Auto Accident Personal Injury Settlement Advice?
I was involved in an accident on July 1, 2009. I was coming through an intersection (with a green light) and a vehicle coming in the opposite direction decided to pull out in front of me and make a left hand turn. I ended up hitting them. They were found at fault. I settled with my insurance company to cover the cost of my vehicle. Damages came to about , 500 and with that amount my car was totaled. My insurance company (Nationwide) gave me about ,500, the other drivers insurance company offered me almost a thousand less. I was still financing, so the entire ,500 paid for what I owed on my car. I then hired an attorney. I sustained a concussion (which I still encounter headaches from and it could continue for years), neck and back pain, lots of bruising, bumps and burns (from the air bags deploying), not to mention the emotional trauma I am STILL going through, I dove into a deep depression from it all. I have about ,000 in medical expenses (physical therapy, doctors visits etc.) My claim has just now been passed over to the insurance company! What should I expect? What should I base my settlement amount off of? How do you determine how much you should be awarded for pain and suffering? I lost my job from the accident (because I had no car). It’s been almost a year and I still have no car. Can’t afford to buy one without a job and can’t really get a job without a car (goes hand in hand). This wreck has put me through a lot. I hope and pray it’s my last. Any advice? Anything I should go by when the insurance company comes to my lawyer with an offer? Any advice or suggestions is much, much appreciated! Thank you!
You have hired an attorney.
You will be giving him 33% of any settlement you get.
You hired him for his legal knowledge and guidance.
Therefore you need to ask him your questions. Not a bunch of anonymous people on the Internet who know absolutely nothing about the specifics of your case except for a sad little paragraph that you posted.
Since you hired an attorney….let him earn the very large chunk of money that you will be paying him and ask him your questions.
A lot goes into evaluating a personal injury claim. From what you described, you can probably expect to get your medical bills covered and about $5k- 7500 in pain and suffering.
Any other questions, you should really direct to your lawyer. After all, they will be taking 33% of any settlement you get.
A typical settlement for an injury with no permanent injury is an amount equal to your medical bills, about $10,000 in your case. That’s typical or average. Only you and your lawyer can decide if what the insurance company offers is a fair amount for your injuries. You can ask for as much as you want to but it might take five or more years for your case to go to court and you get nothing during that time and you might get nothing more than what the insurance company offered to begin with. You are entitled to any lost wages as a result of the accident and that should be separate from any amount for pain and suffering.