auto accident

[mydognamepuaboy]

What is the name of your state? hawaii
recently I was in auto accident, I was traveling straight in the main highway and the other car made a left turn crossing my path so I hit his car, the police was called and according to the police report it was not my fault. ambulance brought me to the nearby hospital and the doctor in the hospital declared that I suffer neck injury that required surgery because my injury was a life treatening I agreed to have surgery at that night and the surgery was done and successful. the way how the auto accident happen I thank god he give me another chance to live. now, the problem arise because the other car has no auto insurance but my car have a PIP $10000.00 (ten thousand dollars) and underinsured/uninsured of $300000.00 (three hundred thoousand dollars) so my auto insurance is paying all my medical bill. my medical bills now reach $60000.00 (sixty thousand dollars) and yesterday it was the day I was discharge from all medical treatment and in full recovery.
my next job is how to handle my case to the insurance company. my doctors inform me that in the future there is a possibility I maybe paralize and that is scary. my question is, what would be the acceptable amount I demand from the insurance company for my injury plus pain and suffering not including future medical expenses. I am thinking to represent my self to be my own lawyers because I believed this case is easy to fight and if I hire a lawyer they will take a chunk 33 1/3 of my compensation. do you think this kind of case may go to the litigation if I do not agree with the insurance offer and how long it take for me to recieve compensation and if I setlle how many days or month the insurance allowed to respond in accordance of the laws. any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.

 

[ecmst12]

Get A Lawyer Immediately. Your case will NOT be easy, your injuries are serious and your bills are large. You can'd do this yourself.

 

[mydognamepuaboy]

I will use all my option first and if the insurance company give me a hard time only then that I will hire a lawyer. in state of hawaii there is a lot of lawyer available but I would like to have a lawyer that is proven to deliver result. do you know any lawyer firm in hawaii that can do that?. thank you very much

 

[ecmst12]

You can use the Find A Lawyer button or ask for referrals from family/friends, or call your local bar association. We can't refer on this board.

 

[MikeKV]

I will use all my option first and if the insurance company give me a hard time only then that I will hire a lawyer. in state of hawaii there is a lot of lawyer available but I would like to have a lawyer that is proven to deliver result. do you know any lawyer firm in hawaii that can do that?. thank you very much

You should listen to ecmst12 when she(?) is suggesting that you get a lawyer. I have been in much less serious accidents than you and I am greatful that I contacted a lawyer. My lawyer was very helpful and helped in ways that I would have never known. A lawyer will work with you and your ins. co. to resolve your very serious case.

 

[mydognamepuaboy]

what I dont like about this smarts lawyer is taking a chunk 33 1/3 from my compensation and that is a lot, I already done much of the work, I submitted all my medical bills to the insurance company and they paying for it, i submited all the necessary papers to the insurance company to bring forth a case and seems there is no problem. all I wanted to know now is how much money should I ask from the insurance company that is acceptable for payment of my injuries including pain and suffering. does any one here work for the lawyer firm or in the auto insurance firm that know how to calculate payment for auto accident injuries like mine. thank you.

 

[ecmst12]

It's done on a case by case basis. There is no formula or calculator and it requires a careful review of your records and knowledge of what the judicial atmosphere is like in your area (what you would be likely to get if the case went to trial). 33% is a fair fee considering that a lawyer will get you far more compensation then you could get on your own. Besides that you are nowhere near ready to settle, if your treatment is not complete and you don't know what your permanent damage will be.

 

[mydognamepuaboy]

as I mention on my post above. my auto accident case happen 16 months ago and my doctors already discharge me from theraphy and other medical tretment and declared me in full recovery. my permanent injury was on the back of my neck which where the surgery was done and I could no longer do the job that I have before the auto accident. now I am jobless and living on social security disability payment and loss wages from the insurance company. my doctor told me that my injury prevented me to have a job that require lifting so they declared me disable permanently so this means I will collect social security disability payment for life. i do not have problem with that, the problem I have is how to collect compensation from my auto insurance. I read all the poster rendered advise and it seem I may have to hire a lawyers after all. thanks you again

 

[ecmst12]

If you're done treatment and improved as much as you can, why is there a question of whether you will be paralyzed sometime down the road?

 

[mydognamepuaboy]

that is a brilliant question you just ask. so you meant to say that because there is a chance that I be paralyze in the future from my injuries means I cannot settle yet, should I wait five, ten, twenty or 100 years to get money from the insurance company. my doctors just give me thier best advise that maybe I be paralyze in the future as a cause from my injury but they are not certain of thier advise and no one knows what is going to happen to me next week, next month, next years, five, ten or fifty or hundred years from now.

 

[ecmst12]

What could cause you to become paralyzed in the future if you are not now?

 

[mydognamepuaboy]

my doctor said to me that they put some kind of a plate, a special kind of a plate on the back of my neck then they close the skin with special kind of string. and because of the special plate inserted in the back of my neck that is what may cause me to maybe or possibly paralyze because there are many nerve on the back of my neck including spinal cord.

 

[ecmst12]

OK. This is why you need a lawyer. Normally you can't claim for "what ifs" that might happen in the future, but you had a pretty serious surgery that's known to have complications. Your current and future limitations due to your injury are significant, and you need someone representing your interests in order to get the full amount you are entitled to. Without a lawyer, you have no leverage - if you don't like the insurance company's offer, your only recourse is to get a lawyer and file suit. You can't file suit until you get a lawyer, so as long as you are unrepresented, they know you are just blowing smoke. And you don't want to wait ANY longer to hire one - the statute of limitations is already approaching quickly and if you wait too long, it will be hard to find someone to accept your case on such short notice.

 

[mydognamepuaboy]

that is a fair advise. every lawyer have many kind of specialty, what kind of a lawyers should I hire to represent my case, and what question should I ask the lawyers in order to for me to weed out incompetent one. because I have PIP $10000 (ten thousand dollars) and $300000 (three hunred thousand dollars) underinsured/uninsured insurance coverage this means the full amount I can get from the insurance company is $310000 (three hundred ten thousand dollars) is it possible I get more than what I am covered from my auto insurance. the other car have no auto insurance, do I have a right to sue him for for my injuries, also my van is declared total damage and my insurance not covering to pay my van, is the other car owner and driver is liable to pay my van. thank you

 

[ecmst12]

You need a personal injury attorney.

Is your UM coverage 100k per person/300k per accident, or 300k per person?

Yes, you can sue the other driver for your property damage at any time. Once you accept the money from your insurance company for your injuries, you will not be able to recover anything more FOR YOUR INJURIES from the other driver, until after they have been paid back for everything that they pay you. They will definitely TRY to go after him first, but who knows how far they will get. People without car insurance usually don't have a ton of money laying around to pay off judgements.