So it seems like my legal battle over the car accident I was in during the summer of 08 is finally winding down. The guy’s insurance has already settled for the maximum amount. His employer (he was driving for a pizza company when he hit us) has finally stopped trying to get around it by saying he wasn’t clocked in/off the clock (but doing their work off the clock and representing their business with one of those handy plop-on-roof things.) And by being off the clock – or having someone else clock him in, they’re not responsible for his actions while he was being paid. And while his shift manager gave him orders to complete.
Now, my mom had far fewer injuries than I did. She also didn’t miss any work, while I missed a couple weeks from the accident along with a few hours here and there to see doctors. Which ultimately put me on a thin line that, once I got really sick and was in need of abdominal surgery/lengthy hospital stays, it gave my employer just the excuse to fire me. Of course, there were no contractual obligations to keep me employed, it’s a right-to-work state. But what I had been told by HR prior to my dismissal and what I was told when I was dismissed (including the letter I got) said that they wouldn’t honor a request for a medical leave of absence.
At the time that this was happening (and some of the threads HR made to before I was let go just didn’t seem altogether legal. I had been keeping copies of emails between me and HR/Management as it went down a slippery slope…but since I was in the hospital recovering from surgery when I was fired, my emails were all destroyed.
I have another legal team working on the medical side of things (completely unrelated to the car accident, it’s the random, not entirely understood illness that afflicted me which caused the lengthy stay in the hospital, surgery, then scrambling to figure out why I was getting worse after surgery.) Doctors in Baltimore are still trying to sort it all out. But I have a separate legal team investigating it, though that’s just started.
Anyway, in my car accident there are a total of 4 different cases being presented. There’s one from each person in the car (my mom and me) to the driver’s insurance company and then his employer. The insurance company had a state minimum cap on their relevant portion. My car insurance also paid into my own doctor bills, as did my health insurance in some cases. In any case, between my insurance and the kid’s insurance, I had well-surpassed the maximum available – much more when considering any moneys collected from the other party have the lawyer’s chunk of 1/3 cut out first. I believe before the lawyer’s chunk, I still have between 10-15 thousand dollars of medical bills not covered. Not including lost wages, reimbursement for meds and travel and all that fun stuff. Somehow even with the self-insurance and insurance of the other guy, and legal fees, my mom already has a sizeable surplus. Both of our cases were presented to the company who employed the driver with a demand for an outlandishly huge amount to provide bargaining room. Thus far, though negotiations continue, she has been offered 1/4 of the amount demanded. For some reason, I can’t get in touch with the lawyer to see what’s happening on my end since my bills are so much higher, as are my losses.
My mom may actually wind up with more “free” money than I do based on how my bills have been paid and/or kept out of collections thus far. I’m not sure though. In my mom’s case she was told to accept anything the second company offers because of certain little things in her case. I don’t know. Again, I haven’t talked to the lawyer in nearly two months.
Now, back on to the positive side of things. As the case is in the final stages of wrapping up, it seems – mostly waiting on all of our authorization to collect x amount and finishing negotiating for x+n to yield the highest amount for all involved. My mom had joked (I thought) that she would pay for certain things when she got a settlement from this. Among those things are: paying off fines for my brother, getting his license reinstated, buying us both cars. Mind you, the car part? Not going to be buying snazzy, brand new expensive cars. Just decent and affordable used cars. With my current one getting signed over to my dad. She can’t drive now, and likely won’t be able to drive again as she physically deteriorates from the strokes and on-going infections and liver problems that keep her either in the hospital or on bedrest at home. She hasn’t been able to go to physical therapy since June and has lost a lot of muscle tone as well as the memories of how to use certain muscles. Point is, she isn’t in need of a car because she can’t get outside without a lot of help. And I doubt she could make her legs understand how to use the gas and brakes again.
So, there’s been this talk for months now about her buying me a car. And Jeremy, cause he totally deserves it. It’s not like he gave up his car so that it can be used for everybody whenever they need it. Which really just means that Dad runs everyone to their appointments, work (when they had it) and where ever else. Then he does errands. And does his own thing. I drive the car, at most, twice a month. In just under a year, he has put nearly 40,000 miles on my car. Which accounts for half of the existing mileage when I came here. Me? I had driven under 5,000 (even with the 1100 mile move) between July 08 and Feb 09. I have absolutely no qualms asking or getting another car. Actually, right after I came back there was already an agreement to get another car for me that I didn’t hate and transferring the title of this one to my dad. Crap happened so it never came into play. Much like me never going back to school because of taking on the role of babysitter.
