it on. At this point, my attorney is the problem. If he
> doesn't get in the habit of calling me back, I'm getting another lawyer.
This all sounds very interesting. IIRC, your injuries were somewhat
comparable to mine. I've already laughed off his original offer as it always
seems you should do, and I'm waiting to hear back from him. In the meantime,
I'm going to finish my local lawyer research and call one. From the
negotiations I made with this adjustor on my brand new car that was totalled
in this accident, it seems that he's deathly afraid of having to deal with a
lawyer.
I actually got *more* than book value for my car, plus reimbursement for the
extensive car audio, alarm, remote start, cell phone kit, etc. that was
installed in this car. I'm told that's a pretty rare event, but it seems
that he was probably trying to sweeten me up so I'd accept peanuts for the
medical/pain and suffering.
Thanks for your comments Dana. Everyone has been very helpful.
> --
> Dana W. Carpender
> Author, How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet -- And Lost Forty Pounds!
> http://www.holdthetoast.com
> Check out our FREE Low Carb Ezine!
--
Big David
> Here's what my pal who recently retired from the insurance industry told
> me: The industry formula for pain and suffering is two to ten times
> your medical bills.
Thats about right, IME, outside of states with no comparative negligence.
> He told me that they would offer me jack, and I
> should refuse, and insist on going to court. The insurance guys would
> set a court date, and then, one or two days before we were going to
> court, they'd call and offer 6-7 times medical bills, at which point I
> should take it.
Well, it depends on how much you are looking for. Their first offer right
before trial will be like for 3x meds plus "specials" (pain suffering, other
bills incurred). They'll go up more. Be patient, especially if liability
in uncontested.
> Just passing it on. At this point, my attorney is the problem. If he
> doesn't get in the habit of calling me back, I'm getting another lawyer.
Fire him. A lawyer who won't call you back after two calls during a week is
either (1) too busy, (2) done nothing yet on your case, or (3) ignoring you.
None of those are a good thing. After you fire him, file a complaint with
your local bar disciplinary board or bar counsel. We take that shit
seriously. Even if he has nothing to report, he could have someone call you
back and say, "nothing to report", which is what I do when there is nothing
to report and someone keeps calling me.