accident (long question)?

Question

Ok heres the deal 3 years ago I fell coming out of the lockerroom shower into the bathroom at the University of Akron. It was a extremly confined space with no rubber mats on the floor. 6 of my teeth were jammed into my gum line. Breaking my gum bone in three places. I was down ther for the weekend for a AA conference. When I went to sue the lawyer didnt want to sue a major University + there was a agreement with AA saying that Akron U wasnt responsible for anything that happened on university property. I recieved a 5000 dollar no fault insurance claim from AA's insurance company but that didnt cover even half of medical bills, my insurance did what they did best and found a loop hole to not even cover 1/4th of the total. Now I just paid to get a denture out of my own pocket and I lawyer that i work for thinks he can sue the insurance company? Is he right I really want to just move on with my life but he keeps pressuring it. He was also talking about sueing Akron U again?

Answer 1

I know you are receiving negative responses to your question, but I side with your Lawyer, you see, this is only the Beginning, you could have problems from that "fall" for a lifetime. If your own insurance company found a "loop hole", maybe your Lawyer has also! Just as long as he will NOT charge you, regardless of the outcome, what I mean, if you loose, so does he. If he wins, you both win. Make sure of this, and get his "commission fee" in writing. It could be as high as 50%. So be careful. I would, if it were me, get a medical statement as to your prognosis and go from there. In other words, if the prognosis is that ALL is OK now, Move ON, if it doesn't - take your Lawyer's advise. Not All lawyers are money hungry. I am a Paralegal, and do Tenant/Landlord cases for FREE for people in need and so do several of the Lawyers I associate with. See a doctor first and go from there. Don't see a Plastic Surgeon, See a Oral Surgeon and an Orthopaedic Surgeon. These are the Specialists that will determine future problems, if any! Good Luck

Answer 2

You'll have to find out the statute of limitations on tort claims or tort-based lawsuits in the state of Ohio. It's two years from the date of the incident in most cases, so you may be barred from taking action against the University of Akron or AA. If it's three years or longer in Ohio you may still be able to sue the University of Akron, even if they had an agreement with AA, unless you signed a hold-harmless agreement before you went to the conference.

As for the issue with AA's insurance company -- Do you remember the insurance company giving you anything to sign before they gave you the check? If so, you're probably stuck with the $5,000.00 settlement there. When insurance companies agree to pay on claims they usually require the recipient of the check to sign an agreement that effectively bars them from filing any further claims or taking any other legal action. That's how they cover their @$$es. If you didn't sign anything like that and the statute of limitations hasn't passed, you can still sue AA's insurance company.

Answer 3

In order to receive the $5,000, you probably signed a release stating that you were abandoning all claims. Since you probably knew at the time that you had more expenses than that, you should not have cashed the check if you were not willing to call it a complete release and dismissal of all claims. Language to that effect is usually written on the insurance company's check, so that you are responsible for having read it before you endorse and cash the check.

So there's probably nothing you can do at this late date. The statute of limitations has run on starting a lawsuit, and the insurance company probably has your signature on the check, and possibly on a release as well, saying that is all you are going to get.

Answer 4

Be honest with your lawyer that you work for and give him all pertinent facts. If you hire him for the case, good luck. Make sure he knows about the 5000 dollars. The 5000 came from AA, not Akron correct?

Answer 5

If you have moved on then I would advise your lawyer to do the same. If he/she is pressuring you that badly it's because they're just money hungry, not because they're looking out for your well being.

Answer 6

I don't understand what your problem is. You fell, nobody pushed you: it's your problem. Why should you be collecting money? If you have medical insurance, you should use it, but otherwise you have no right to be collecting money from anyone. Pay more attention next time so you don't fall.