I need your guys opinions on an insurance settlement

[jmoore32fever]

My g/f was rearended(no perverted thoughts) about 4 or so months ago by a 16yr old kid, she's @ a dead stop he hit her about 35mph no use of brakes what so ever.... So the damage total was a Lil over $6k on an 04 mustang worth about $8k they didn't total it out, should of been totaled n my opinion! Yes/no? Anyways she's still having neck problems prolly will the rest of her life, been getting treatment weekly chiropractor & all since 1st week, I mean she tried sking, tubing couldn't do it it hurts her n pops & cracks even bothers her a Lil riding n the boat she's in school has problems studying, she is a medical assistant has problems @ work being on the phone, reading charts etc etc, well today the insurance company calls to make a settlement offer.... $1700 are you f****n kidding, what I want to know is this can't be close to reasonable, so what would be or is the norm for somethin like this?

She told them they'd be hearing from her attorney which is a friend of the family & hung up on them

 

[JupiterSunsation]

Car by law should have been totalled when it has 75% of value in damage.

Don't d!ck around, get a lawyer and let them take care of it. Girlfriend had a similar crash years ago, herniated disc Acura Integra rear-ended by a Suburban. They settled for $85,000, her net was 55K after lawyer/misc. Dr. bills.

 

[Ratickle]

If she is having serious neck problems, get to a specialist, not a chiropractor. My Grandfather went through all that, found out he had a cracked disc.

No settlement yet. Get it fixed.

 

[MattBMiller]

If she is having serious neck problems, get to a specialist, not a chiropractor. My Grandfather went through all that, found out he had a cracked disc.

No settlement yet. Get it fixed.

Best advice.

 

[Expensive Date]

First you have to find out what is causing her problems before you can put a number on any settlement.You need a good lawyer then a good doctor.The lawyer may send you to a doctor he has delt with before.Its tough with auto accidents do you have threshold limits like we do in NJ?

 

[Playn]

don't accept or sign anything from them. Get your team in place

 

[Ted]

Agreed, lawyer first, then doctor for evaluation. She needs to be tracking every appt and lost day at work also. Virtually all settlements and disbursements are based on how much of your life was disturbed. I had one where they offered 600 bucks. Submitted paperwork showing Dr and therapist care over a 2 month period and the settlement went to 6k.

 

[Chris]

I've been injured morethan a few times including several neck & spine injuries. The worst thing I ever did was visit a chiropractor. Not only did it delay me getting legitimate medical care, it definitely exacerbated the problem. And don't stop at just one MD. Find one that makes sense and stick with him.

Neck injuries are almost always inflamed or ruptured discs. And there's only two ways to heal them- a gruesome surgery and an intense resting/healing process. 15 years ago I went through this. I ruptured 3 discs in my neck- two so badly that my spinal cord was compressed flat against the cervical vertebrae in 4 places. It was unimaginably painful. After 4 other doctors, I found one that could fix me. The cure was easy- and hard. The only way to get them to heal was to get the pressure off. That took traction. I sat for 15 minutes every hour for 18 hours a day in a cervical traction device. It put 7 pounds of pressure upwards, relieving the pressure on those discs. For the remaining 45 minutes of that hour, I laid facing straight up on a cervical pillow. I got 6 hours off to sleep. after 3 weeks, my pain was gone. After another 10 days, the discs had shrunk back and healed. I do the "cure" every day before bed now, just to keep the pressure off and basically do "maintenance". It was a very difficult experience, but I had no choice. I would have either endured a surgery that hurts just thinking about- something that I would have never recovered from, or I'd have put a pistol in my mouth.

On your legal issues, you need an attorney right now. DO NOT get one that advertises in the local newspaper or on TV. These are the deal-them-quick guys. Get a real law firm that has downtown offices and a large staff. You're going to get a fairly young associate- that's good. They're under pressure to generate to get that partnership. And they're going to be guided by a senior associate or a partner. I would look into the "friend of the family" thing a bit, but treat it like what it is- business.

 

[Mark]

I agree with the posts above. A chiropractor does not fix anything - just makes if feel better for a very short time period.

