<prompt> Human: Original post - editedBTW - What was I thinking with that title? I blame the concussion! : I removed all the information in my original post after a few of you advised me to do so in case I decided to take legal action. However, I ultimately decided not to sue the state for not maintaining the freeway. If you missed my original post, in short: On Thanksgiving morning I skidded on ice going 15-30 mph on the freeway. I collided into the left lane guard rail. Two minutes later, a car going 70 mph also skidded on the ice and hit us from behind. Fortunately for us, that car first hit an empty police car parked behind us, which took the brunt of the force and probably kept us from flying through the windshield the trooper was out of his car and was not hurt, thank god. Still, that car hit us hard from behind and contributed to the totaling of my car. I hit my head but luckily no one involved was seriously injured. I wanted to write an update on what happened after my accident, and thank the good people here at rpersonalfinance for their help and advice. Maybe this information will be useful to others in a similar situation some day! Following my accident, I called my consulting nurse line at the suggestion of many of you. I had originally declined transport to the hospital at the scene of the accident. I called the nurse and described my symptoms, and she told me it seemed I had a concussion, but that unless my symptoms worsened, I didnt need to come in for a CT scan. She recommended rest and taking a break from screens. I continued to have headaches and felt fatigued for about 10-12 days after the accident. I eventually started to feel better. I also experienced some shoulder pain from the accident. For about a week or so I had some pain in my shoulder and couldnt do very much Im a pretty active person and training for mountaineering, so it was a bummer to get behind on my training and conditioning. I didnt seek physical therapy or anything - just took a break from the gym, foam rolled and did a heatice routine. Its feeling better now and I am finally returning to the climbing gym. Lastly, and most importantly, I have had a lot of anxiety when driving following this accident, and Ive been seeking counseling as a result. Ive never had anxiety before and its been pretty impactful on me. I feel scared to drive and a lot of stress when I do. Im about to make the same drive on the same freeway to get home for the holidays, and Im really jittery and tense.Now onto the claim adjustment process: A person from my insurance called me Monday morning and asked for my statement. I took the careful advice of many in this thread - I was concise and stuck to the facts. He also asked about my injuries and I told him I was concussed and had some shoulder pain, but I did not yet seek medical care. He told me that my injuries were covered for up to a year, so if my conditions worsened in the future, I could still be covered. He gave me a claim number and told me an adjuster would call me soon after my car had been evaluated. I received a call from the claim adjuster a few hours later. She told me my car was deemed totaled not a surprise to those who commented on my original post. I would lose my 1000 collision deductible no surprise there either, and my insurance would give me 6,000. I told her I had recently replaced the tires on my car a great suggestion from Reddit!. The claim adjuster told me to send her the receipts and she would include that cost in the estimate of the value of my car. Before sending her the receipts, I did some research on the value of my car. My car was a 2005 Prius with 80,000 miles on it and was in great working condition. Similar cars in my market were priced between 8,500-9,000 I live in Portland, where a Prius is popular - I know Im a cliche!. I created a spreadsheet with what cars of similar condition were going for, links to their postings online, etc. I calculated the average cost of 10 available Priuses in my area, and found the average price was 8,400. I also calculated the cost of registration and titling in my state about 190. I decided that, with some bargaining at dealerships, Id need at least 7,000 from my insurance company to get a similar car coupled with my 1,000 deductible.I then wrote a polite email to my claim adjuster and laid out my argument that with the price of my tires, the market value of my car in my area, and the cost of registration and titling, I would like their offer to be increased to 7,200 I aimed high for the purposes of negotiation. I wasnt trying to be greedy - even 8,200 to buy a car of similar condition and register it would be cutting it close. I included the spreadsheet of similar cars in my market.We went back and forth on the number, until my insurance company offered me 6,700. I accepted that offer after reaching a stalemate. I sent them the title and they sent me the check within a week. My claim was therefore settled within 2 weeks, which was better than what I expected! My insurance company was pretty great through the process, even if I wish I was able to get a few hundred more. I thought it was all over - until yesterday, when I got a call from the other insurance company of the driver that hit my car and the police car. For some reason, no one from my insurance company told me to expect a call from them and I thought I never would it had already been a month since the accident. Anyways, I spoke to a very nice woman who told me she was calling to settle for my personal injuries. She told me that she was aware I had suffered a concussion and shoulder injury. I also told her, when she asked if the accident had any other impact on my life, that I now feel anxious when I drive and I am seeking counseling as a result. She said they wanted to offer me 2,500 as a personal painsuffering settlement. I was a bit surprised - I was not expecting any money from them. I told her I would need to think about it because I realized I had no idea how to handle this situation. I assume they are offering me some money so I cant sue them later, which makes sense.So, if I may ask for more help: Should I accept the 2,500? I am not a greedy person I hope, but I am a poor self-advocate, and I dont know what I should do. I am a bit naive, so I dont just want to accept the first offer but I dont really know what is a fair amount! My concussion did impact my work I had terrible headaches, had to take a lot of breaks, was cognitively slow and the accident happened during our busiest time of year so I could not take time off, my shoulder did put me 2-3 weeks behind on my mountaineering training and caused me discomfort, and my anxiety when driving is still really bad. I dont know if there is a price that would make up for how anxious I feel when I get behind the wheel of a car.I dont want to profit from this accident. But if I am in fat entitled to some monetary settlement, I dont want to be stupid and just accept the first offer. I am sure the insurance company has a formula for how much these injuries are worth based on my lifestyle I was asked several questions about my lifestyle and how these injuries impacted my work and life - I answered very honestly and did not exaggerate. However, I assume the insurance company just offered the lowest sum first.Again, I wasnt expecting any money from them, so maybe youll tell me to just shut up and be happy with 2,500 - Id accept that! But if you think its worth asking for more, and thats what a normal person would do, Id appreciate your advice. Of course Im not expecting 10,000 or anything like that - but maybe a few hundred or 1,000 more might be reasonable? At this moment, I dont know how much counseling will cost and when Ill feel normal again.I cant thank you all enough for your kind words, support, and counsel following my accident. I learned a lot in this process and Ill be the first to help the next person who posts for advice in a similar situation like mine! I am about to make the same drive home for the holidays this time in my partners Subaru - the Portland cliche gets worse!. I wish you all a safe and wonderful holiday!  <response>: Definitely do not take their first offer. And you arent being greedy if you ask for more. You have had some serious negative impacts in your life. It sounds like theres no rush to settle so take your time and make them sweat a bit. You could casually mention that you want to talk to an attorney first. Even if you dont want to get an attorney involved.You might also want to talk to your insurance company to let them know. Just because it sounds like your injuries came from the second collision but its your insurance that says that your injuries are covered up to a year.I just hope that you dont settle for a relatively small amount and then you find that you have long term side effects from the collision. And thanks for the update, OP, and good luck! 