car accident, recovery for injuries and car damage, don't want lawyer

First you have to notify your insurance carrier of the incident and file a claim with the adverse insurance carrier. If a police officer came to the scene you can get the insurance information from the report. If there is no report you should write a letter to the person who rear ended you asking for his insurance information. Once you put the carriers on notice of the incident they will notify the insured. If he accepts responsibility for causing the loss - you should submit your economic losses, (time unreimbursed and missed from work, medical bills, property damage repairs) and give an opportunity for the carrier to resolve your entire claim by including an amount for your inconvenience, pain, permanent aggravation of the pre-existing neck injury, etc. All of that is subjective and there is no right or wrong answer. If you end up having what is called a soft tissue or muscular injury to your neck - the claim is not as severe as a neurologic injury such as a herniated disk.

In Florida, soft tissue cases are resolved in the range of $1,000 to 20,000 and higher depending on your economic losses. Good luck.

Betsey Herd
Morgenstern & Herd
Tampa, Florida
813-597-3000

This question is impossible to answer without additional facts.

However, attempting to navigate the legal system by filing a lawsuit without the assistance of counsel is never a good idea. When you sue, the greatest battle for non-attorneys is complying with the deadlines and rules of the court because you aren't familiar with them on a daily basis. You could easily have your case thrown out for missing an important deadline. Seek out an attorney if you plan to sue.

Best of luck