by kbcouch » Mon Feb 18, 2013 02:07 pm
Hi...I have a few questions...at this point I am not real far along in my case, so I'm not wanting to ask the attorney. My entire family was involved in a car accident on Xmas Eve. In addition to everything, my airbags didn't go off as they should have but that is a separate issue. As far as injuries, I am looking at herniated discs in my neck and back along with a nasty headache that has not gone away yet. My husband has a possible herniated disc in his back (but there has been a previous injury) and a possible torn meniscus or another ligament in his knee. My youngest daughter broke her nose and my oldest had some chest contusions in her chest, my two boys were just pretty shaken, no visible injuries. The girl made a left turn not assuring clear distant(?) and was eventually cited for that which is the citation that puts her at fault. She also ran from the scene, my friend that was behind us chased her down the freeway for at least 10 miles to get her to pull over and was calling in the temp tag to 911, so they eventually got her. Now, this is not her vehicle, it was her sisters :shock: and she didn't carry any insurance, nor does the sister :shock: A real mess to say the least...so the only insurance we have to deal with is our own. I never scrimped on insurance so we do have a 100/300 uninsured and a $100,000 per person medical payments (we are in Ohio btw). My insurance has already taken care of the car which was totaled, less the deductible. They said they will subrogate against both women for the car and if they receive anything, the first $500 will come to us to reimburse for the deductible. Not sure if there is any recoverable money on their side, especially with no auto insurance, I'm sure they don't even have other assets, except the sister does own another vehicle which is insured. Funny thing is the girl that hit us qualified for a public defender and now all the sudden has a private attorney and was able to bail herself out! So at this point, just medical bills alone for Xmas Eve have already totalled well over $20,000 and ambulance bills still haven't been received, nor the bill from Rainbows Hospital where they had to end up sending my youngest. My husband and I are both in therapy until Feb 27 for now...MRI's were just done last week, so that may determine further therapy or possible surgeries. So just imagine what the medical bills alone are right now...plus my husband was out of work for approximately a month and a half...I have not been back to work yet! I guess a question is...are the limits of our uim policy the maximum that we could go for or is that after the medical payments cover all medical? I'm pretty certain that the 'value' of the accident is going to be pretty high, but I think we are limited to the $300,000 policy. What if the value ends up being more than this, will the attorney try to go for more than policy limits?
Thanks! :wink:
Thanks! :wink:
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 03:44 pm Post Subject:
She also ran from the scene
I'm waiting for it...and she didn't carry any insurance, nor does the sister
Yup... saw that one coming.Funny thing is the girl that hit us qualified for a public defender and now all the sudden has a private attorney and was able to bail herself out!
If she has limited income and assets, she can be provided a public defender in a criminal matter. I _think_ she can pay a fee to a bondsman equal to 10% of the bail and get out. Yeah... it's nice that people can have money and not pay for insurance. But hey... at least you are protecting yourself as you should.are the limits of our uim policy the maximum that we could go for or is that after the medical payments cover all medical?
Yes, your limits are the most that your carrier will pay. $100,000 MP seen really high but it could be that. I'd imagine that may address pretty much all of the medical bills, leaving $200,000 in UM for everyone with a max of $100.000 to any one person.Keep in mind that you are now also paying your attorney 33% of your settlement. So that $100,000... just became $66,000 and that $200,000... just became $132,000. Think about that... if one person were to collect the max of $100,000, that person will only get $66,000 and the attorney will walk away with $33,000. If the carrier simply offers up the $100,000 this could mean about 5 or 6 hours worth of work by the attorney. What is the math on what this is per hour?
but I think we are limited to the $300,000 policy
Then something sounds incorrect as per accident limits are usually twice the per person limits (100/200). But it's not impossible that it's 100/300.
will the attorney try to go for more than policy limits?
No... as there is no more money from your carrier then $300,000. The attorney won't go after the person with no money as... .why? If $300,000 is paid then the attorney just made almost $100,000 for what.... 10 hours worth of work? Why would he/she then spend a _lot_ of time and expense getting a worthless judgement against the at fault person? Plus, your carrier would also be pursuing this person who has no money. Are you under the impression that your attorney has your well being in mind as opposed to making about $10,000/hour? Sorry... that is just the way it is. But bottom line, no one will collect anything from the at fault person. You can't get blood from a stone.
at this point I am not real far along in my case, so I'm not wanting to ask the attorney
At $10,000/hour I'd expect this attorney to be bringing me my daily meals every time I rang a bell. Should also be placing a mint on my pillow every night. You don't want to ask the attorney questions at the rate of $10,000/hour? If you were paying a plumber $200/hour... would you be asking him questions?Perhaps your carrier won't pay the limits. Perhaps the attorney will need to file suit. But if that happens, it's not 40% plus expenses that you are paying to the attorney. While it's certainly possible that 2 people would be offered the person $100,000 limit and if the accident limit is really $200,000 they would probably just pay that and call it a day. As even if they wanted to offer a little less, the children's claims would still need to be added in.
Usually attorneys make up for their 33% cut by getting the medical bills reduced (something that anyone can actually do with a phone call) but in this case that should not matter as they are all being paid under MP.
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 06:22 pm Post Subject:
My medical payments are definately $100,000 per person and my UIM is $100,000/$300,000.
Just got my results today and have 5 herniated discs, 3 in the neck and 2 in the lower back, but none are huge enough to warrant surgery, which is great! Waiting on hubby's results that he will get later this afternoon.
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 04:35 am Post Subject:
will the attorney try to go for more than policy limits?
Why, at this point, do you have an attorney? As tcope has said, you have given up 30% or more of your settlement for no reason at all. The attorney cannot get more than the limits of your policy, and you would likely have gotten that on your own. You've most likely made a regrettable mistake.Must have succumbed to the advertising on TV that leads you to believe the insurance companies are bad and attorneys are good.
To all who read this post:
THE TIME TO GET AN ATTORNEY IS WHEN YOU AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY CANNOT AGREE ON A REASONABLE SETTLEMENT, AND NOT ONE MINUTE SOONER.
The only possible exception would be if the statute of limitations is about to run out. But even that is anywhere from 1 year to 10 years down the road from the date of loss, depending on the state you are in.
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