Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:19 pm Post subject: Hello, I am from Salem Oregon. I was rearend on 8/20/07. The
Reareared 8/20/08 I had full coverage through Workman Auto Insurance. She had full coverage through Geico. There was myself and 2 passengers. I was take by ambulance to the hospital with neck and back pain and I could not move my leg at first. I was treated and released when leg movement came back. Both passenger had neck injuries. The 1st passenger was released on 11/9/07 and received a settlement on 2/24/08. 2nd passenager was released on 4/24/08 the demand was send on 6/9/08. When my attorney called 6/17/08 the ajustor will be out of office till 6/24/08. My full coverage insurance states $15000.00 is this the limit for pain and suffering? And is there a timely maner involved in recieving a answer to the demand letter? And is there a timely manner invovled in my attorney's action taken? My Dr will not release me till 8/20/08 as I had previous physical handicaps, but this has left me with new and very painful injuries that are not healing. My pip has ran out and they will but a lien on my settlement. I feel used, stressed and abused. Can you please answer my questions? Blessings to you.
First, I'm totally confused unless you happen to have been driving a Delorean with a flux capacitor. You repeatedly give dates in August 2008. Last time I checked my wayback machine, this date has not come about yet.
You also state "rear ended"... who rear ended who? I would think you were rear ended but then you mentioned your passengers demand and ask about your liability limits. You also mention that you have an attorney, which makes me think the other person was responsible for the accident.
While no one has any problem answering questions here (as long as the questions can be understood) I always have to wonder how someone can be paying an attorney thousands of dollars out of their pockets and don't seem to ask this person questions when they are confused.
There is no way to know what that $15,000 amount is on your policy. "Full coverage' means something different to different people and yet still other things in different situations. Basically, there is no actual coverage called "Full".
Usually liability limits (again, I don't know why we are discussing yours) are usually written as xx/xx/xx. The first number is the amount your carrier can pay to another _person_ for their injuries when you are liable. The second number is the amount they will pay for all the injuries in the accident (no matter how many people were hurt) when you are responsible and the last number is the amount your carrier will pay others for property damage that you caused.
As far as a time limit to a demand... the attorney can state this time frame in the demand. If it's not stated, then it's _usually_ 30 days. But they attorney can turn around and file suit whenever he/she wants. 99.999% of the time, they would rather wait for an offer as long as it does not take too long. Again, they usually expect to hear something within 30 days. Sometimes the adjuster might ask for another week or so.
Lastly, don't feel stressed (I know, easy for me to say). You might be looking at this day by day as you have to live the situation each day. But these settlements take time. Most of the time the attorney won't even send over a demand until your released from doctors care or it's clear that there will be no more complications (they attorney's interest is to be able to submit as much treatment as possible as the usually the more money spent on treatment, the higher the settlement). If you feel stressed about something you don't understand, feel free to post here. But also understand that your going to be paying your attorney 33% of your settlement amount so you can feel free to call him/her as well.
A lien being placed against your settlement is done all the time. It's no big deal and just allows the doctor to continue to offer treatment without getting paid up front.
Oh my gosh t, that one made me spit the coffee again!
Here we go t, on the ''subject'' line...
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I was rearend on 8/20/07
Willa, the 15k (I'm guessing) is either what is left of the other persons total BI limit OR the single limit...one or the other..OR they could just be what the limits on your policy are and have zero to do with the other (paying) party.....ASK your attorney that question, ''What are the policy limits of the other party's BI coverage, and what is left or available for my injury"...He/She should know that....Also if it is 15k do you have UNDERinsured motorist coverage on your own vehicle...NOT PIP...underinsured motorist (UIM)...find out from your agent if you don't have the docs...How much did your passengers receive in settlement?
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I feel used, stressed and abused.
I understand the stressed part but not the 'used and abused' what makes you say that? As tcope said try really hard not to get too stressed out that is why you are paying the attorney the big bucks...
Anything we can do to ease the burden, feel free to ask... _________________ Have you been helped by a poster? Do you want to show your appreciation? YOU CAN !! Just simply click on the donate button and send them some coin!
Reading what Lori wrote, "unconfuses" me a little ( )
I think the $15k is from the other person's bodily injury limits. But usually (not always) the injury limit of a policy is written as 15/30 (amounts change). The 1st amount is what the other carrier will pay per person in an accident (so they won't pay more then $15k to each person). The second number is what they will pay per accident... no matter how many people were involved. Both of these limits can affect you but if it appears to the carrier that they might have claims out there that could total more then the per accident limit, then they won't settle _any_ claim until they know all the amounts (or at least they _REALLY_ shouldn't). So if they already paid on your passengers demands then the limits of the policy should not be an issue.
Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:14 am Post subject: rear-ended in Salem
I'm sorry about the date it was 8/20/07 I was the one rear-ended and about 2 days after the accident I was swamped with letters from Attorneys for miles around (I believe the term is ambulance chasers.). I know nothing about attorneys so I chose the closest one to me. At our first meeting he told us he had been a RN in the ER and was still a RN, but had gone back to school to be a attorney and( I don't think he's been a attorney long.) I thought that was great, but then when the first passenger was released on 11/9/07 and it took till 2/24/08 to get the settlement and it was $3000.00 and he got 1/3 of that. People started telling me that was not very much, I didn't know. Then the 2nd passenger was released 4/24/08 and I called him 3 times in a week and he didn't return my call. And a couple weeks before that I had called him twice in a week and when he called back he said he shut his ring off for court and forgot to turn it back on. I talked to my Dr who has been my Dr for 25 years and he said your attorney is not aggressive enough call this attorney. So I did and that attorney was very nice and said he didn't want to step in yet and would call him for me and most times that will get them moving. And it did he called within 30 mins and said we would demand $15000.00, but now he says the adjuster is out of the office till next week and I don't want this to drag out like before. And this is the reason for feeling used and abused and maybe even stupid. That is the reason I'm trying to educate myself and see what is normal and whats not. Thank -you, I hope that makes things a little clearer and I hope you can help me. _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
And this is the reason for feeling used and abused and maybe even stupid.
