I was in an accident and the lady didn't have insurance. I had uninsured motorist insurance. I found out from my insurance agent uninsured pays for pain and suffering and lost wages etc... My medical bills were around $3,000. They offered me a settlement of $2,700. I was told I should get three times my medicial bills and lost wages. Is this right?
2007-12-28 10:37:26 · 5 answers · asked by Dave & Sunny 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Insurance
As the first poster said, the 2-4 times the amount of medical bills is just a number that is thrown out for what people think they should recover for pain and suffering.
Who told you that you should get 3 times your medical bills and lost wages?
What are your lost wages?
Question - was there actually any "pain and suffering" outside of what the medical bills were? And for the medical bills, is that actually how much you paid or what the cost would have been without health insurance? Because if you had health insurance and it only cost you the co-pay, the auto insurance company isn't going to want to give you a "windfall" and the health insurance company may claim they are entitled to more money (usually not successful).
Also, what state are you in?
Read your policy carefully as to what is covered and what is not.
The agent is probably not who offered you the settlement, it would have been the claims adjuster.
There is probably also an arbitration clause in your policy.
2007-12-28 11:31:30 · answer #1 · answered by Princess Leia 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
People throw out the 2-4 times your medical bills as pain and suffering as though it were a law. It is NOT. It is useful tool that many insurers use, but it's NOT a requirement.
You should get ALL of your medical bills and ALL lost wages without any hassles so long as you have the documentation that it's accident-related.
DEPENDING on what happened (how severe the injury) you might get NOTHING to about $12K absolute max. (With $3K in med bills you did not lose a limb, an eye, become paralyzed, etc. so there is a limit to the seriousness of the damage because of the medical expense you listed).
As this is your insurance paying out, your agent is in a bit of a conflict as he's trying to help you (the customer) but getting money from HIS company. Your rates will also possibly go up. You may end up having to switch insurers.
All legit expenses should be paid, but your pain and suffering award will NOT be a windfall. You can take THAT to the bank.
Good luck and be careful as you negotiate because I'm sure your policy allows them to pay nothing for pain and suffering if they so choose--very clever lawyers write these things and other clever lawyers would charge you more than you'd get to try to work against it.
Good luck.
2007-12-28 10:49:09 · answer #2 · answered by heyteach 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No 3X the bills/wages is not right.
Each case is evaluated on it's own merits.
Here's some examples of why 3X is not correct:
Lady had a car wreck - ran up $8000 worth of x ray diagnostics (MRI's, X ray). All diagnostics were negative - IE - found nothing wrong with her. Her total bills were $10,000. She had a neck strain that resolved itself with time.
Do you really think this lady should get $30,000?
The claim settled for $15,000 (and yes, she had an attorney).
The excessive amounts of diagnostics did not add any value to her claim. Other than dollar for dollar - lost wages do not add value to a claim. You are only going to get paid 1 time for the time you missed - not 3.
An elderly lady suffered a non-displaced sternum fracture in an accident. She presented to the ER and 1 visit to her family Dr. Her medical bills were about 2000.00.
Now - the sternum is the flat bone in the middle of your rib cage. There is no therapy you can do for it. Every time the lady breathed, moved it hurt. The only thing you can do is let it heal - a good 6 -8 weeks worth. Do you think her claim was only worth 6000?
Nope - that claim settled for 10,000 (no attorney).
Was the offer 2700 total or 3000 for the bills + 2700 for you?
With out knowing more about your injuries, property damage, medical treatment received I can't really comment on your injury/offer.
But no....3X bills/wages is not correct. Most soft tissue injuries settle for 1500 above bills/wages to no more than 2X bills (if you want to use a multiplyer).
2007-12-29 01:34:32 · answer #3 · answered by Boots 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Simple answer is that your uninsured motorist will pay for your direct medical expenses. Any pain and suffering would have to be determined in court.
You would have to sue the negligent party for pain and suffering. If you were successful and the other party was unable to pay the judgment your uninsured motorist coverage would pay the judgment to you, up to the policy limit you chose.
2007-12-29 02:44:55 · answer #4 · answered by Tom Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope, it's not hard and fast. But if your policy is already paying your medical bills, it's going to depend on the type and extent of injuries, and WHY you lost the wages. "oops I didn't have a car to get to work" isn't going to get you lost wages coverage. "Oops, my doctor told me I couldn't work for a week" will.
If your policy is NOT paying medical bills, that settlement HAS TO INCLUDE them, as your health carrier will get first dibs on any money from the "settlement" for reimbursement.
You need to discuss this with your agent. They have more specific information, and will be able to give you more state specific advice.
2007-12-28 13:27:10 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