Value of car accident claim

[axl4u2000]

What is the name of your state? California.
My wife got into a car accident about a month ago. She had full coverage insurance and driver license. Driving about 15-20 miles in the freeway, bumber to bumber traffic, she got hit from behind causing her to crash into the car in front of her. The other driver admited fault and said he will take care of everything. Now, our car is total loss, my wife is been going to the chriopractor since the day the accident happen for about 3 times a week and the doctor says something about possible neurological damage. Doctor also have her on schedule for few more months of therapy. Thank god she did not miss much work, only one day. Our insurance paid for the total loss, and the other insurance company is trying to settle. My question is.... knowing these facts, how much money will be a fair settlement? in my eyes and my wifes, all these situation caused a lot of strees, since that was our only car and now we depend on other people to get around. Plus. my wife's back hurts every day, even going to therapy 3 times a week. We had a rental, but even knowing, that we may get the rental money back, it will be hard to afford a rental at this moment.
Any help in this matter will be gladly appreciated.

 

[robmpulse]

If your property damage claim has already been paid by the 3rd party.......meaning they have already paid you for your car......I am not sure how much more loss of use you would be entitled to. It is my understanding they are only obligated to pay for LOU until you mitigate your loss. Which means obtaining the means to replace the car.

 

[Lynx 36]

Quote: "the doctor says something about possible neurological damage."

A chiro is not a doctor, they have no P.h.d. It is impossible f/ a chiro to diagnose this. They would also be shredded in any courtroom should they make this diagnosis. If you plan on getting any pain and suffering money out of this you better get your wife to a neurologist (the one that is actually a doctor).

Quote: "Doctor also have her on schedule for few more months of therapy."

Sure he does. The more visits the more money he makes. She will probably have to be treated f/ life if the chiro has a say.

Quote: "how much money will be a fair settlement?"

Can't determine that here. Medical history needs to be reviewed, current meds need to be reviewed, background checks, etc. Probably won't be worth much. After all the impact happened at a low speed.

Quote: "in my eyes and my wifes, all these situation caused a lot of strees,"

This won't increase your punitive damages.

If your wife wants to really get better then she needs to see a neurologist. I guarantee you she won't be referred to a chiro. She will probably be referred to physical therapy if anything. Physical therapists can actually work to get rid of the problem not just treat and to an adjustment 3 times a week.

I had back problems a few years ago and went to a neurologist. I asked him if i should see a chiro and the doctor laughed and said no. He said if anything I will send you to physical therapy, which he did. Two visits per week and two months later my back felt great. I haven't had any problems since. If I had gone to some quack chiro I'd still be treating.

 

[You Are Guilty]

This won't increase your punitive damages.

Or get him any at all - it's just a car accident

 

[axl4u2000]

quote: why posting if you are not helping
fact: you seem full of it

 

[nanaII]

Fair settlement

"Our insurance paid for the total loss, and the other insurance company is trying to settle."

If I am interpreting this correctly, your insurance company paid the loss? If so, what did they pay, and for what?

"That was our only car and now we depend on other people to get around."

Are you without a car right now, or have you been paid for your car, and haven't found one yet? Until you have been paid, or have found another car, the insurance company of the person who hit you should be paying for a rental for you.

Do not be in too big a hurry to settle this claim. Your wife needs to see a competent Dr. to treat her for her injuries. I would go to your regular physician and have him/her refer you to the proper Dr. You will not be required to pay these bills until your settlement has been made (your settlement will include all medical bills). Make sure she gets all the treatment she needs to be as completely healed as possible. I made the mistake of quitting treatment. It made a big difference in the settlement I received.

My case took 3 years to settle my case. Do NOT sign any papers the other insurance company may send you without talking to your insurance company first. If you do and don't know what you are signing, you may be signing a final settlement, and not know it.

