A year and a half ago, my date hit me in the face with a bottle of champagne. Thus resulting in an implant in my front tooth. Total damages over $8,000.
I missed tons of school and work, and had to drive an hour to the dentist each time.
Insc. only offered me 1500 for my settlement. Am i getting screwd?
2007-08-10 11:54:43 · 8 answers · asked by funkydrea 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Insurance
Your right I was unclear.
The incident happened at his house, I filled a claim under his home owners insurance, Liberty Mutual. He was drunk, I was sober, and it was an accident when he hit me in the face.
They are paying for all of my dental costs. The $1500 is for my settlement.
Thanks for all the advice!
2007-08-10 13:24:21 · update #1
Do i sue the insurance company or the guy personally?
thanks again for the help!
2007-08-13 17:46:07 · update #2
I'd say you got screwed when you were hit in the face with a champagne bottle. Take the $1500 and be glad your bills were paid and know that whenever the guy goes to buy homeowners insurance, he's going to have to explain the claim to the next carrier which I would think would be uncomfortable to do.
2007-08-10 17:52:36 · answer #1 · answered by bundysmom 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are a lot of unanswered questions here, but let me give you some insight in what the adjuster is probably considering. 1) The total amount of your dental/medical expenses; 2) The length of time in which you experienced "pain & suffering;" 3) Your relationship with the insured (your boyfriend) and the circumstances surrounding the loss; 4) The venue in which the a possible lawsuit would be filed (is this an county or district where juries award a lot of money?); 5) How you and your boyfried present as a witness on your own behalf; 6) Whether or not you're fully recovered or have ongoing problems, symptoms or scarring.
There are other considerations, but this is a good start. You should talk to your adjuster and see what he/she is thinking.
2007-08-10 20:46:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You also need to take him to court for personal injury!!! In small claims, it is 5 thousand, that is not enough for what he did to you. You lost time at school, and everyone knows that once a tooth is removed there will be shifting and things will never be the same, never settle you have allot more money coming to you, this is a civil claim or hire a lawyer, you will have to pay the attourney a third, if they want more, tell them forget it, now, the statue of limitations are gone in 2 years so you better get on the ball, the longer you wait, the more it hurts these cases. If you settle for this type of claim then you are getting screwed, but I never heard of someone's insurance settling for an assult! What is really is going on here? I hope you have all the hospital and dentist claims, If not they can get them for you, I hope the police were involved i this. You should talk to an attourney. This is permanent damage and will continue to be cost building in the future, take that jerk for all you can.
2007-08-12 08:05:50 · answer #3 · answered by Dolly 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You did not provide enough information to really answer this question. There is probably a whole lot more to the story than what you are telling us.
Based on the little information you provided:
It could be the insurance company is extending a "nuisance offer". There may be reasons why they feel they are not liable or coverage is questionable. Sometimes in those cases you make a nuisance offer - it is a small offer that is made just to make the claim go away and avoid litigation expenses. The insurance company knows they could go to court and probably win, but it would cost them more in expenses than what they are offering. So it is worth it to make a small offer just to make the claim go away.
The best thing to do is ask they adjuster what they based their offer on.
2007-08-10 19:36:21 · answer #4 · answered by Boots 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not by the insurance company, but your date sure did a number on you.
The INSURANCE company will only offer you "medical payments" coverage, because assuming he did this at his house, it was an INTENTIONAL ACT, which is EXCLUDED under his liability coverage.
So only the "no fault" medical coverage would apply. NORMALLY, the medical payments limit is $500 or $1,000. Clearly in this case, it's $1500, or they wouldn't be offering you that much.
If you take it, be SURE you're only signing off on medical damages, and you aren't agreeing to not sue him for the rest of the medical costs. Then you sue the hell out of him, and you'll get your $8,000, plus pain & suffering, in the courtroom. Of course, COLLECTING the money is a whole different matter.
2007-08-10 19:33:01 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Possibly. They may feel it was partly your fault for dating such a wonderful guy. Do the reasons they give you (for offering such a low amount) sound valid? Did you have any dental or medical insurance coverage that might apply? Did you press charges and sue the assailant? Does your state have a victims assistance program that might help?
2007-08-10 19:26:37 · answer #6 · answered by siamesedharma 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They paid your dental expenses,and are also offering you $ 1500? Grab it and run.
2007-08-10 23:47:48 · answer #7 · answered by Barry auh2o 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you should date different people. was it champagne or sparkling white wine?
2007-08-12 23:57:09 · answer #8 · answered by barryfl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