Do we need a lawyer and how do choose one?

[Sethsmom]

In Alabama, a child reaches majority at 19. Any child under the age of 19 cannot enter into a settlement without having a guardian appointed to make sure that whatever money is paid is in the best interest of the child. You do not have to have an "attorney" meaning you can enter into a settlement pro se but the court will appoint a GAL to make sure the settlement is fair. Depending on which state you live in, this could also apply to your situation. Even if you said that you would settle with the insurance company, they may still require a hearing due to the age of your daughter. You might agree to a settlement for $3,000 and the GAL (after reviewing the case medical records, bills) could say that it was not enough and get more. The GAL is paid by the at fault driver's insurance company and is paid a fee set by the Judge.

If you go and hire an attorney, you will be responsible for his fee. Normally they set fees at 40% of the recovery plus expenses. A lot of attorneys offer free consultations and you could find out whether your daughter is considered a minor and work from there. If they are offering to pay without a problem, I would not hire an attorney. I would call your local bar association if you think you need an attorney.

 

[ess]

In Alabama, a child reaches majority at 19. Any child under the age of 19 cannot enter into a settlement without having a guardian appointed to make sure that whatever money is paid is in the best interest of the child. You do not have to have an "attorney" meaning you can enter into a settlement pro se but the court will appoint a GAL to make sure the settlement is fair. Depending on which state you live in, this could also apply to your situation. Even if you said that you would settle with the insurance company, they may still require a hearing due to the age of your daughter. You might agree to a settlement for $3,000 and the GAL (after reviewing the case medical records, bills) could say that it was not enough and get more. The GAL is paid by the at fault driver's insurance company and is paid a fee set by the Judge.

If you go and hire an attorney, you will be responsible for his fee. Normally they set fees at 40% of the recovery plus expenses. A lot of attorneys offer free consultations and you could find out whether your daughter is considered a minor and work from there. If they are offering to pay without a problem, I would not hire an attorney. I would call your local bar association if you think you need an attorney.

40% in Alabama? Wow, everywhere else I know of is a third for settlements and 25% for workers comp claims. Is Alabama overrun with attorneys? Seems they would all want to live there and I'd be out of a job

 

[Miz Diz]

I wouldn't hire an attorney right off. If you feel the insurance company is not giving you a fair shake, then go for the attorney. If you hire an attorney, you will be paying him/her a third of whatever money you get from the insurance company. If you get an attorney, get a personal injury attorney, not a real estate atty like someone suggested. And don't go for an attorney who advertises on tv. I used to be friends with this guy who is an attorney and he always said there is a reason that they advertise and their goal is to get a bulk of personal injury claims. He will not advertise and won't even take an ad out in the yellowpages because he says a good attorney doesn't need to advertise.

 

[ty&brenmom]

Don't let the fact that the other driver works for a major company put $$$ signs in your eyes.

It is the responsibility of the insurance company of the driver in whose car she was a passenger to go after the delivery company's insurer. She is covered as a passenger under the driver's policy. The driver's insurer will (depending on your state) either pay your daughter's medical expenses or go after the other guy's insurer.

Insurance is designed to make people who suffer injuries in accidents whole again. If your daughter's medical expenses are paid (all costs, including therapy) and she is compensated for lost wages, she is basically whole.

Unless she feels that her injuries are far more serious than initially thought, you don't need an attorney to help you sign a settlement agreement. In fact, the attorneys who are employed by your daughter's friend's insurance company should be negotiating this on her behalf, if the other driver is determined to be at fault. This is the real difference between insurance companies.... the quality of their bulldogs.

Couple of simple concepts to remember. One, your daughter deserves to be made whole. She doesn't deserve a $3m settlement. Unless you can prove it was anything other than an unfortunate accident, and your daughter is extensively disabled, you have little chance of recovering more than that. Also, the insurer will want to get the matter settled in a timely manner. They will often offer a couple of thousand dollars on top of what your daughter's costs are to speed things along. Nothing wrong with taking such an offer if you are sure her injuries are minor and treated. If you hire an attorney, you may recover more money, but the attorney will deduct his 33% off the top. Then he will deduct his costs.

Good luck.

I totally agree with this. If the driver of the vehicle your daughter was in does not have PIP or med pay on his vehicle then she has a few options. Depending on how much your daughter needs in physical therapy care her options are to use her own personal insurance (through an employer or whom ever) or if she has med pay on her auto insurance she can use that, then the insurance companies will subregate with each other when she is finished treating. If none of these options are available then she becomes a third party case, in which the at fault driver's insurance will cover the expenses AFTER she is done treating and settles her case. In Alaska it is begining to become more frequent that if a patient is going to be a third party case they are going to want the patient to pay at the time of service, or some kind of payment plan. In instances that attorney's are hired there can be years before settlement and the doctor not being paid. Then when a trial is set or the attorney and the insurance company have reached an agreement, it may be less for what the doctor bills are, leaving the patient responsible for the bills. I have seen many cases in which my docs (I work for 23 chiropractors as a billing specialist) are asked to reduce their fees, after sitting on a bill for years.

