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05-10-2009, 02:13 AM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 2
| | | Auto claim
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
I was involved in an accident last July '08. I was a passenger in the car - not at fault for the accident. The force of the air bag on my face busted my ear drums. The left side healed fine, but the right side did not. I have hearing loss on the right side with tinnitus... a high pitched ring that will never stop. I can't separate sounds well anymore; for instance if music is playing and people are talking, it's hard to understand the words people say. My ENT specialist has stated that cholesteotoma could develop. He's recommended hearing aids, as it's been almost a year and still no change in hearing ability or tinnitus. At this point, he is assuming the hearing loss is permanent.
Medical bills so far are $7k. Should I get the recommended hearing aids, the total will be $11-12k. I've been asked to do follow up visits every 3 months to monitor for cholesteotoma - which, should it develop, will be several tens of thousands of dollars.
I am wondering what kind of settlement I should be expecting. I do have a lawyer working on this case, but I am curious about what other people have experienced. What should I expect for pain and suffering? Can I ask for extra in the event of further complications, like cholesteotoma? |
05-10-2009, 08:14 AM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Somnambulist University
Posts: 39,500
| | | The FreeAdvice crystal ball is currently in the shop being repaired (the damn thing keeps giving us winning lottery numbers!!). We will try to answer your question (as to how much) when it comes back from the shop.
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There are at least 17 lawsuits (!!) pending in various courts, including the US Supreme Court, asking if Obama is a natural born citizen (as req'd by Art II, Sec 1 of the US Constitution).
Why has he spent over $1.35M in legal fees to block disclosure... rather than spend $12 for a VALID birth cert to settle the matter? The 'certificate' he has presented doesn't qualify to get a drivers license, wouldn't allow a child to qualify for Little League, or for a real citizen to get a US passport!
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05-10-2009, 10:24 AM
| | Member | | Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 92
| | | One bit of advice that I can give and I don't need the "freeadvice crystal ball" is (while keeping the SOA in mind) do not rush to a settlement. Talk to your lawyer about this. The longer the time the better of an idea you may have with your medical issues. The at-fault insurance co. would love to settle as quickly as possible. |
05-10-2009, 10:58 AM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Somnambulist University
Posts: 39,500
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeKV  One bit of advice that I can give and I don't need the "freeadvice crystal ball" is (while keeping the SOA in mind) do not rush to a settlement. | What the hell is an 'SOA'???
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There are at least 17 lawsuits (!!) pending in various courts, including the US Supreme Court, asking if Obama is a natural born citizen (as req'd by Art II, Sec 1 of the US Constitution).
Why has he spent over $1.35M in legal fees to block disclosure... rather than spend $12 for a VALID birth cert to settle the matter? The 'certificate' he has presented doesn't qualify to get a drivers license, wouldn't allow a child to qualify for Little League, or for a real citizen to get a US passport!
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05-10-2009, 10:59 AM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,337
| | | Talk to your lawyer. Your universe of settlement depends on the at-fault party's insurance policy limit and your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, plus PIP.
In Texas, the minimum liability requirement is $20K. If that is what your at-fault driver has, your damages would tend to inidcate that you would get the policy limit. If the coverage is higher, your settlement value will depend on the policy limit and the proof of your damages.
Generally speaking, with a permanent injury that causes significant problems in your day to day life, the settlement value is high. How high? No one here can tell you. |
05-10-2009, 12:28 PM
| | Member | | Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 92
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by JETX What the hell is an 'SOA'??? | Wow, emotional are we? Sorry, I meant SOL. |
05-10-2009, 01:46 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Somnambulist University
Posts: 39,500
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeKV Wow, emotional are we? Sorry, I meant SOL. | Nope. Just don't tolerate ignorance or incompetence on a site where people are looking for LEGALLY ACCURATE advice. 
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There are at least 17 lawsuits (!!) pending in various courts, including the US Supreme Court, asking if Obama is a natural born citizen (as req'd by Art II, Sec 1 of the US Constitution).
Why has he spent over $1.35M in legal fees to block disclosure... rather than spend $12 for a VALID birth cert to settle the matter? The 'certificate' he has presented doesn't qualify to get a drivers license, wouldn't allow a child to qualify for Little League, or for a real citizen to get a US passport!
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05-10-2009, 03:01 PM
| | Member | | Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 92
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by JETX Nope. Just don't tolerate ignorance or incompetence on a site where people are looking for LEGALLY ACCURATE advice. | Um, care to elaborate on what you mean? I don't want to make any assumptions on what you are really trying to say. |
05-10-2009, 04:28 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 2
| | | Thank you for your responses! The at-fault driver did, in fact, have minimum coverage. The attorney fees are 40%, but luckily they'll let me pay the bills first!
Sorry that my questions offended or otherwise betrayed my complete and irreconcilable incompetence... I'd promise to never let it happen again, but I guess that'd be somewhat of a paradox. I'm just a lowly engineer... I do not know the ways of the Lawyer. |
05-10-2009, 08:03 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 17,739
| | | The incompetance comment was not directed at YOU, it was directed at Mike.
What exactly happened in the accident? Could ANY percentage of fault have fallen on the driver of the car that you were in? If so, then you have the right to recover from BOTH drivers, since you are 100% innocent.
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Lawsuits are not about justice. They are about MONEY. If you don't want money, then you shouldn't be thinking about suing. And people post here because they are thinking about suing. Because they want money, no matter how much they don't want to admit that to themselves.
-Auto insurance adjuster for 2 years - as of 6/15/09, I am FREE!
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05-10-2009, 09:34 PM
| | Member | | Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 92
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by ecmst12 The incompetance comment was not directed at YOU, it was directed at Mike.
What exactly happened in the accident? Could ANY percentage of fault have fallen on the driver of the car that you were in? If so, then you have the right to recover from BOTH drivers, since you are 100% innocent. | Ok. Where does the incompetence come in? Was it me typing SOA rather than SOL? I certainly don't consider or call you (ecmst12) incompetent simply by YOU typing "incompetance" vs the correct spelling of incompetence. This is silly. My point was that I thought JETX was reacting a bit too harsh towards what I was trying to advise.
Ecmst12 - I have been on this board a while now and I have come to learn that you are very knowledgeable and I respect your advice. And, I'm the first to admit that I'm no expert at auto accident incidents. I simply try to offer advice when I feel it maybe helpful after a few of my experiences. You seem to be a bit more accepting than others on this board when it comes to offering advice. SOA vs SOL was merely a mis-type. For JETX to consider this incompetence is, as I said and to put it nicely, a bit too harsh.
Last edited by MikeKV; 05-10-2009 at 09:37 PM.
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05-10-2009, 09:41 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 17,739
| | | I don't disagree that it was unnecessary, but it was more important to me to make sure that OP knew that it wasn't HIM that was being insulted.
__________________
Lawsuits are not about justice. They are about MONEY. If you don't want money, then you shouldn't be thinking about suing. And people post here because they are thinking about suing. Because they want money, no matter how much they don't want to admit that to themselves.
-Auto insurance adjuster for 2 years - as of 6/15/09, I am FREE!
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