Settlement question

[sybwill]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

My car was totaled after being hit by a drunk driver. my injuries were not bad, stiff neck, bumps and bruses. Total medical bills come to around $3,500. His insurance company has paid me for my car, and my side of the insurance has paid my medical bills until I settle with the insurance company. Dose the other drivers pending court case effect how much I can settle for? This is his second OVI. The Insurance is offering $2,000 right now, what is the max I can ask for?

THANKS!!!

 

[FlyingRon]

No, the magnitude of his fault doesn't increase your damages. You won't get more regardless of whether he is convicted or has priors.

 

[sybwill]

Thank you,

Any advice as to finding out what my claim is worth without consulting a lawyer?

 

[ecmst12]

You need to make sure you get enough to at LEAST cover your medical bills because you will have to pay them back out of your settlement, UNLESS they tell you that they can subrogate the medical bills separately. That is not typical though, so check 3 times before signing any releases.

If the $2k does NOT include your medical bills, and you had only soft tissue injuries requiring only a short period of treatment and no permanent damage, then it sounds fair to me. You haven't posted a single detail about what your injuries are or what treatment you required though, so there's no real way to guess.

 

[sybwill]

I was sent to ER in ambulance, sent home with spranged neck, followed up with my doctor who said I should have gotten x-rays at the ER. The hospital I went too isnt known for the best service, but it was the closest. I had to ride with the drunk guy in the same medic! He was wasted! Anyways . . My doctor gave me X-rays on my neck, and I had some ankle pain from slamming on the brakes and hitting the other car, so I had my ankles x-rayed also. Everything came back clear, and he prescribed me a muscle relaxer for my neck. I was out of work for 1 week. I had a sore bump on my head for a week and a raised burse on my leg for about 3 weeks.

My injuries we not bad. My life was inconvinced considerable by the accident, couldn’t afford to move, had to buy a new car, I was in the process of fixing my credit so I could buy a new car . . . since I had to buy one earlier than expected my interest rate isn’t what it could be, I also suffer from night time driving anxiety, and other small things like this. Does that effect my settlement?

 

[sybwill]

Oh I forgot, My side of the auto insurance is paying my medical bills. When I settle the other drivers insurance company will reimburse my insurance company. We both have the same insurance company. They will pay me my lost wages, medical bills, they have already paid for my car, and $2,500 in my pocket.

 

[ecmst12]

In that case I think $2k is EXTREMELY generous. You are being compensated based on your bills and the severity of your injuries, having nothing whatsoever to do with the inconvenience of the accident itself or your unrelated credit issues or anything else. Take it and run.

 

[MikeKV]

This is from someone who has experienced two no-fault accidents recently.

Might I suggest that you do NOT rush into accepting a settlement. Take the time to be sure that any potential injuries that you may have are not going to give you problems in the future. The ins. co. that is offering you a settlement is probably hoping that you settle as soon as possible so that you can't file any claims against them in the near future. Take your time...but not too much time.

I'm not sure what the legal timeframe is with settling. I would find this out though. Maybe someone else on this board can provide this info.

Just my .02.

 

[sybwill]

Its been 4 months already. I'm preaty sure no other injuries will come up.

I'm not wanting to be greedy, I just dont what this guy to get off easy!

Thanks for all you help!!

Maybe Ill talk to a lawyer just to be safe.