She needs to be covered for ALL future medical, etc. expenses! My knees are fuked from a 16 year old kid who hit my car as I was standing next to it. I flew through the air and landed on my knees on concrete. I was 24 - now 38 - they hurt ALL the time! I don't want to go through the expense and rehab time to fix them. I should have sued the bastard!

 

[jmoore32fever]

Thanx for the information guys.... Pretty much assured me on what I have been thinking just wanted to make sure I wasn't out of line with my thoughts, after reading these today I've already told her to make sure & get into a specialist asap, she's been keeping track of all the records & visits, I've even told her make a point to let her attorney know about the amount of damage compared to the value of the car is mentioned.... & brought up for compensation cause she will never be able to get rid of that thing now which she was looking to do before the accident, without pretty much giving it away

 

[Chris]

That's a whole other story- diminished value. Some smart attorneys started going after insurance companies for it. DV is the decrease in value of your vehicle since now it's a "rebuilt wreck". Some car dealers even make you sign affidavits stating that the car wasn't wrecked while in your possession. Many state's insurance commissions put a stop to it.

 

[2biguns]

I'm a small-town lawyer in Alabama and can give you some insight into this.

"Soft-tissue injury" is a term which was invented by the insurance industry in an attempt to minimize whiplash-type injuries and give defense lawyers a way to claim that there is no real injury.

After the republicans took over our appellate court system, I gave up handling these kinds of cases. There's simply no money in them. Absent death, serious injury or broken bones, juries are unsympathetic to defendants who complaint of neck injuries and insurance companies know that if they do get popped by a jury, they can appeal and the verdict is 90% sure to be reversed.

Defense lawyers love to paint chiropractors as quacks, especially when they see a $20,000 bill for 1 year's worth of treatment with no appreciable results (I have seen this myself).

First: Get to a good ortho and try to find out the cause of the problem. There are plenty of studies out there concerning neck trauma and the long-term problems that are clearly linked to the trauma. You need a MD to diagnose and treat the condition.

Second: Find a good trial lawyer (a term which, down here, is listed one place above satan in terms of popularity). Stay away from TV lawyers and phone book lawyers. Ask friends and family or ask the family attorney if he's comfortable handling this type of case. Findlaw.com is another potential resource.

Third: Lower your expectations on what you are going to recover. If Ohio is anything like what Alabama has become, you have some bad news coming.

Good luck. I feel for you. In a recent mediation, our mediator told us that in a study of 10 jury verdicts involving rear-end collisions, 6 of the juries came back with verdicts FOR THE DEFENDANT. Juries have been conditioned/programmed to believe that plaintiffs are evil, money-hungry and greedy and want something for nothing. My response has always been to think about what it would be like if you are walking down the sidewalk, minding your own business, and a 325 defensive lineman for the University of Alabama (I'm biased) came up behind you and hit you full-force without you knowing it. You would/could be crippled for life. Now think about being hit by a car????

Steve Smith
Cullman, Alabama

 

[jmoore32fever]

Thanx Steve If you don't mind I am gonna copy & paste your comment to her father & the attorney who will be handling her case who happens to be a great friend to her family & I believe offered to take the case on @ no charge, they are all from a small town in indiana,(wreck was n ohio) its not like she's looking for a life installment just something reasonable for pain now & n the future ya know... which $1700 n my opinion is like slapping her n the face about 15 times. $1700 isn't even the amount these a**holes saved by not totalling out her car

one other thing I see the point of jury's seeing people as hungry blood suckers only wanting money anymore... People sueing over anyhthing anymore I mean realistically a black woman got what $250 millon or somewhere around that # for harrassment from NASCAR? don't get me wrong I don't believe it was right what she went through but but $250mill? & I'm sure actually 100% positive there's worse scenerios then this.... People just amaze me anymore to just award money over nothing & people wonder why this country is crashing

 

[Ratickle]

Make sure she sees a real neck specialist now. That is the #1 most important thing.

 

[2biguns]

My dad has practiced law for 52 years and has seen the pendulum swing from the plaintiffs/trial lawyers running the show to the defendants/insurance companies. Right now, insurance companies carry the big stick.

In Alabama, Carl Rove engineered the most brilliant campaigns in a couple of our Supreme Court races a few years ago and single-handedly was able to start our change. Admittedly, the trial lawyers had gotten out of hand but it was not all that bad. He was able to coin the phrase "tort hell" when referring to Alabama and the public bought into it and it took off.

