My wife was hit 2 weeks ago, head-on, She has no broken bones but well bruised and has missedf work since. Cannot even pick up our infant child. How much of a settlement offer should we expect and how much should we refuse? Should we hire a blood sucking lawyer or go it alone. Both of us are well educated with master's degrees. Please advise.
2006-11-16 01:00:34 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
higher a lawyer. don't ever go into a courtroom unrepresented. they will walk all over you. judges don't listen to individuals they will listen to the lawyer though. Not all lawyers are the blood sucking ambulance chasers. Get someone reputable.
I hope your wife will be ok.
Best of luck
2006-11-16 01:06:07 · answer #1 · answered by sixcannonballs 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You do not need an attorney, but it's your choice. If she did not have a lot of treatment and her suffering was great, but brief, then it's not worth a lot. Each case is different, and any value you get here may be off depending on your situation, where it happened, etc. If her suffering and work loss or medical treatment are still ongoing you're jumping the gun on asking for a value. What kind of work does she do, how much does she make, how physically demanding, etc? You really have not supplied enough information. Off the top of my head if you wanted to settle today (2 weeks missed from work and bruising) I'd say about $1,000, maybe $2,000.
Don't lay the pain and suffering, not being able to pick up the baby on too thick. Yes, it's a big thing to you, but compared to the kinds of horrendous, permanent and serious injuries that can occur and that examiners see regularly, it is not going to have that much of an impact when they evaluate the claim. Don't expect to hit the lottery and be glad she's ok.
2006-11-16 09:36:07 · answer #2 · answered by Chris 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I work for a law firm doing personal injury. It's too soon to decide what her settlement for this case would be.
When you get into an accident, the insurance company doesn't only look at the fact that she wasn't at fault. They look at the injuries. Just because you got into an accident doesn't mean that they have to compensate you.
She needs to be consistent with treatment. You can say you are injured but you've never gone to see a doctor. She must treat regularly. If her neck and back hurt, she should treat with a chiropractor. If her shoulders, legs, or arms hurt, she should see a Orthopedic Surgeon, to examine her. She should see a Neurologist, to give her nerve testing to make sure none of her nerves were damaged due to the accident. She should have MRIs of her neck and back done. Those are extremely important. MRI's are the proof that the insurance companies rely on to see if she has suffered significant injuries, such as herniations. Bulges really are not serious in the insurance companies eyes.
She must be consistent. If she hardly treats with her physician and then trys to sue them, they will say hold on a second but you've only seen a doctor 3x/month. How could you possibly be injured?
It doesn't matter what type of education you have, you need a lawyer. If you don't get a lawyer, you will get not be compensated what you deserve to get. Lawyers usually charge you 1/3 of whatever you get.
For your information, you cannot get more money then what the policy of their insured has. For instance, if they have a $15,000/$30,000 policy. That means they will only dish out $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, no matter what. You can have surgery after surgery, they will not give you more than what they have. You should also take a look at your declaration page from your own insurance company, and see what your limits are for an underinsured motorist claim. Lets say you have a $250,000/$500,000 policy for underinsured motorist, then you would be entitled to get any difference from your underinsured policy. So if they do have a $15,000 policy, you would be able to sue your insurance company $235,000.00 based on your injurys and only if you get the other cars entire policy. If you get $13,000.00, you can't collect from your underinsured motorist policy.
2006-11-16 05:46:22 · answer #3 · answered by Rica 82 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am so sorry this happened; I wish you both well. While it is true that proper compensation cannot be assessed at this point because she is still treating for her injuries, the advise of extensive treatment is ridiculous. Auto insurance is going to pay you fairly for all medical treatment that is substantiatedly necessary. An attorney will take one third of your settlement, plus a few hundred bucks in fees.
Soft tissue injuries such as the ones your wife has sustained rarely require treatment for more than 12 weeks. Insurance will pay any bills sustained the day of the incident as they were certainly necessary (ER bill, ambulance ride). Aside from this they are going to want supporting documentation of medical necessity. I strongly advise if she has not seen a regular MD doing so now. Getting a full body scan just because is not suggested. If she is in pain, a medical doctor should be seen. What you may have trouble with is NOT seeing an MD and instead going to the chiro/massage therapist for 12 weeks. The reason I suggest all of this is because soft-tissue injuries are subjective.
Ok, as for your Bodily Injury settlement...you can claim lost wages if there are any. Since it sounds like your wife may be a homemaker as you have a newborn, you are more likely to be looking at an additional "pain and suffering" claim. There is no industry standard for this type of scenario, but I have frequently paid all medical, plus anywhere from a few hundred to double that amount in pain and suffering.
The biggest factor in the payout will be the dollar amount of damage to your vehicle. To illustrate, if you claim 5k in medical bills and your car only has $800 worth of damages...it does look suspicious if some of that 5k isn't emergency services. I consider anything over 3k in damages worth seriously looking at a payout for.
Long answer...but essentially an attorney isn't going to be able to get you 33% more in a settlement...insurance companies will pay equitably regardless of attorney involvement.
2006-11-16 08:24:23 · answer #4 · answered by Hoorayforthat 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She is alive be thankful for that. What are the details of the accident? Was it avoidable, was the other guy drunk? What do the doctors say? What does your insurance adjuster say? If you get a lawyer get one that understands, be prepared with the facts. It depends on the circumstances and what loss of wage and personal suffering this has had on her and you. Don't milk it. Those of us who where really hurt in accidents and have limited motion now. Those have legit complaints.
I hope she gets well!
2006-11-16 02:01:14 · answer #5 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am no fan of "blood sucking lawyers" but this is one situation where you need the biggest, meanest, most disagreeable lawyer you can find.
The insurance company has an entire legal department and staff who have nothing better to do than save them money, that is what they are there for. Their legal department will screw you over faster than the accident happened.
There is NO way I would enter into this situation without an attorney, absolutely no way.
2006-11-16 01:10:13 · answer #6 · answered by Gem 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is all a matter of personal judgement as far as what you will settle for
and
as much as I hate attorneys, I recommend you consult one.
many injuries from an accident like this may not show up for years
2006-11-16 01:06:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anarchy99 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