by JonaLee » Sat Aug 23, 2008 12:03 pm
When adjusters get that package thing from an attorney with documents, photos and other papers and etc. How long does it usually state in the letter to respond? Do adjusters really respond by or on the date? How do they respond by phone, email, letter or fax?
Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 03:15 am Post Subject: car accident
I was hit on august 17th by a van that was cut off by a car that ran a red light I was sitting in a left turn lane . She got a ticket for cutting the van off into me. This caused me to soft tissue injuries to my neck area. During this time I found out I had torn my bicep tendon and tear in rotator cuff on left shoulder same side of vechical that I was hit on. I had 43000 dollars of doctors bills and 9000 of lost waves. What should the claim be and how much is it worth and how long to settle for a claim like this.
Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 05:58 pm Post Subject:
What should the claim be and how much is it worth and how long to settle for a claim like this.
Pretty sketchy details at this point.In a personal injury situation, you are entitled to 100% of the legitimate medical expenses you incur, as well as documented lost wages directly attributable to your injuries. Assuming the amounts you state are all attributable to your collision, then, at a minimum, you are entitled to $52,000. This amount is know as "special damages" or "specific damages" because these are numbers that can be verified.
HOWEVER . . . if any portion of your medical expenses were paid for by your personal health insurance (employer-sponsored or not), 100% of those payments are reimbursable to the health insurance company -- a concept known as subrogation. WHY? Because your personal health insurance is not intended to pay for medical expenses due to the negligence of, or caused by, a third party (such as a work-related injury or illness, traffic collision, etc),
Sometimes people claim lost wages when, in fact, they did not actually lose time from their work, so you must properly document those hours or days. If you have been compensated for some of your lost time through sick leave or vacation pay, you can still be reimbursed for that, if you were forced to take those days/hours only by virtue of your injuries. You normally cannot claim as "lost time" a vacation period that was already scheduled unless you were prevented from actually going on the vacation because you were hospitalized or undergoing treatment.
In other words, a person cannot "double-dip" the system for their own personal enrichment.
When you ask "how much is it worth" you are probably asking about "general damages" -- the ubiquitous "pain and suffering" claims that accompany torts such as traffic collisions. No one here can tell you what that's "worth" -- that's for you or a judge or jury to decide.
Have you been permanently disfigured? Are you now suffering a permanent disability -- a loss of range of motion in your left arm that will impair you ability to work and earn wages? These are just a couple of the factors that figure into a claim for general damages. Some people, and attorneys, will say, "Ask for two or three times your medical expenses." That may be a starting point, or it may be an upper limit. Regardless, it's arbitrary and there is no "rule" that provides any guidance.
Additionally, you don't tell us what the at-fault party's insured limit of liability is. If it were my auto policy, that amount would be $250,000. If it's my college student neighbor, who rents the three bedroom home he shares with 10 other students, it could be $0 or it could be as little as the state minimum in CA of $15,000. Which means that you would possibly be looking at a claim under your own uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage if . . . you have it.
And, last but not least, we don't even know if you are in a "no-fault" state where the rules could be entirely different, leaving you to first claim against your own PIP coverage.
Additionally, you mention that the collision occurred on "August 17" and I assume you mean 2013. You could be dangerously close to a 1-year requirement to file a claim with the other party's insurance company if you haven't already done so.
If you have been attempting to do this on your own,, but haven't really done anything, you are running out of time and need help immediately. You can email me for more information about how to proceed.
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