 

[axl4u2000]

Yes, our insurance paid for the total loss of our car. they gave us a fair amount minus the deductible. Since we were still paying for this car, the money went to the lien holder and left us with a balance of 3k
Yes, we have no car, we had a rental car and we were trying to get the guy who hit us to pay for it (his insurance), but so far no luck. So, we had a rental car for about 2 weeks, since we could not afford the rental anymore (300+ every 10 days) we returned it. We submited the bill to the guy who hit us insurance Co. but so far we havent received anything back. Phone calls never returned as usual.
My wife is seeing a good doctor. And he is not trying to keep her in therapy, as a matter of fact, he said she is doing better and just for now she will be in the schedule for another month. After that, the evaluation will come and will determine if more therapy is needed and so on.
I am not in a hurry to settle this. i know things like this take time and the better knowledge I can get, the best for me and my wife. thats why I am here. To learn.
I was thinking in getting a lawyer and thats one of the reasons why I wanted to know how much money I will get. If its a little amount, (like I believe), I guess I rather keep it all instead of giving someone 33% of 5-7k settlement. But if we are talking maybe more than 10k and up, I will let someone else handle this matter.
Does having a lawyer increases the amount of settlemet? I believe yes, since they are getting 33% of the settlement and I think they will push it harder to get more money for their pockets.
I would like to thank the input received (even if some was from a LA Law fan) and in advance for any more advice.
T

 

[JETX]

If your property damage claim has already been paid by the 3rd party.......meaning they have already paid you for your car......I am not sure how much more loss of use you would be entitled to. It is my understanding they are only obligated to pay for LOU until you mitigate your loss. Which means obtaining the means to replace the car.

And of course that is completely incorrect.
There are two separate issues in this case; personal injury (medical, pain/suffering, etc.) and property damage (vehicle damages). The fact that the PD has been resolved (if true) has nothing to do with the PI claim.

 

[nanaII]

Issues

I don't understand why your insurance company isn't in the middle of fighting this for you. This is part of the service for which you pay premiums. I would ask your insurance company to reimburse you for the rental and they, in turn, would ask for reimbursement from the other party's insurance company. You should not have to do all of the legwork.

Maybe the company that you originally had the loan will give you another loan to buy another car, using the $3K as a down payment.

I'm glad your wife is doing better, but do NOT stop getting medical treatment until she is absolutely, positively sure she is the best she can be physically. Should you end up hiring an attorney, her medical bills will have a big impact on the settlement amount (of course, minus the attorney's fees).

"I was thinking in getting a lawyer and thats one of the reasons why I wanted to know how much money I will get. If its a little amount, (like I believe), I guess I rather keep it all instead of giving someone 33% of 5-7k settlement. But if we are talking maybe more than 10k and up, I will let someone else handle this matter.
Does having a lawyer increases the amount of settlemet? I believe yes, since they are getting 33% of the settlement and I think they will push it harder to get more money for their pockets."

You can get a free consultation, should you desire to hire an attorney. I wasn't getting anywhere with the insurance company of the person who hit me, so I ended up hiring one. They can give you a good idea of what you may be looking at. I would consult with more than one who specializes in these sorts of cases.

 

[axl4u2000]

Thank you jetx and nanall. Seems like not everyone here comes to show off their LA law, The practice and perhaps, CSI tv shows knowledge (yes you lynx 36). I guess some people in this forum dont know what they are even talking about (once again, yes you Lynx 36).
I would like to thank everyone for your help (not you Lynx 36). if anyone have any more "constructive" input, please do so.

 

[Lynx 36]

Quote: "Thank you jetx and nanall. Seems like not everyone here comes to show off their LA law, The practice and perhaps, CSI tv shows knowledge (yes you lynx 36). I guess some people in this forum dont know what they are even talking about (once again, yes you Lynx 36).
I would like to thank everyone for your help (not you Lynx 36). if anyone have any more "constructive" input, please do so."

What, like telling you what you want to hear!!!??? I do this f/ a living idiot, and if you don't want to listen, then don't, I could care less. You'll find out the hard way. As it seems you already are. Serves you right as you're a moron, and morons always come out on the short end of everything.

I stick by my post and challenge you to find one sentence in it that's incorrect. So go pound salt loser!!!!! Keep sending your wife to the quack chiro and see what happens when they put him on the stand and annihilate him. I've seen it over and over. It is pure joy to witness!!

I provide advice f/ you so you can actually get your wife better treatment,(which obviously isn't your concern) and more punitive damages so you can get possibly more money (which definitely is your concern) and I'm the bad guy? So be it. What the hell is in the water in CA? The whole state is full of dolts.

