Question about a term

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

My wife is trying to settle her claim for an auto accident. She settled over the phone for 25K plus all medical bills paid. When we received the "Release and settlement of claim form" it stated the following:

I/We, the undersigned, her name, being of full age, for the sole consideration of Twenty Five Thousand Dollars inclusive of medical bills from the date of loss and any wage loss.

Does this mean that they are offering 25K and they pay the medical bills or are they trying to confuse us and have us sign so we get 25K and still have to cover the medical bills with part of that amount?

You get the 25k and have to pay the medical bills out of that money.

“Inclusive” is the adjective form of the noun "include". Meaning that under the offer you have to absorb all of the specials out of the $25K.

In the commercial retail world what you have been treated to here is called “bait and switch”! In the insurance world it is “let’s see if she is dumb enough to sign it”.

So don’t have it signed just now.

Instead I suggest that you talk to a good trial lawyer about legal representation on a contingent fee based on a recovery of anything over and above the $25K offer. Why?

Because if the company has offered to bleed that much cash to get off of the hook and avoid a lawsuit, more than likely the claim is worth 2 or 3 times or more that amount. And it won’t cost you a thing to shop around and speak with a few attorneys.

Just make sure that you are well under the wire on the applicable statute of limitations!

Now it could be that the $25K is the policy limit, but if your wife heard the agent correctly - $25K net - that’s probable not the case. Anyway, an attorney could find out quicker than you could.

It could have been a misunderstanding. Wife can talk to a lawyer, but first she should add up exactly how much she needs to pay the medical bills, and call the adjuster up and tell them THAT is the number they need ($25k plus bills), but she needs an actual number to put on the release.