So, flash forward to now. It’s been almost a year. Which is just about the amount of time I can live with my parents. Plus, the year prior, either one or both of them stayed in my condo for 10 out of 12 months. My wee little condo. (Where I again shared my car with my dad.) It’s not been pleasant. So I’m obviously itching to move. I have been for a while. I thought I could save money easier, but it seemed like there was always a need to borrow my money. And while I’ve saved, there were some expensive things I’ve paid for (like health insurance coverage, doctor’s co-pays and medicines – all cost a hell of a lot.) I bought a couple of “me” things, only one totally necessary (the new phone, aka the $320 I’ll never see again…) Looking through bank statements I’ve done really well. And mostly my savings runs low when I’m not getting any income – big surprise. I can built it back up some afterwards, then it drops again when unemployment drops off before going into a new phase. I’ve actually been 4 weeks without any unemployment now, even though I’m qualified for it and it should have been set up – something is very wrong with the claiming system in that it won’t let me claim. And finding a job here has been a nightmare. I mean, the nearest job that is anywhere close to something I could do is at least a 2 hour drive away.
But, I understand I’ll have to move. I want to move. I hate it here. Not many people around here understand just why I hate living in a small town so much. But when I’m here, I am more easily guilted into doing things that I don’t want to do – like babysitting my mom. Or seeing the same people who hated me in school and who never got away from here. Not that fun to run into these people. I do have this nagging thought that I should finish school. Or something. As a FL resident it is immensely cheaper to go to school there. But will take a while to finish up what I need to finish. I wonder if I should invest a little money into certifications – like CCNA, HP-UX SysAdmin, Linux+ or even MCSE (or MCP.) All are more money out of pocket since I can’t get a student loan for them, but take less time to do so I could get it out of the way and into my repertoire to help in the job search. So that I don’t have to work on low-paid help desks the rest of my life.
Sigh. Don’t know what to do, don’t know what to do. I really want to move by late spring or early summer. Although I adore Tampa, I am not so sure it has what I need. The job search I’ve been conducting there is not promising at all. Austin has pretty good options there but part of me is still weary at living in Texas. I love Austin – plus Amber is there and a bunch of people had moved to the Dallas area (while I realize it isn’t close it doesn’t require booking a flight to see them.) Then there’s Seattle. The jobs there seem mostly to be contractual, which is a little scary. Especially for someone who needs steady work and good health insurance. But there are so many choices. And more of my friends have migrated there than any other place. One of them told me I should go where my posse is, which clearly is in Seattle. Mind you, I’ve never *been* to Seattle before. And am mostly going on the info from people I know there and their insistence that it’s the place for me/I’d be very happy there, etc. I mean, part of me is pretty sure my happiness increases with each mile I am further from my family. Even if it’s a short-term trip. Getting away has always been good. Seattle? Nobody in my family would ever go there. My parents love Tampa now and the long-term goal is to get my mom stable enough that they can go back. So, if I’m there…there’s always a chance they would show up. And then there’s Austin. Which is totally surrounded by Texas, freaking me out a bit. It’s suffocating sometimes. Awesome city, an oasis from Texas but still…sometimes Texas creeps in. Like when you drive past a random parking lot and some guy has giant longhorns just chilling there. That’s when Texas is scary. Cows with huge horns? Not quaint at all. But still, I do love Austin. I’m guessing that the best job where-ever will motivate me more to that place. No clue.
I just don’t know if I should spend any money on preparing to embark on this new job search to not start at the crap end again, even if it would mean me moving with much less money than I could be. Cause the classes for those certifications? Expensive. Also, the tests are expensive. And I no longer have an employer to pay for them…what with the one who agreed to firing me and all. Plus even though I decided to buy a new phone, I also need a new laptop. Stupid electronics and their love of death.
Hopefully I’ll be able to reach my lawyer on the car accident stuff this week. If everything goes as it should, I believe the settlement will be transferred to me around my birthday in March, maybe sooner.
Aye! I really don’t like making decisions. Too much at play. Not enough constants. I need Regular Expression man to swoop in and figure this out for me. (And if the “Stand back – I’m going to do SCIENCE” man decides to stop by, I wouldn’t complain. Science man is HOT. Regular Expression man just makes me feel inadequate, like my penis is too small. But he’s still totally helpful in the penis-undermining kind of way.)
Oooh, aren’t there “professionals” to tell you what to do with your life now? Life coaches or something? I bet I’d have to not lie in order for it to work, though. I tend to not be totally truthful to therapists and psychiatrists that are attempting to help me. Too much truth makes my (non-existent) soul itch and burn and I don’t like it.