Quote: (from ellence on another board) :"What's typical is people who come here looking for the answer they want, not the legal answer, and when they get an answer that is NOT what they want to hear, they feel free to criticize, belittle, insult, and advise those who volunteer their time and knowledge to help complete strangers with issues affecting their lives. You are no exception."

Couldn't agree more w/ this statement so I added it in.

 

[axl4u2000]

Do this for a living? man no wonder why you always wasting time here instead of doing some work. you get no clients and if you get some, you may end up locking them up instead of helping them.
Do this for a living? so how come you dont even know about the 2 parts of a claim?
do this for a living? how come you say quote:"Probably won't be worth much. After all the impact happened at a low speed.". Yeah low speed my wife's driving. How about the speed of the driver who hit her? which by the way is the one who caused the accident you moron. No punitive damages? you are the dumbest idiot I have ever seen. Any decent lawyer, paralegal will tell you that because of the endangerment of the way this guy was driving to hit my wife and causing the car to get wasted, she , my wife will be entitled to punitive damages.
go back to bryman college and try to pass your paralegal ass kisser test you moron.
Another thing, Ca is full of idiots? thats why CA has soo many law firms that would sue any scumb like yourself just by saying quote: dont know what they put in the water in CA, that state is full of idiots". Dont deny the fact that you want to live here and leave the garage where you live with you legal team: your wife, your 4 kids and your book: law for dummies; how to pretend to be a lawyer and work at the same time for jack in the box.
And yes obviously, money is a big concern for me. No money=no car, no car = no job, no job=no money, no money= no food, no rent and no way to repay for my wifes medical treatment.
Go flip the burger pattie jack in the box employee of the month.

 

[You Are Guilty]

Just for the record, I'm the one who said no punitive damages. And I'll happily stand by that statement under the facts as you've presented them.

 

[Lynx 36]

I'm a claims adjustor you dipsh!t. I'm not an atty or a paralegal. I settle claims w/ losers like you everyday punk.

Quote: "Another thing, Ca is full of idiots? thats why CA has soo many law firms that would sue any scumb like yourself just by saying quote: dont know what they put in the water in CA, that state is full of idiots".

I think this proves my point about CA. So sue me toughguy, I'm waiting.

Quote: "Dont deny the fact that you want to live here and leave the garage where you live with you legal team: your wife, your 4 kids and your book: law for dummies; how to pretend to be a lawyer and work at the same time for jack in the box."

He He. No loser, quite the contrary. I was offered a position w/ my company in San Jose. Flew out there, looked around and decided I didn't want to live in the land of freaks, geeks, social degenerates, and natural disasters so I turned it down.

Quote: "No money=no car, no car = no job, no job=no money, no money= no food, no rent and no way to repay for my wifes medical treatment"

Sounds like a typical CA loser to me. Hell, sounds like a typical loser anywhere. I on the other hand have a great job, lot's of money, a timeshare in the Caymans, and St. John. My life couldn't be better. Thanks so much f/ your concern though.

Quote: "Go flip the burger pattie jack in the box employee of the month."

How ironic. Sounds like you need the job loser. Maybe you could ask the govt f/ a raise in your welfare check so you can afford the rent on your trailer. You deserve everything you'll get coming your way. Trouble is you're too stupid to see it. Wait and see loser, wait and see...............

 

[nanaII]

Okay.. Okay..

Here's the deal.. if they have paid, and you have accepted money for the car, there is nothing further you can claim regarding the car. It is done.

As far as your wife's medical claims, what the other posters were trying to say, is that is a different matter. That portion of the claim is still open until you settle on your wife for her injuries. As somone said, do NOT continue to take her to a chiropractor. Take her to a real Dr. I would start with your regular family physician. He/she can give you the best advice regarding references. A chiropractor could actually inflict more damage. As I said before, do NOT sign anything finalizing this claim until after your wife is the best she can be physically. See ALL Dr.'s and have all medical treatments and tests done that are recommended. It will make a huge difference on your final settlement (a lot of your final settlement is based on medical costs - I know, I've been there).