settling an accident claim

bubbleprincessmom

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Joined
Aug 30, 2000
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With my DH off to the sandbox, I don't have anyone to bounce this off of, so I thought...hey I have a few thousand DISer friends that probably know a thing or two, so here goes. Last winter my DS and I were rearended by someone on a cell phone, we saw a chiropractor for about 5 months and the bills came to 3478 for me and 2925 for DS. The other persons insurance wants to settle for 5000 for each of us. I was wondering if this seems fair? Anyone with experience or knowledge? Normally I would ask DH and go with what he thought but he's not here so I don't know what to do. This is their first offer if that makes a difference. Thanks for some input.
 
5000 each? That's unusual, they usually pay the chiropractors exactly what you owe, if not less. Are they giving you the check, or does the chiro have a lien? If they're paying 5000 each I would settle before they change their minds! The chiro, if they do have a lien, should write you a check for the amount over and above what you owe.
 
They are offering us the 5000 each PLUS paying the medical bills that have already been paid by my insurance. I know that years ago you could settle for "3 times your med. bill" but I know that may not be the case anymore. Thats why I'm ?? taking the first offer on the table. I don't want to be seen as "greedy" though by any means, we were hit, we were hurt...thats what insurance is for. And right now with my van being junk I really need a new car and this would really help take care of that.
 
Without knowing the degree of damages or course of treatment I would say these seem to be in an appropriate settlement range. If you want a more thorough analysis you can PM (or post - whichever you are comfortable with) to me the amount of your car damages, nature of injury, future care expected (if any) etc. You do want to make sure if the amount includes any/all medical expenses, who will pay the doctor and all. Also, if your vehicle is not finished (I'm guessing it is, but just in case) make sure any release they offer, and the check, does not say "Full and Final" without a notation from them that the vehicle damages are outside that amount.

FYI - if your son is a minor they will often ask you to sign a release. For your own claim they will likely want you and your husband to sign...
 

I am going to assume some things on here. I used to be an adjuster for a BIG nationwide insurance company!!

I am assuming that the Doctor's bills are still outstanding. Most insurance companies don't pay the bills until the claim is settled. So I am thinking that the $5000 each is for you bills and then the left over for any wages lost, time away from work and overall pain and suffering.

Did you have to miss work for the doctor's appointments? Did you son have to hold back any activities that he did? Do you feel that you are "healed"?

Do you think that $1522 in your pocket is suffiecent for what you went through? I don't know how old your son is, but is worth $2075. Are you sure that you won't need anymore care? Is there a "clause" in the settlement that your bills will be paid up to a certain date?

It's entirely up to you and it depends on what you went through!
 
I was in an accident that must not have been as severe, my bills totaled $500.00 and when it came time to settle, the guy said, how much do you want to settle for? I said the damages were $500.00 and he said, so $800? and I said it was only $500 he told me to take into account possible future injury and loss of work, medications etc... So it may be fair if you think it won't creep up on you in the future again for more bills. I think my neck pain is gone, so I just said the amount of bills is fine. I didn't miss any work over mine or anything. Hope that helps.


Also something to think about: I have an irrational fear of being rear ended now at highway exits so I wish I would have aksed for money for a shrink come to think of it! They have not paid yet but the adjuster said it would come to me. I have already paid the bills so it is Disney tix for me!!
 
I also am an adjuster and Oregon used to be in my territory... Did you have Personal Injury Protection coverage, and did it pay your bills? Do they have a subrogation or recovery clause where you have to pay them back (or the at fault company does)? If your coverage has paid and does not have a right of recovery then the full settlement would be yours.
 
Yes I have PIP and they have subro'ed the claim. The other company is offering 5000 over the amount of the doctor bills. This is so hard for me with DH gone...he is a state licensed insurance adjuster so he would have had an answer for me. I'm hoping he'll call in the next day or two so I can run this pass him, I won't sign anything or agree to anything untill I do.
 
Don't sign anything yet! First of all, run it by your husband.

Secondly, I don't feel the 5K is enough. Rule of thumb is that you should request 3 times your meds. Was your car totalled?

I was rearended years ago. Car was totalled. My meds came up to about 2,000. I stopped going to the Chiropractor early because I couldn't keep missing time from work:( Anyway, I settled for 10,500. I explained how I lost time from work, how I was scared stiff to drive thinking everyone was going to plow in the back of my car, etc.

I've been in the insurance industry for 17 years now so I've seen my share of auto claims.

Good luck.
 
The rule of thumb that I've heard is that the pain and suffering from soft tissue damage is $2000 / month / person. The clock ticks from the time of the accident until your doctor releases you. Assuming you were released after the 5 months, then that would be $10K each on top of expenses.

