I was involved in an accident in April of 2008. The person who hit me was insured by Erie. They had me sign a release authorizing them to get all of my medical records for the accident.

They then sent me a release to sign to settle the accident. There would be two checks, one to settle the hospital lien and one that would cover my ambulance bill and a small settlement. I asked them if all medical records had been accounted for before signing the release. That was a big mistake-I should have had a lawyer involved! Now, two years later, there magically are ER doctor services that I am responsible for. Erie says that they didn't have those bills and it's not their problem. My feeling is that they settled as quickly as possible without doing due diligence to ensure that all medical bills will be covered.

I discussed filing suit with them and was told pretty much that they knew they would get the claim dismissed-when I asked how much their attorney fees would cost-it was within a few hundred dollars of the outstanding bill-I said then why don't we make a deal? The supervisor said it's not the money, it's the principle-they won't do the right thing and pay it or even part of it, because of the principle of it. While they say I wasn't under duress when signing the release-I did have a lien against me for thousands of dollars from the hospital-which Erie wouldn't pay until I signed their release. Not under duress? I beg to differ.

I am not asking-nor did I ever ask-for anything beyond what I deserved. My car to be fixed, my medical bills to be paid and a few lousy bucks to cover the day and a half I lost from work. Now they are giving me the runaround, the ER doc's billing department the run around and refusing to take responsibility for what they should have paid from the beginning. Shady and underhanded if you ask me-and a very convenient way for them to get out of what they owe. Simply put, they conveniently did not know about the bill and closed the case.

How utterly disappointed I am-lesson learned, never EVER deal with an insurance claim involving injuries without a lawyer!