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back injury settlement question |
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Question:
My girlfriend who is 8 months pregnant was hit by a driver and it
totaled my car. His insurance is the state minimum of 40/20/15. I am
wondering where we should proceed from here. My girlfriend is mostly
alright except for back pain and a bruise and seatbelt marks. She went
by ambulance to the hospital with contractions and spent the night
after the accident.
My question is do we try to settle with the insurance ourselves? What
can one expect for a settlement in this situation?
Answer:
You need to decide if you wish to be made whole again or if you wish to
try to turn this into a jackpot. If you wish only to be made whole,
which is the honest thing to do here, then you need to decide the fair
value of your car, determine very carefully that your g.f. is not
injured beyond some bruising, and then add up her entire medical bills.
That is the total of your and your g.f.'s actual damages. You should
look to recover from the insurance company that amount plus some pain
and suffering for the inconvenience, pain and the scare your g.f. got.
Based on your OP, I'd hope for $3k and count myself lucky to get it for
the pain and suffering. So I'd recommend you try for actual plus $3k. If
that exceeds the limits of the other guy's policy, then your recourse is
to sue him for the difference.
You can also usually consult with a local PI attorney for free. Why not
do that too?
*Never* try to settle a personal injury case by yourself unless the
initial offer from the insurer is totally satisfactory (and maybe not
even then). Ask your regular lawyer to recommend somebody to represent
you. If you don't have a regular lawyer, ask your friends, relatives,
and co-workers for the name of their personal lawyer, then ask one or
two of those lawyers to recommend somebody.
Once you have a lawyer, he will be able to figure out how much your
property damage and your GF's injuries are "worth". Then he will look
for ways that you can get compensated for that, including possible other
insurance that may not be apparent and/or the assets of the other
driver.
If you are nervous about how much this will cost, you can arrange to pay
the attorney by the hour while he figures out your best strategy and
expected compensation. Then if it isn't substantially higher than the
offer from the other driver's insurance, you can just pay him for a few
hours work. If he expect to get you and your GF substantially more than
the initial offer, you switch over to a contingency contract -- you may
even be able to get him to fold the initial hours into the contingency
deal.
As to how much you might get, I would think something approaching the
fair market value of your car before the accident, plus 2-3 times your
GF's actual medical expenses (ambulance, hospital stay, ER fees, etc.)
But if that totals more than $35K, you may only get $35K. Or if your
car was worth more than $15K, you might get only $15K for the car plus
your GF's compensation. But your GF's injury gives you a little
leverage, which is why it's worthwhile talking to a lawyer.
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