I would also make sure you are 100% positive that there are no lingering health problems before settling for any amount.

-Josh
 
I wouldn't be in a rush to settle BUT make sure you settle short of having to participate in a law suit. The whole deposition and testimony process is very time consumng and unnerving.
 
THIS is why all of our insurance is so high!
It certainly sounds like you are just trying to get all you can and I think that is morally wrong.
And yes, before I get torched I was in a MAJOR accident in February and EGADS!!! did not take ANYTHING for pain and suffering.
I believe you get in life when you give.
 
Ummmm...no actually our insurance rates are so high because we have people driving drunk, talking on cell phones, putting on makeup, reading the paper.......being CARELESS!!!!
My son had to drop out of basketball because he was so sick with headaches...this is a kid who has NEVER been sick a day in his life and I was so stiff and sore that I couldn't finish Christmas shopping for the kids (and I had only just started...very low key holiday...which was kindof nice but ...) We didn't ask for anything...she called and asked if we were ready to settle and offered this amount. Lets face it...this is the game..they want to get off with as little as possible and by not "upping the ante" I'm letting them.
 
Originally posted by m&m's mom
THIS is why all of our insurance is so high!
It certainly sounds like you are just trying to get all you can and I think that is morally wrong.
And yes, before I get torched I was in a MAJOR accident in February and EGADS!!! did not take ANYTHING for pain and suffering.
I believe you get in life when you give.

If insurance companies are losing money because of accidents caused by people on cell phones, then they are likely to lobby for laws that restrict cell phone use by drivers. IMO thats a good thing.

In the case of the accident I was involved in I was involved in my wife and I were hit by a 16 year old girl who was driving with two of her friends in the car. In theory my wife and I should be paid an amount of money that makes us forget that we were in an accident. The insurance company should cover that cost by raising the rates of all 16 year old drivers. If the cost is extremely high, then the insurance company will lobby to put restrictions on 16 year old drivers so that similar accidents do not occur in the future. As some states are already restricting the number of passengers that younger drivers can have in cars, it is obvious that this is already happening and its a shame that it isn't happening more.

And, for example, if insurance company A just allocates the cost of that 16 year old driver's mistake across all of their customers, then in theory another company, company B, that correctly allocates the cost of 16 year old drivers' accidents to other 16 year old drivers would steal away all customers from company A that aren't 16. This is capitalism's way of allocating resources in their best manner, but it only works if all true cost are realized. Hidden (extrinsic) costs such as pain and suffering that are not realized circumvent the system and the most efficient use of resources no longer occurs.

By not getting all of the money you are owed in an accident you are circumventing the best (and only) system we have for dealing with accidents. Yeah it sucks that most lawyers get a 33% cut right off of the top, but they are paid that money because they are worth it. It also sucks that insurance companies will try to screw people out of money they are rightfully due because they are trying to keep rates low (even for those people that are causing the accidents!). The two sides balance each other out and drivers are left paying for the administrative and legal fees involved in getting the balance to occur. If the insurance companies would pay people what they are rightfully due, then there would be no need for lawyers.

Note that trying to get more money by lying about the severity of your injuries also circumvents the system. IMO that would be the only morally wrong action that an accident victim could take.

Unfortunately my wife and I will get no where near enough money to make us forget we had an accident. You could offer us $100,000 cash today or the chance to go back in time and avoid our accident and 100 times out of 100 we would pick avoiding the accident. And we won't even get $100,000. We'll get much less than that minus 33% that will go directly to our lawyer, which we have to pay because the insurance company will not pay us what we are due.

It's my opinion that this country does not take driving and the dangers involved seriously enough. The only way to fix this is to make people pay through their wallet. I would gladly pay more money for insurance premiums if it makes accidents less likely to occur in the future. It's unfortunate that rising insurance premiums make it difficult for people with lower incomes to drive, but people have to realize that driving is a privelage (not a right) that only a very small percentage of all of the people that have ever lived have been afforded. Heck. Is it such a bad thing that rising insurance premiums cause more and more people to rely on public transportation?

-Josh
 
Bubble....is your car insured? If so, why didn't the insurance company repair or total it out? Why are you relying on this "extra" money to purchase a new vehicle?? I would think that if they are going to pay your medical bills, that is great. But to say you need a new van because the old one is junk and the "extra" money will come in handy to buy a new one is confusing me. Why didn't your car insurance take care of that?? I don't want to get flamed, but I just wanted to know why!
 
Originally posted by m&m's mom
THIS is why all of our insurance is so high!
It certainly sounds like you are just trying to get all you can and I think that is morally wrong.
And yes, before I get torched I was in a MAJOR accident in February and EGADS!!! did not take ANYTHING for pain and suffering.
I believe you get in life when you give.
---------------------------

Too many variables here to make such a blanket statement..

