The insurance company wants me to start the negotations with a figure. However I don't want to start to low. I sustained a sprained ankle and sore neck. My car is totaled. What is the average settlement. He was driving a company car.
2007-04-30 11:58:25 · 18 answers · asked by blacklady 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
Dude. Get a lawyer. Peace and God bless.
2007-04-30 12:01:20 · answer #1 · answered by cave man 6 · 1⤊ 7⤋
They are going to want resonable expense. Check with the doctor and find out if you will be able to do your job that you are currently in, or any job that you have been training for and were about to suceed in (if you just passed your commercial license and wanted to be a trucker, but can't because of your range in motion in the neck) that sort of thing. Then find out how many more visits they are expecting to bring you back to the norm. If you show them a break down like this, they will respect your request a lot more than just one dollar figure
Car (Year, Make, Model) Estimated amount by Kelley Blue book, Nada, and local market (ads in the paper
Current Doctor Bills
Current Loss of Wages (hours missed times hourly rate)
Future Doctor Bills (based on estimate, always round up..3-5 weeks 5 times a week, the estimate 25 visits)
Future Loss of wages (How much time will you have to take off to attend physical therapy or the chiropractor)
That is a fair settlement. If you want to obtain a lawyer, go for it. The only thing is, they will take about half your settlement and will cause even more time out of work to go to court. What they never tell you in the commercials is what the offered settlement was before the court date and how much they ended up with after. Usually, it is about a 20.00 difference for a whole lot of extra work. If you have an insurance claim adjuster on your side (through your insurance) ask him what he thinks a fair settlement is. Something in the 100,000 range is way too much unless he totalled your bentley and you can no longer hold on to that professional soccer, snowboarding, or surfing career.
2007-04-30 15:49:45 · answer #2 · answered by buttrfly52 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A sprained ankle is worth next to nothing. The neck may be worth more, depending on how long the injury actually affects you. This is not a lottery, you aren't meant to be rich because of it. Have you missed work? You are entitled to be reimbursed for that, and for any hospital/medical expenses. Beyond that, a sore neck that goes away in a few days may be worth $1,000. If you have soft-tissue injuries that linger, and those are hard to quantify, one can only guess at a fair figure. It could be in the $10,000 to $15,000 range, depending on your doctor's report. $100,000? Fuggedaboutit! Drunk driver does not mean more money, by the way, what counts is the level of injury and personal loss. Just because he was in a company car does not mean injuries are worth more, by the way, or we would all be throwing ourselves in front of Microsoft staff cars. Note any injury settlement is over and above the settlement on your car, which I have not taken into account. they do have to give you fair market value for that.
2007-04-30 12:45:59 · answer #3 · answered by Fred C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it's a major company or anything bigger than the local pizzaria, I'd start with $300,000 plus 3 times the cost of a new car. and not settle for much less. If the driver was issued a DUI summons you've got them by the balls. Be sure to document every doctor visit, pharmacy perscription, complaint, ache and pain, and day of work missed. Remember that you could have a latent injury to your neck or foot that may not show up for a few years, so plan to ask for enough in case your pain should persist for 10 years.
If they won't settle for close to that, I'd shuffle my feet and casually mention the son of a *****, mean lawyer who will be taking over if things don't come to an agreement. In which case you'll have to pay him his 30% or more on top of what you get. They may settle quickly. If not, get an SOB.
2007-04-30 13:12:42 · answer #4 · answered by squeezie_1999 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You should really only ask for compensations to pay for the value of the totaled car, the cost of your medical bills for your injuries, amount of money lost due to not being able to work (if any), and the cost for your lawyer plus court fees. Remember: you were an unlucky victim of a drunk driver's irresponsibility and not a lucky lottery winner. It would be unethical to profit from this experience.
Bear in mind that you are very fortunate to walk away from this incident with something far above any monetary compensation: your life.
2007-04-30 12:05:36 · answer #5 · answered by viisionary 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm afraid no one on Yahoo! Answers can come close to answering this for you - every case is unique. I suggest you take an honest inventory of the damage this person caused you, value those damages, and ask for that much. Remember, you're talking about "compensation" - not punishment. How much will the medical bills total? How much will replacing your car cost you (not just the cost of the new car, but in time lost searching for one - time is money)? Take the idea of punishing the driver financially out of your mind and just be honest about what his or her irresponsibility is going to cost you in the long run.
2007-04-30 12:05:19 · answer #6 · answered by john_factorial 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
wow.. so many bad answers. I bet you think your getting like 20 thousand dollars after listening to all these morons huh? haha.. they will laugh to your face.
Him being drunk has NOTHING to do with your injury level. injury level determines settlement.
So what.. you got a sprained ankle... that will get better. You didnt lose an arm. And wait.. are you really trying to say you got a sore throat from the accident? Never heard that one lol.
You will get your medicals expenses plus maybe 500 to 1000 more.... anyone who is on here and tells you that you will get more is seriously delisional. Now, if you want less then 500 to 1000 over medicals.. and possibly less then even medicals awarded.. go ahead and get that lawyer and watch them take all your money.
Dont be greedy.
2007-04-30 13:00:57 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
DONT GET AN ATTORNEY, All they do it take away your money. You are intitled for them to pay all your medicals and loss wages if it is due to the accident and to fix your car or pay you out if the car is wrecked. Then what ever your hospital bills are, you as for three times that amount because if your injury come back later in life you will have the sufficent money to cover that.
2007-04-30 12:43:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should ask for them to at least pay off all your medical bills and equal the price of the car. Just take that figure and add $500 to $1000 extra
2007-04-30 12:03:14 · answer #9 · answered by pete 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would make them pay all of the bills for the car, your ankle, and any pain medication for your neck you might have to take.
2007-04-30 12:02:19 · answer #10 · answered by I can only imagine 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was told once by my insurance company to ask for 3-4 times what my medical bills were. I asked for 3.5 times my bills and they never hesitated - just wrote me a check.
Since the other driver was drunk AND driving a company car, I would get an attorney. Both the driver and the company are at fault and I think you should receive more compensation.
2007-04-30 12:04:32 · answer #11 · answered by honey 4 · 0⤊ 5⤋