I had a lower court case 2 weeks ago where my lady was in your same spot. Rear ended by a careless driver. She was sitting waiting to turn, a truck behind her skidded to a stop but was able to avoid hitting her then a 2nd vehicle plowed into both cars. Insurance adjuster for car #2 would not even make an offer because my lady had given a statement that she thought there may have been 2 impacts. I had an eye witness who said only 1 and my lady said at trial that the jerking by the seat belt was what made her think 2 impacts (not that it matters, car #2 admitted to hitting them).

She was treated and released and luckily was not hurt much at all. She just wanted her dang car fixed and ER bill paid. We could have settled for $4,500. I could not believe the defense lawyer when she said she did not have ANY authority to settle.

Went to trial and Judge gave my lady $10,000 and gave the driver in the middle car $3500 for damage to his truck.

My lady just wanted what was fair. I'm tickled that she was able to stick it to the "man" for once.

Good luck.

Steve

PS: Before anyone takes offense over the Rove comments, I also have defended insurance companies and am defending a doctor in a malpractice case. I guess I swing both ways :26:

 

[Audiofn]

I would not be so down on Chiropractors. Mine has taken me from lieing on the couch and unable to do anything to having fairly few problems with an occasional visit for a tune up. That to me was/is MUCH better then the operation that would have taken me out of work for months. I figure that the longer she gets me to last the new technology may get out there to make the operation easier. If you do go the chiro. route then research them just like you would a doctor, they are not all the same. I have had pinched nerves that would have taken weeks to recover form. I go to see mine and I am fine walking out the door.

 

[mosi]

In our County in NW Ohio......Bodily Injury settlements run 2 1/2- 3 1/2 X medical bills

 

[Chris]

I would not be so down on Chiropractors. Mine has taken me from lieing on the couch and unable to do anything to having fairly few problems with an occasional visit for a tune up. That to me was/is MUCH better then the operation that would have taken me out of work for months. I figure that the longer she gets me to last the new technology may get out there to make the operation easier. If you do go the chiro. route then research them just like you would a doctor, they are not all the same. I have had pinched nerves that would have taken weeks to recover form. I go to see mine and I am fine walking out the door.

A Chiro is fine if you have some muscle soreness, etc. If you have a moderate to severe injury, that's not the place to go.

Truthfully, if you're overweight you're going to have spine problems. If you're overweight AND injured, you're screwed. Surgery is just patchwork and most of the surgeries I have seen leave the recipient with less mobility and a lifetime of pain. And I've seen a half-dozen people with spine issues drop 30-40 lbs and lead pain-free lives. It's not just the weight, it's the alteration in posture.

 

[phragle]

I believe in chiropractors in certain instances..when I was racing I saw one 2 or 3 times a week, after wrestling a 300+ pound atv for a couple hundred miles, I would walk in monday, barely standing...fixed me right up...but that was a repetive strain type injury, plus we knew exactly where I stood. she has an impact injury and needs to be properly evaluated and treated.

 

[2biguns]

In our County in NW Ohio......Bodily Injury settlements run 2 1/2- 3 1/2 X medical bills

I've practiced law for 23 years and for the first 15 or so, you could usually count on a target of 3 times specials for a settlement figure and typically a jury would do the same (theory being 1/3 for the doctor, 1/3 for injured party and 1/3 for lawyer).

Here, that rule has been thrown out the window. For instance, you do not get to argue to the jury what the doctor CHARGED but rather what Blue Cross PAID for the service. They (insurance companies) also will nit pick on diagnostic tests, arguing that they don't provide treatment for the injury.

That's where the chiropractor bills come in (and I love my chiropractor, by the way). If the chiro does what GOOD chiros do, he/she will address the condition, treat it and release. It's when they recommend 6 months of weekly follow-up adjustments that causes problems.

I've got a girl right now who was not at fault and has $1,700 in specials and has Medicaid so we'll have to protect the lien no matter what. Adjuster offered $3k and I suspect won't budge. That's probably as good as it's going to get. I'll cut my fee to next-to-nothing so the girls can at least get something for being hammered by a negligent driver.