Thank you all for your support and advise. I went through the "interrogation" yesterday. It sortof amazes me that I did nothing wrong--I don't like to say "victim" but I guess that is what I was/am--but I felt like I was the criminal testifying for my life. I was shaking all night and couldn't rest. I took my meds with a couple of "Hard Mike Limeaids" (yummy by the way) just to try to unwind and sleep. I kept replaying it in my head and agonizing over parts I stumbled with.
They asked some really stupid, non-related questions--like the name of the doctor who delivered my son and the street address of my ex-husband, how often we talked on the phone, did I discuss the case with him. I'm thinking afterwards they asked that to gage how I physically responded to other related questions?? I tried to keep eyecontact all the time but couldn't stand having their cold eyes boring into me and looked away to think sometimes...I know there is some theory about when you lie you look to the left or right or something...it un-nerved me that the second lawyer that was with him kept scribbling notes and passing them to the guy who was questionning me--is that part of the intimidation game?
I guess it went okay though. It took 4 hours! My heart was racing so bad, I thought I was going to be sick. They did offer me the opportunity to look at my statements and correct any mis-spellings, so I took them up on that--they will mail it to me.
They stopped sortof abruptly and said they needed a "break" before we even got to the end. They did make an offer to settle but I worry that it won't be enough to cover future medical--my lawyer says to think about it but thinks they will offer a little higher. The chiropractor that I'm trying now with Vivatek and ProAdjuster says I will need treatments 2-4x week for 2-4 years! I do like the chiropractor--very kind and personable--and what he says makes sense...that if the vertebrae are out of alignment from the accident (getting thrown backwards when the seatback collapsed)that the disc would never have an opportunity to heal bec. the vertebrae are not aligned and adding more pressure to the disc. I pray this treatment works--the chiropractor is so confident in himself that he is the one who is going to fix it but I can't help but worry that at some point in the future I will need the surgery and won't have a way to pay for it. My lawyer says that since no doctor can tell me for sure, "yes, you need the surgery and it will cost so-many-dollars" that we can't ask for more money without proof, basically. I can take my chances and go to trial but it is iffy whether I would be awarded the full amount that is left on the-guy-who-hit-me's policy, bec. the surgeon and the chiropractor think the disc is changing for the better. They don't award money bec. "you might need surgery". I really do pray this chiro is right and he is going to fix it--I pray this is the miracle I've been begging for but based on all the errors I've uncovered in my records and differences of opinion, I am guarding and protecting myself so I don't get my hopes up. I fell into such a deep depression when the IDET didn't work.
They did try to get me to give them specific dates and kept asking when I said I couldn't remember (usually dates). I knew what they were up to though and made sure to say repeatedly I couldn't recall the exact date or precisely what the dr. said word-for-word. Said "I believe it was.." If I wasn't sure exactly, I said so. My lawyer said he was happy and I handled it well but as hour 3 rolled around of rapid-fire-questionning, I was getting tired and irritable and achy and started "zoning"--it felt like a tennis match--he slams it over the net, I bat it back, over and over... I had to ask for a break to pull myself together--which I'm sure they took as being evasive or something. I kept hoping my lawyer would pick up on this and ask for a break but he didn't--so I said I needed one.
I know I'm rambling a bit here...my mind is still racing. I wish I had handled a few questions more confidently--I've never done anything wrong--I know that, God knows that. I should have known the dates of somethings or kept a more "leisurely" pace with all the questions so when I needed to gather my thoughts it didn't look so "guilty". Believe me, they picked up on that and hammered away. Thanks again for your advise and for an "ear". I'm so tired of this crap. I finally cried this morning, which is unusual for me, I usually can't control my crying. I thought I was going to start crying before the interrogation started but didn't.
When I was in the lobby waiting, praying, and trying to just breathe, I could "hear" my father (who died) and imagine him with me telling me "Don't let anyone push you around". He wasn't a man of many words but he told me that a few times when he thought I wasn't standing up for myself (with men). Afterwards, I was looking out the window in the "interrogation room" and saw a red cardinal with its mate right underneath the window. My Dad loved birds. I can't recall when I last saw a cardinal-which I believed were his favorite. When I started to get a little "rattled", I could almost invision and hear him standing behind the lawyers telling me "don't let them push you around, stand up for yourself".
You guys probably think I a nut job now, huh? I'm really not!
