I was hit by a drunk driver on 2/21, How much pain and suffering should I expect to get?

Question

This happened at 3pm on my way to class. My new car (an early graduation gift) was undriveable, and I was taken to the hospital. I was hit from behind, and the man was drunk. He was arrested. My car had $3000 in damages, I have been to the ER twice, family doctor once, taken numerous perscription for pain, and gone to the chiropractor constantly. My medical bills are now over $3000. (this happened a month ago) This was the guys 2nd DUI, and he has had numerous speeding/driving violations. I had muscle sprain/strain, my vertebra are out of alignment, and the natural curve in my neck was straightened. How much paina nd suffering should I expect? Should I take this to court? And will the fact that this is his 2nd DUI affect the verdict/settlement?? How much pain and suffering should I expect?

I have talked with 2 lawyers, both of which are eager to take the case, I just thought I should wait until she makes an offer first. She said she would do so this week... I just didnt know what to expect. Most people said between 10K-20K

My injuries wont last forever, but I went for a week without a car, trying to get to college and work, and I missed work, and classes. I feel that I also suffered mental anguish, from not being able to work out, and be my normal healthy self.

Answer 1

I hope you are feeling better soon.

Yes you should take the driver and his insurance company to court. You should get a good lawyer who is experienced with personal injury who can advise you (don't get one of those guys who advertises on TV.) If you have permanent damage and the possibility of needing future treatment for your condition you need to be compensated beyond your pain and suffering. You should find a good doctor (orthopedist) who can advise treatment that will help you heal quickly. I don't want to guess how much you will get from this, it wouldn't be fair, it is more important that you get better but you need to get a lawyer now.
Please watch out for these things:
1) lawyer only wants you to go to his doctor... this is because they want to drag it out and drive up your bills because this will affect the amount the court awards.
2) treatment that isn't having any effect on your condition.
3) lawyer wanting to rush you for settlement before the full extent of your injury is known.
4) call from the driver's insurance company offering to settle early before all your medical bills are in.

Oh and by the way, to pay for your doctors bills while you are getting better YOUR insurance company may be able to reimburse you until you reach a final settlement with the help of your lawyer. You will have to pay them back. Know that your lawyer will take between 25% to 40% of your final settlement.
Good luck and take care.

Oh and by the way, you probably won't end up going to court, your lawyer will advise you that the driver's insurance company has made you an offer that he thinks you should settle for and you will decide if you think it is enough and accept or decline.

If they are offering 20,000 before you have a lawyer then either this is the maximum you will get and you will not have to give a percent to your lawyer... or 'she' is taking advantage of your youth and expecting to turn your head with 20,000.
LOOK I GOT 15,000 IN 1994 and I was not hurt as badly as you!!! be careful!

Answer 2

As a passenger in a car, you have no fault at all in this accident. But the question is, who is at fault for this accident? Granted the other driver was drunk, but is he at fault or is your friend at fault? If you friend is at fault, then any settlement you could get would be with your friends auto insurance company. I have had many times had accidents where the person at fault was not the drunk, but the other driver, which sucks since you could argue the other person was drunk and should never be in the car driving, but if not liable, off the hook, other than possibly getting arrested for being DUI. You state you have a big scar on your head for life. Did you go to the ER due to a gash in your head from hitting the windshield and they had to stitch you up leaving a scar? Or if this scar just a really bad bruise that over time will go down and become normal? In some states if you did not seek medical treatment, may not be entitled to a injury settlement period. If medical treatment was sought, then you "might" have a injury settlement due you, but once again it is based on state law where you live. Talk to the insurance company that is liable for this accident.

Answer 3

first you need a attorney to take care of this, or you'll get very little, and know that your attorney will keep 33% of the money collected, but it's worth it, you should get some where between 5000 for your pain and sufferings, and all your bills paid off by the other guys' insurance company

Answer 4

Choose a lawyer. If he makes an offer, tell him itis inthe handsof your attorney.

As to pain and suffering, LOL, Let your lawyer come up with a figure.

Answer 5

I presume you are in the US. I am in a different country. Same thing happened to me, but the other driver was just careless, not drunk. The insurance company may start to harass you. They will want to pay you as little as possible. I got a good lawyer who specialised in traffic law and accidents and left them to it. It took me about 3 years to recover, all the time in great pain from nerve damage in the neck. It was excruciating, as you'll know. The insurance company sent their own Occupational Therapist to assess me, as they hope to prove you are just "putting it on". He soon knew that I was not pretending and bought me a lot of tools to help me with lifting etc, I could not lay flat in bed, and he suggested a reclining chair, and I slept in this for over a year. Ice packs, heat pads, T E N S machine, that the physiotherapist taught me to use, and it helped a lot working on the nerve system to fool it into thinking it was not hurting! Great invention! He was a great help to me. I had a great physiotherapist and saw her about 4 times a week, keeping all the receipts for everything, and submitting them to my lawyer. The insurance company told me I should have recovered in 12 weeks, but when I visited the neurosurgeon who saw me in the ER room after the accident, she said think about recovering in 18 or more MONTHS! The insurance company still insisted that I should have recovered, and sent me to 3 private assessments by specialists. They paid about $3,000.00 for each assessment, so it really cost them! After examining me, the specialists discovered further damage and advised further physio and massage treatment. So the insurance company helped me although they expected to discover that I had recovered! I also had a great Registered Massage Therapist and her treatment really helped me the most. I saw her about 4 times each week. She did Trigger Point Therapy into the painful points in my neck, shoulders and back. It hurt like HELL, but it really helped an hour later, and the pain went over the years. I still visit her about every 3 months as I'll still get a pain from my neck up to the top of my skull sometimes, and this is since the accident, never before. I got many other things to help me survive the pain, keeping the receipts along the way. A refitted kitchen with counter tops to stop me bending, an eye level oven as I could not bend. A jacuzzi to help my pain, all the things recommended by the O T and physio and massage therapists. My new car had been a write-off, so they paid me almost full price for that and my other expenses totalled about $50,000.00. They paid a few thousand extra for pain and suffering, but I had the option of taking the other driver to court under a civil action if I had wanted to pursue that course, but it is very time consuming, and as I was by then very busy, I decided not to take that path. You are obviously younger, so you may wish to do that.
Sorry, but I do not think a chiroprctor is helpful in this situation, although they may help certain other conditions. I think you should try my route and treat the nerve pain rather than realigning bones and constantly irritating the nerve roots by moving them. The nerve to one of my arms was actually cut, and it took just over one year to regrow and I got feeling in the arm again very slowly. I think the physio and massage treatments can be very comforting for pain, with the heat and cold treatment and the various machines they use, moreso than the jerking realignments of the chiropractor.
If you have the time to take the drunk driver to court and can get a very good lawyer to advise you and act for you, I would advise you to go that route. I'm not sure of how your law works. If the drunk driver is insured, I presume his insurance company will pay your damages, however, if he was not insured, and poor, where will your damages come from? You could end up with nothing and liable to court costs. I think you should get a good lawyers advice on civil matters before taking any action. Keep every receipt for all your outgoings related to the accident. Good luck. Work hard on your recovery. With this neck whiplash injury, if you don't treat it well now, you will suffer many problems in later life. Sadly I learned this the hard way.

Answer 6

lots, get a lawyer yesterday

Answer 7

About ten million dollars worth :-s

Answer 8

a lot