Car accident leading to serious debt

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Thalia

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I was in a serious car accident in Oct 07. A 19 yr old female came across a grass median and hit me head on. My van was totaled. The other driver was charged with reckless driving. Her insurance company has accepted liability.
My injuries:
-Broken right radius bone (still have problems with it)
-Glass fragments in my scalp and left arm (my head/arm broke the driver's side window). There is still some glass embedded in my arm and there is prominent scarring.
-Severe whiplash: Herniated discs at C2-C3 and C4-C5 that will probably require surgery in the future per a neurosurgeon evaluation (said it would warrant surgery now but I am terrified and want to delay it).

My daughter was in the passenger seat (she was almost 15 at the time of the accident). She had her braces removed a few months prior to the crash. Her two front top teeth were seriously damaged in the accident. The air bag deployed, but she also raised her knee when she saw what was happening (instinct, I guess) and her knee and her teeth had a little "meeting". She had to have root canals for the top two front teeth and will need much more dental work done, most of which will be cosmetic (her teeth are discolored due to the damage). She had temporary root canals and cannot have permanent ones done until she is older. She also had stitches in her knee and has significant scarring.

My son (age 7 at the time) was in the back seat and fortunately only suffered abrasions from the seat belt (we all had those).

Here come the problems:
-The driver only has $50,000 coverage per accident. Her passenger was seriously injured also. Her insurance company is going to split the $50,000 between her passenger and me and my daughter. I have uninsured/underinsured coverage ($100,000/$300,000).

-My attorney has a settlement conference scheduled for tomorrow with the other driver's insurance company. From what I understand, they will decide on an amount to give to us and then my insurance company will be contacted to let them know the amount we expect them to pay. Is this correct? The paralegal assigned to my case is not very knowledgeable. :( She also provides me with inconsistent and/or incomplete information.

-My van (which was paid in full) was totaled in the accident. I had to buy another vehicle (I bought a used SUV). And...my attorney had me use my medical insurance for all of my care, so now I have tons of bills for the portions that were not covered. My divorce was final about two years ago and I was still working on financial recovery from that when the accident happened.

-My questions: How long do things like this typically take to settle? I handled my divorce terribly (I didn't hire an attorney and let my ex's handle everything...meaning I got a very bad deal). My ex and I had lots of credit card debt that was solely in MY name. He had lots of student loans and could not get credit, so we opened everything in my name. Now I am stuck with close to $20,000 in credit card debt, medical bills from the accident, and a car payment I can't afford. I am not married and have two children.

I was thinking about filing for Chapter 13 because one of my creditors is probably going to sue me. They are not willing to work out a lower/longer payment schedule with me and I cannot afford the minimum $350 a month they want from me.

Any advice or ideas will be greatly appreciated.
 
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