Did she lose time from work due to this accident? (If so, why should she be penalized in a financial manner for the careless actions of the driver who hit her?)

Was she able to replace her vehicle? (If not, why should she have to bear the brunt of that expense on her own due to the careless actions of the driver who hit her?)

Will she - or her son - need medical care in the future - and if so, again, why should she have to pay for that medical care due to the careless actions of the driver who hit her? (Whiplash, for instance, has a way of rearing it's ugly head again many years down the road..)

Were there expenses involved in getting back and forth to a doctor for medical care more than once? (If so, why should she have to bear the financial expense due to the careless actions of the driver who hit her?)

It's not about "greed" - it's about being fairly compensated for an accident that was NOT her fault.. That's what insurance is for...
 
Originally posted by shelbyjosh
Bubble....is your car insured? If so, why didn't the insurance company repair or total it out? Why are you relying on this "extra" money to purchase a new vehicle?? I would think that if they are going to pay your medical bills, that is great. But to say you need a new van because the old one is junk and the "extra" money will come in handy to buy a new one is confusing me. Why didn't your car insurance take care of that?? I don't want to get flamed, but I just wanted to know why!

A lot of people have negative equity in their car. Once you add in tax and title you lose $2,000+ before you drive your car off of the lot. Once you drive it off the lot you lose another $1,000+ in depreciation. If you had little or no down payment or you are leasing, then you would have to come up with that $3,000+ if your car is totalled, even if it happened driving the car home from the dealership! The insurance company will only pay the replacement value of the car. The negative equity situation can get even worse if you rolled over negative equity from one car loan into another or if you are driving more than 12,000 miles a year.

-Josh
 
The only reason I ask is that when DH (fiance at the time) had a vehicle stolen and we negotiated with Allstate to pay off the vehicle and we still got some $$ for a down payment on the Explorer her got. Plus, we had receipts for a lot of the stuff that was in the vehicle at the time. The night before he came home from hunting and thank God he took his bow and other equipment out. There was a bloodied broadhead in there, so hopefully whoever stole the truck got their hand sliced open. BTW, they never recovered the truck!
 
DH was in a accident in April '01 that we are currently waiting for a prelimenary hearing on September 2nd.

He was driving home from work on the highway in the left hand lane, a car was in front of him that stopped suddenly when she passed a truck in the middle lane. There was a vehicle that had just gotten on the highway that had all kinds of smoke coming from it and when it came into view of the driver she slammed on her brakes. DH was driving our '93 Blazer and was able to stop and avoid hitting her but he took a split second to look into his rear view mirror to see the car behind him was not slowing down at ALL! He let go of his breaks and braced for the impact of the crash. He got of the vehicle, which was a mess and went over the guy who hit him. He was getting out of his car with his cell phone in his hand. DH said to him "oh, good, you called the police." He responded "that's a good idea, I'll call."

This guy hit DH full force, no tire marks. He was too busy on the phone to notice DH had stopped in front of him.

He was on his phone while the police are there and the tow trucks, getting a rental car because he had to get to his business meeting that he was now even later for! My DH had 2 rounds of physical therapy for his shoulder and has had at least 4 cortizone shots and 2 mri's taken of his shoulder. He has a pull, not a tear so it has to heal all on it's own. DH at the time worked for a major razor company maintaning their heating, air conditioning and ventilation throughout the plant and offices. This injury made a huge difference in his life and work. He never missed a day because of his injury, he just had outside contractors come in to help with the heavy stuff. Couldn't put my DD who soaking wet weighed 25 pounds on his shoulder for a ride, still till this day cannot use his right hand to grab anything with weight to lift it up, it doesn't work.

In October '02 the insurance company offered him less than $5k for something that is still not better. He still is on prescription Motrin and thank god he changed his career. To do so he had to leave a company that he worked at for 11 years.

So, yes I want this insurance company to pay DH big time. He is only 38 years old and is still in pain every day over 3 years later. We are waiting for our day in court.

Oh and about the Blazer. It was really smashed in good from behind. He drove it home, have no idea how, but he did. It cost almost $3k to fix it with USED parts or it would have been totaled. At the time we had one car payment and could not afford another. We had a different key to use for the tailgate and it was a rattle trap after the accident. No matter what they did to help it, nothing worked. Yep, a settlement would have come in handy for DH to get a new car, but that didn't happen. He drove the vehicle for over a year that way until we could get him a new car.

I think that someone who is in a accident and would like to use settlement money for a new car should not be judged to be just looking for money. Most cars are not the same when they are fixed and it's not fair when you are not at fault to have to settle for your car not being the way it was.
 












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