personal injury

What is the name of your state? nj

i was in an accident last june of 2000. i rear-ended a car at 2-4 (two to four) mph -- we were both stopped at a turn, she moved forward, i looked left for traffic, released my foot from the brakes, unfortunately she didn't go ahead, i hit her as i tried to step on the brakes. a police report was made. no ambulance. i didn't get a ticket. we both drove our cars away.

car damages were paid by my insurance. she, through her lawyer, was claiming personal injuries but my insurance wouldn't pay -- something about "verbal treshhold" for "soft tissue damage'. sorry, if i'm not too sure about this part. nevertheless, the insurance didn't cover her for personal injury.

several months ago this year, she filed in court for personal injuries. my insurance has a lawyer to defend me in court. my question is how come the other party doesn't have a dollar amount to their claim? if it is soft tissue damage, how much are we looking at (worst case scenario)? i have heard horror stories of up to a million!?! my adjuster did mention something about soft tissue damage so i really don't think there are broken bones invovled.

i'm not a rich man. please ease my worries.

The only way she can prove her injury is by medical bills and those bills are the basis for the monetary amount she would be asking for. Usually the injured party asks for 3x the total of their bills and settles out of court for 2x the total of their bills. Your insurance co. will only pay up to the maximum coverage you have, and jury's don't award lots of extra money for pain and suffering if it does go to court. Don't worry about this. If I were you, I'd certainly encourage my insurance co to settle out of court. Use the phrase "good faith" as in the fact that you bought this insurance in good faith that they would pay valid claims. Sounds like fault isn't an issue and it doesn't take much force at all to cause soft tissue damage resulting in pain and discomfort. She probably has a valid claim and your insurance co. will probably reach a settlement with her.

Sherbert