Is this a fair settlement?

I was in an auto accident in which the vehicle rolled and was declared a total loss. The insurance co. has paid for this so far. When it came to my medical bills and pain and suffering, their counter offer was a bit lower than I thought. The extent of my injuries...
cuts/bruises (pain/suffering 2 weeks)
lower back bruising (2 months)
index finger (8+ months)
My figer had no structural damage, it was just very painful and was swollen larger than my thumb for 4 months, and to this day, is still painful.
I work in the golf industry (I did not miss any work) and i have been somewhat ineffective at my job during this time. Not to mention, I have not been able to play golf during this time either. My doctor also pointed out that due to the injury, I may always have pain and/or I may develop arthritis in this finger prematurely.
My settlement was based on medical bills ($980, P&S, and future pain and medical expense.
My offer was $10,000. The counter offer was $3500.
Does this sound like a fair offer? Is there anything I can do to receive more?
I would prefer to not use an attorney due to the lack of time and inability to miss work. Not to mention, coming out on the losing end with a poor settlement and attorney's fees.
Thanks for any advise.
Byrne

hello,

only you can determine whats ereally fair. If you have good doctor notes, you should consider arbitration.Your lawyer will probably get 40% but if you ask for 15000 thats not bad. start wriitng letters of bad faith.

arcangel

[HomeGuru]

byrne, you were advised in July of last year to hire an attorney. If you did not heed the advice, what makes you think you are going to get anymore?

The reasons you gave for not using an attorney are idiotic.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally posted by byrne
I was in an auto accident in which the vehicle rolled and was declared a total loss. The insurance co. has paid for this so far. When it came to my medical bills and pain and suffering, their counter offer was a bit lower than I thought. The extent of my injuries...
cuts/bruises (pain/suffering 2 weeks)
lower back bruising (2 months)
index finger (8+ months)
My figer had no structural damage, it was just very painful and was swollen larger than my thumb for 4 months, and to this day, is still painful.
I work in the golf industry (I did not miss any work) and i have been somewhat ineffective at my job during this time. Not to mention, I have not been able to play golf during this time either. My doctor also pointed out that due to the injury, I may always have pain and/or I may develop arthritis in this finger prematurely.
My settlement was based on medical bills ($980, P&S, and future pain and medical expense.
My offer was $10,000. The counter offer was $3500.
Does this sound like a fair offer? Is there anything I can do to receive more?
I would prefer to not use an attorney due to the lack of time and inability to miss work. Not to mention, coming out on the losing end with a poor settlement and attorney's fees.
Thanks for any advise.
Byrne

My response:

Remember, last year, when I suggested that "you should immediately obtain an attorney or you're going to get "the short end of the stick" ?

And now, because "due to a lack of time", you still decided to run your claim on your own, which takes time, and now guess which end of the stick you got ? That's right.

Since you didn't take me up on my suggestion then, what makes you think that I'm going to take my valuable time "again" to discuss this matter with you now ? What ? Just to have you ignore my words again ?

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

I'll just move on to another writer who will take my suggestions.

Good luck, I guess.

IAAL