<human>: I live in Arizona (near Phoenix) and was rear-ended on the freeway in Jan of this year. I came to a stop in bad freeway traffic. I was driving a little Honda Civic and was struck at full speed (~65 mph) by a Dodge Dakota. I did not get pushed into another vehicle, I was pushed onto the off ramp I was near. My car was totaled and I already received a settlement for that value of the car.

I was walking around but in shock so did not take the ambulance ride that was offered to me at the scene of the accident. Instead I got a ride home and upon arriving immediately went to the Hospital. They took X Rays and CT Scans and determined that I had a 10% compression fracture in my T12 vertebrae. They then transferred me to another hospital's trauma center to further assess. I was in fact transported via ambulance from the first hospital to the second.

The next day I was fitted with a back brace (think turtle shell) and told to follow up with the Nuero Surgeon in 6 weeks. Just had that visit and the Dr said I will need to wear the brace another 6 weeks and then do an additional 6 weeks of physical therapy after that. He did say there will be no long-term issues.

I had a free consultation with an attorney my wife's family knows and he said he can get us more money than if we tried to settle on our own. He may be right but I am confident at negotiating and the 1/3 fee seems like a lot of money. The other guy's insurance company has already accepted fault. Am I naive to think that I can effectively settle this case on my own? Thanks in advance!

Could you distill the essence of the text into 1-3 sentences?
<bot>: Got rear-ended. They accepted fault. 10% Spinal compression fracture. Will recover in 18 weeks. Will a lawyer get me more money?