I am sorry to hear about your daughter and hope she recovers easily.

 

[Illuminations_Rocks]

I agree with the posters who say to wait and see what the insurance company says first. Here in California, we're not a PIP state - medpay only - and most people go through the other insurance company directly for payment of their injuries. My company keeps an amount open for payment of bills and then a different settlement amount for the generals. But each state has different auto insurance laws - some follow the driver, some the vehicle, some just follow you - so not all of the advice you're receiving may be of help to you.

I only say that I agree flat out to see what the insurance companies say first, because the lawyers will deduct their fee from what your daughter receives, and then she will get less. It is undoubtable, sure, the lawyer may get a higher settlement - but your daughter will see less.

Since there's a police report and it clearly puts the other driver at fault, there isn't really much of a dispute in this situation. It's pretty hard to beat a police report in court, so the ins company should understand that they're at fault in the accident.

I also think, it has to do with the quality of the insurance company you're dealing with. If it's one of the top say, 7 auto insurers (I'm not sure exactly what they are but any really well known company) they deal with these sitations all the time and really just want the best situation for everyone. The company owes for what its driver did.

 

[Miz Diz]

It is the responsibility of the insurance company of the driver in whose car she was a passenger to go after the delivery company's insurer. She is covered as a passenger under the driver's policy. The driver's insurer will (depending on your state) either pay your daughter's medical expenses or go after the other guy's insurer.

This is not necessarily true, depending on where the OP lives and the laws in that state.

The insurance company, insuring the vehicle OPs daughter was in, can not make a claim for her medical bills, unless they have made a payment to her and are trying to get reimbursed. So if the vehicle has PIP or Med Pay, that insurance company will pay for the medical expenses and then subrogate the other insurance company. If that car does not carry that coverage, they won't pay for something that is not covered under the policy. If it is determined that OP's daughter's driver was at fault, then the insurance company would pay under liability, but doesn't sound like it was their fault.

 

[lee]

Like Shoegirl, I work for a lawyer and agree that you should find someone to represent you. Even the smallest statements can be misinterpreted and what happens if you settle and down the road additional care becomes necessary. You might want to look at martindale.com. It can give you some very good information about lawyers in your area.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Even if a claimant uses a lawyer to settle and additional care becomes necessary down the road, she is out of luck. Don't think using an attorney somehow changes that. That's why it's called a settlement.

I work in tort defense, and I see a LOT of plaintiff's attorneys slug along doing as little as possible for the plaintiff in the hopes that a settlement offer is made quickly. Easy 33%. If no such offer is forthcoming and the case heads to discovery, the associated costs sky-rocket for the plaintiff. No real gain there.

If a lawyer becomes necessary, get referrals from the county bar association and google them.

Like Shoegirl, I work for a lawyer and agree that you should find someone to represent you. Even the smallest statements can be misinterpreted and what happens if you settle and down the road additional care becomes necessary. You might want to look at martindale.com. It can give you some very good information about lawyers in your area.

 

[Sethsmom]

40% in Alabama? Wow, everywhere else I know of is a third for settlements and 25% for workers comp claims. Is Alabama overrun with attorneys? Seems they would all want to live there and I'd be out of a job

There may be some that offer a 1/3 contingency if the case doesn't go to court or is a very small settlement. Most of the larger cases I see are 40% and sometimes 50%. Alabama is limited to 15% on their comp cases.

Birmingham is overun with attorneys. We have a lot of attorneys that advertise around here and I get the idea that they are after quantity. There are 11 Judges just in our Circuit Civil Division and they have very large case loads.

 

[Aristomommy]

I was in a car accident 2 months ago. I started with the car insurance companies and since all parties cooperated, I didn't need a lawyer. I thought that as long as they were taking care of my car, my medical bills, lost wages and pain/suffering, why give 30% to a lawyer? The last part pain/suffering is very subjective, but I felt comfortable with the sum we agreed upon and I felt everything went smoothly. The insurance adjusters can differentiate btw. the "gold diggers" and people who want their expenses paid. I didn't go in with outrageous demands, but turned in all medical documentations, police reports, wages and they really didn't have a choice but to work with me. It helped that I work in the medical field and "saved" them money by getting my therapy as a professional courtesy.

