What would be reasonable compensation for broken hand and foot?

Question

The accident...
A few weeks ago my daughter was a passenger in a car when an industrial food service truck turned left in front of them effectively hitting them head on. We were lucky in the fact that it could have been much worse as her door was jammed shut and the car caught fire. Thank goodness for the bystanders that extracted her from the car.
Her situation...
She is 19 and is/was in cosmetology school. Her left hand was broken, she is left handed. Her right foot was broken. Obviously she has not been able to continue her school, is unable to drive and has had to move back home during her recovery. No surgery was required in either case.

I will preface the question by stating that she did not win the lottery by being in this accident. We are not looking for some huge settlement, just what would be reasonable compensation for her pain, suffering and set-back in her cosmetology training.

Answer 1

I think it would be reasonable that the compensation cover all of her medical expenses, any costs associated with the missed schooling and starting wage as a cosmologist for the time she was layed up.

Answer 2

Insurance companies have standard allowances for various stages of injury. A broken bone will usually bring you 3-5 times the amount of medical bills and other incurred expenses. This allows for pain, suffering and inconvenience. I was in a car accident and incurred a broken rib. Other passengers hired attorneys whereas I did not. The agent asked what I was willing to settle for. I went with 3x expenses. He agreed without hesitation. My settlement was actually more than the others because I wasn't giving a 40% cut to the lawyer.

I agree with the person below. Wait until you are certain there are no lingering effects from the accident before you settle. Once you pick up the check, you have to sign a waiver against any further claims.

Answer 3

I like your last point. The problem is that the insurance companies are so used to getting screwed that they are often unreasonable in the approach.

You might want to wait until your daughter is healed to make sure there are no long-lasting damages. Keep track of the cost of everything including the hassle and inability to attend school. They should compensate her for all of that and for pain and suffering.

You are under no requirement to settle too quickly as that would not give you time to know the outcome. If you don't get anywhere on your own, hire an attorney who gets paid for what he can get that is ABOVE the highest insurance company offer. You should pay nothing to get what has already been offered.

Answer 4

You should talk to a lawyer.

But things to consider are:
1. All ambulance and hospital fees.
2. Tuition that can't be recovered (for instance, most institutions have a deadline to drop out after which all paid fees are nonrefundable).
3. Healing time in how it delays her progress in school.
4. How a delay will affect her career prospects. This also goes to delayed income. For instance, if a cosmetologist can make $X/day, and she now has to wait 3 months before continuing her schooling, she effectively loses 90 days of income (and this is assuming that courses are taught year round and that summer doesn't interrupt the process).
5. Extra cost of you and your wife taking care of your daughter. For instance, Since her foot and hand are broken (and probably in a cast) she can't drive herself places, so if you have to drop her off then pick her up later, that is 2 additional trips (instead of her driving herself, parking, then driving back). Also figure in what your time is worth.

Pain and Suffering are much harder to calculate. I would probably try to figure out the above things then double it. If a lawyer contradicts anything I said, go with the lawyer.