by Guest » Wed Jan 12, 2011 11:32 pm
I am a 19 years old male in Washington state and was recently rear ended in a 92 nissan maxima going 40+ miles an hour by a 99 chevy blazer. My car was totaled and the other driver was found completley at fault. my seat broke in the accident and at first no initial pain was felt but shotly after i started to feel really bad pain in my neck and back. so i went to the er told them what happened and after a cat scan and a lookover by the doctor the conclusion was whiplash. i then followed up with my Primary care provider who concluded the same. i then recieved and have been recieving chiropractic ever since. I feel much better now after my chiropractic and im back to normal. The total of medical bills (no lost wages because i was unemployed at the time) was 5660 dollars. Im curious what i should expect to recieve from this realistically. Any thoughts would be appreciated please xplain how you obtained your figure as well
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 02:03 pm Post Subject:
Actually nothing can compensate for your pain and suffering but yes if you have an auto insurance you can claim for all of your damages. The person who was in fault for all this, you can ask him to pay for all your medical bills.
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 02:54 pm Post Subject:
You are entitled to your $5600 in medical expenses -- except that, to the extent those expenses were already paid by any medical insurance you have/had, they are payable to the insurance company -- and to the damages to your vehicle (about $500 -- its an 18-19 year old car).
These "specific" (or "special") damages are payable by the at fault party. If they have auto liability & property damage insurance, their insurance company will write the checks, probably without blinking.
As for your "general" damages for the ubiquitous "pain and suffering", this is not a million dollar case. If you want to be reasonable and settle this quickly, ask for $2000 - $2500 (and expect a counteroffer of about $1000). By your own admission, you had no lost wages and you are "back to normal" fairly quickly, so I don't think you suffered too much more than if you got pummeled in a neighborhood football game or a snowboarding tumble. A little Motrin, a little physical therapy, and voila! Good as new.
To attempt to claim significantly more than a couple of thousand dollars, without any permanent injury or disfigurement, will delay the settlement of your entire claim (the insurance company wants to write one check to cover all claims), and possibly lead you go look for an attorney (who will take 30%-40% of the TOTAL settlement, including the $500 for your car), which will probably result in you ending up with less in your pocket than if you settle quickly and reasonably.
Add your comment