I also set up a medical account, if I continue to have problems related to this accident. That way I don't have to rely on my health insurance.HTH

 

[Leader of the Club]

Well, my DD finished her therapy. She ended up missing over six weeks of work (unpaid), had two months of therapy (2-3 X per week) and had to do hours of therapy at home every day. She is still in pain (back) and her shoulder may require surgury ("down the road").

We gathered all of the bills, statements, wage statements, etc. and mailed them in. After a brief run-around with the Insurance I got a phone call with a settlement offer. We told them we don't do business over the phone and to mail us something. DUH!

Anyhow, the offer seems VERY low to me and I am as yet unsure if that includes "them" paying all of her outstanding medical bills or if she is to pay them out of the Low ball offer they gave.

Now we are waiting on the offer letter....

 

[Frankiesmom]

Good luck to you and your DD! Keep us informed!

 

[bnorm27]

At the very least, they can review this settlement for you to make sure everything is being taken care of. Here in NJ, all medical expenses would go through your own health insurance company. Then it would be up to that carrier or your auto insurance company to subrogate and go after the trucking company's insurance for repayment of those expenses, as well as for things like deductibles, co-payments, etc.

Also here in NJ, most drivers have a tort threshold, which is a maximum amount they can sue for in the event they are hurt in an accident. However, when you are involved in an accident with a commercial vehicle, that threshold is waived. This happened to me. I wasn't injured, but I did go after the commercial vehicle insurance carrier for the damage to my car. I did not have gap insurance, and there was a significant difference in the amount my insurance company was willing to pay for my car vs. what was owed on it.

Was it Federal Expre$$ or UP$?

I don't know where you live, but I would definitely talk to an attorney.

 

[Leader of the Club]

Was it Federal Expre$$ or UP$?.

Neither, it was the one in the bright yellow truck.

My boss told me I need to find an lawyer that handles these things for a flat fee--not a %. We live in a pretty small town, I suppose I should make a few phone calls.

 

[bnorm27]

Usually in these types of cases, attorney's will work on a contingency basis, meaning they only get paid if you recover some money. I'm not saying you need to sue DHL, just have someone review the settlement offer before you sign it. It is just an "offer", so if you do not think it is acceptable, let them know that as well.

 

[DaveCN]

If you do decide to hire an attorney, hire one the same you'd hire somebody to perform some other service for you, like paving your driveway, taking a tree out of your yard, etc.:

--Consider feedback from friends, both positive and negative;
--Don't hire the first one who says s/he'll take your case--s/he may not be very good, or very experienced in your kind of case, or s/he may charge much more than the going rate;
--Sit down and talk with them, and make it a situation where you're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you--find out how much experience they have with this kind of case, whether they'll be handling your file or whether someone else in their firm will be taking primary responsibility, how they expect the case to proceed, etc.
--Judge how likely they are to handle the case assertively. The #1 complaint most folks make about attorneys is "I gave the guy/gal my case and I never heard from them again--they didn't keep me updated on my case status, no one ever returned my calls and I had no idea what was going on." You'll be giving them a good bit of the fee for the case (anywhere from 33 to 40% is what most Plaintiff's attorneys take as a fee, plus expenses). You have the right to expect prompt, quality representation. If you get the idea you won't get it from that attorney, keep looking.

Hope your daughter feels better. (And or course, don't consider this a substitute for legal advice. See an attorney in your area for that.)

Very good advice.

I am a lawyer and I tell people this all of the time. Referrals from happy clients are the best measure of the job the lawyer will do for you.

 

[corndog]

Usually in these types of cases, attorney's will work on a contingency basis, meaning they only get paid if you recover some money. I'm not saying you need to sue DHL, just have someone review the settlement offer before you sign it. It is just an "offer", so if you do not think it is acceptable, let them know that as well.

As an attorney, I can tell you this is not a case an attorney (or at least a good one) would take on a contingency basis. Find a good attorney, pay for a 1/2 hour of time to talk about your situation and the issues. It will put your mind at ease and you'll be glad you did.

 

[jennifer293]

^^^^ Not true...great attorneys take on cases like this everyday on a contingency basis.

 

[LAH LAH]

It is smart to be looking towards the future. I too was in a serious car accident that I was lucky to "walk" away from. I only wanted them to pay my current medical and such...and now (3 years after the accident) I need my shoulder replaced at the age of 32. A direct result of the accident. This is unfortunately going to be an out of pocket expense for me. I didn't look towards the future. I just wanted it done. Big mistake. I don't recommend being greedy...but I do recommend that EVERY possible situation be taken care of now...or you will most likely pay out of pocket later!

Good luck...and I hope for a full recovery for your daughter!!!

~Melissa