[ctom3]

My husband it T11 complete from a motorcycle accident in August 2008. Another driver is at fault so our home modifications will be paid for by the insurance company. I'm not sure if I should just settle for what the insurance company tells me or do I have a chance if I fight.

By the way I live in Michigan with No Fault insurance.

The insurance company has hired an architectural firm to show us some drawings of the modifications. I would like a 2nd opinion but the insurance company said no because the first company and drawing has been approved by a licensed occupational therapist and it's a reasonable drawing. Am I entitled to a 2nd opinion?

Car, here's another topic. My husband has a Ford F250 pick up truck and a fishing boat. The insurance company is saying that they are only responsible for getting us a car not something bigger. I disagree because if they only buy a car how will my husband be able to pull this boat?

I feel like I have no say in the situation and I'm not sure what to do.

[JT80]

i'm not familiar with u.s insurance companies/process but imagine they are similar to u.k.
in short, fight them all the way accept what you want/need.
i worked for an insurance co. a few years back. a dream client was one that accepted first offer.

[Jax]

ctom3, on Apr 1 2009, 08:46 AM, said:

My husband it T11 complete from a motorcycle accident in August 2008. Another driver is at fault so our home modifications will be paid for by the insurance company. I'm not sure if I should just settle for what the insurance company tells me or do I have a chance if I fight.

By the way I live in Michigan with No Fault insurance.

The insurance company has hired an architectural firm to show us some drawings of the modifications. I would like a 2nd opinion but the insurance company said no because the first company and drawing has been approved by a licensed occupational therapist and it's a reasonable drawing. Am I entitled to a 2nd opinion?

Car, here's another topic. My husband has a Ford F250 pick up truck and a fishing boat. The insurance company is saying that they are only responsible for getting us a car not something bigger. I disagree because if they only buy a car how will my husband be able to pull this boat?

I feel like I have no say in the situation and I'm not sure what to do.

I'm no lawyer, but here's what I know.

About the house.
Get a second opinion. Quickly. NEVER give in to the first offer an insurance company makes. Find an OT, or call the state rehabilitation group and get the referral to a different modification company.

Call a lawyer. Quickly. If you have trouble, as you likely will, fighting the insurance company will need to be done through a lawyer and possibly court system.

About the boat and truck.
I know you are worried about pulling the boat, but the insurance company, and possibly the law, may not see that as justification for a truck, since it's not a necessity but rather a luxury by most definitions in law. Unless he can prove that the boat is used for something other than just recreation of course.

The thing I'm really wondering is, if he already has the F250, then what is it that you are needing the insurance to buy exactly? Controls, wheelchair lift, fliptop camper, or am I missing something? I have seen plenty of paras get into and drive F250s and even tall 4X4s. I've even seen paras pulling their boats. Just curious.

[ctom3]

Just for clarification.....

for the house, the insurance company is only providing me with one architect for the drawings. If I want different companies with different drawings I have to pay for it. The architect that has been provided is willing to revise any drawings that he provides. As far as getting quotes/bids, the insurance company is willing to get quotes from 3 different companies.

for the boat: I can see your point, it's for recreation only but how will my husband be able to get in the boat? He loves to hunt and fish and I don't want these things taken away from him.

for the truck: how in the world does a para get in an F250

Thanks.

[Jax]

ctom3, on Apr 1 2009, 04:10 PM, said:

Just for clarification.....

for the house, the insurance company is only providing me with one architect for the drawings. If I want different companies with different drawings I have to pay for it. The architect that has been provided is willing to revise any drawings that he provides. As far as getting quotes/bids, the insurance company is willing to get quotes from 3 different companies.

for the boat: I can see your point, it's for recreation only but how will my husband be able to get in the boat? He loves to hunt and fish and I don't want these things taken away from him.

for the truck: how in the world does a para get in an F250

Thanks.

Insurance companies suck.

The boat- There are two ways I've seen it done. One is a lift on the dock. The other is a lift on the boat. Either one has a harness or sling for him. Get involved with the Turning Point chapter in the Great Lakes area. They have all kinds of cool stuff at their events, including adapted boating/fishing and shooting. That link will take you to a page with contact info for your area.

For hunting, there are ways of hunting. If he likes tree stands, he needs to see this. Click here. There are also lots of off-road wheelchairs. He only need pick one and buy it.

Is the F250 crew cab or extended? I have a video of the extended cab. The crew cab transfer is about the same, just that loading the chair is different. I get the chair up to the side of the F250, slide up to the front of my seat, grab the A-pillar handle to pull myself over to the floor edge, put left hand in seat leaving right hand on handle, then up I go. Then I put my legs in.

I have seen a couple of other ways, that's just the one that works for me. One other (for the 2 wheel drives) is to get right next to the truck, put both feet out of footrest onto ground, grab A-pillar handle and door handle, pull yourself into a standing position using the door as a kneestop, use arms to pivot, and land your butt in the seat. Then pull the legs in.

I put my chair behind the seat of my lifted Ranger Sport extended cab and my friend's Dodge 2500 Cummins 4X4 crew cab when I ride with him. He puts his chair in the bed of the truck with a lift, and has a fliptop camper shell on the back.

There is also a really neat turning seat made by Bruno. It turns and lowers out of the cab for more even transfer height. I'll include the link for their site.

Bruno Adaptive Equipment

I'm also including some links for some cool youtube videos. Hope you and your husband like them, and hope they help. Anything else, you can PM me. I've got TONS of stuff stacked up about adaptions. I start school in the fall for occupational therapy and rehabilitation counseling, so I've made sure that I'm a bit ahead of the curve with the equipment.

F250 transfer video

Para escalator...

Para ladder.

You did say he rode bikes didn't you?
Para motorcycle. NOT trike. TWO wheels

Para motorcycle on the track

[kdenon01]

Hey ctom!!

We are in the exact same process as you right now. Our insurance co. sucks too.

For the housing:

We had the insurance co choose an OT...she chose a contractor to come out with her and us and go through everything we would need. They didn't leave anything out! Then..like you we were allowed to get another quote, which we did..but the insurance ultimately chose the first guy because he was cheaper. Now, we are allowed to hire anyone we want to do the work, we will just have to pay above and beyond anything over the quoted amount.

The best advice I can give you is to hire an attorney!!! The insurance company sent us a contract to sign, regarding the housing mods...and that was ummm..SIX MONTHS ago. Our attorney has been fighting with them ever since. Because the ins. co. was trying to screw us over by making ME pay back the money if something were to happen to my hubby. I think we might end up going to court over it too.

Man, we want our roll-in shower! lol

As for the vehicle:

My hubby is just getting a minivan. We got our contract approved by our lawyer today. So we will be signing that tomorrow and sending it to the ins. co. As far as something larger is concerned...we didn't push for a full size. The OT/Salesman asked us if we would need to be pulling anything and we said No. So, I don't know if the ins. would have paid for a full size just because we wanted it or not...

Anyways, good luck, because I know how stressful it can be! And I know how sneaky the insurance will try to be too!