Ah now I get it...I thought you meant by the ins company...I see your situation clearer now...and you know, the atty that the doc recommended...really showed professional ethics by not just trying to take you over...instead called this young atty and told him to get on the job...too bad you didn't know about him first...or what I will tell you here in a minute...might've saved you 5k...
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That is the reason I'm trying to educate myself and see what is normal and whats not
Smart girl...better late than never...and after all life is a series of lessons...you'll know better next time...It's not unusual for it to take anywhere from 30-90 days or more AFTER a demand has been sent to reach an agreement...typcially the atty asks for the moon and then the negotiation begins...back and forth until an agreement is reached...
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I hope you can help me.
Unfortunately all we can do is try and educate you for next time or someone you know that finds them selves in similar situation...Here's the deal...apparently the at fault party only has 15k available...your attorney is taking just shy of 5k...leaving you with 10k...more than likely you could've negotiated this yourself...had you got 11k you still would've been ahead...but I'm sure you have a contract with this attorney and no way out now...Once your attorney sends the demand if it's a slam dunk, they will just pay policy limits of 15k...again he takes 4950.00 the docs that have filed leins get theirs and you get what is left...I'm sorry...Do you have health insurance? What about UIM did you check on that? _________________ Have you been helped by a poster? Do you want to show your appreciation? YOU CAN !! Just simply click on the donate button and send them some coin!
Let me say that I have settled claims with many attorneys and I've never denied that they have their place and benefits but I'll also say that _most_ injury attorneys (and 99.9999999999 of the ones that solicit people after an accident) only see the injured person as a big bag of money. There are many attorneys who will never see the inside of a court room. This can work for the ones who still know how to get top dollar payments from insurance companies but there are _many_ attorneys who simply want to invest as little time as possible and grab some money and then move into the next settlement. Time is money to an attorney. If a settlement could be $5000 and he/she invests 20 hours, that is $250/hour they were paid. But if they settle for $3000 and only put 5 hours into it, well... that is $600/hour! But to make this work, those attorneys need a lot of people in their doors. Hence the aggressive recruitment of clients. It's a "client mill". Again, there are attorneys who can do this and _still_ settle claims for top dollar... but it's not going to be the one who was a nurse in an ER, now wants to try his hand at being an injury attorney, and has only been doing the attorney thing for a short time.
Allow me to poke a little fun here... almost all attorneys will not "steal" clients as they attorneys draw the line at feeding upon themselves. . That is actually the quickest way I can explain that phone call. Okay, it's "professional courtesy".
A settlement is a negotiation. Let me ask you this... if you walked into a dealership to buy a car and said to yourself... I'm only going to counter offer this sales person twice and then buy the car... what price do you think you are going to pay? The insurance company is going to start making low offers (that is their job... it's not "wrong"). The adjuster also wants to close the claim and does not want the case to go to court if it looks like it can be settled. So the waiting game is on your side. If the adjuster can be left hanging out there and it can be made to look like you are only going to settle for top dollar or go to court, then this works to your advantage. If an attorney called me and told me his/he client wanted to settle asap, I'd put the checkbook away and crack open the piggy bank. That talk tells me that they client needs to pay some bills or is going on vacation and wants the the money... _any_ money, regardless. Now if the attorney tells me, no... my client might want to wait to see if additional treatment is needed or if any other complications come up, or might want to file suit as the offer is to low and then I don't hear from the attorney for weeks... this scares me a little. Do I really want to pass up offering a little more money to avoid future problems? But keep in mind, I'm just skimming over the surface... there are many other factors that come into play. I'm just showing that _showing_ your n a hurry is not a good thing (also, telling your attorney that just helps him on his way to spend as little of his time on your case so he can move on).
If the other person's limits are $15k, then of course the attorney will ask for this amount... they always do. If the limit was $100k, he would ask for that amount. This just makes the insurance company "go first" in the negotiation process. It gives a slight advantage to the attorney (some experienced adjusters, when they get $500k demands on a $10k case will make a counter offer of $1... to be as stupid as the initial demand ). This is all not to say that your claim is not worth $15k or more. If it is, the carrier may just offer the $15k right away.
Settling a smaller claim can take a matter of a day... it really depends on how clear the matter is (accident, injury and treatment) and how high the policy limits are as compared to the extent of the injury. I'd say most claims like this can easily be settled in a matter of a week or so. But their can be other factors involved that dictate spending a little more time in the settlement process.
Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:41 pm Post subject: Rear-ened in Salem
Thank-you guys so much! That helps me understand thing a lot better. I thing my Dr knows more about this system than my attorney. So tell me if I'm right, when the adjuster gets back into the office, and my attorney gets back to me with a counter offer, I just stand as firm as possible on the $15000.00. With the 1st passenger , when I tried to hold out he said that was as much as they would offer before going to court, and that would cost more. And now were on the 2nd passenger this is the demand of $15000.00 and he was released 4/24/08. And as far as myself goes I think I'm in a better position because of my DR. The attorney has repeatedly tried to get me to settle and my DR says NO! Not until the anniversary date and then there will be stipulations made, because I have new injuries that have not healed and there is still a lot of pain. If I had my rathers, I would have chose not to have this happen it's a lot pain and worry. Also how do I donate a nickle. I'm new to all this. _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
If the other person's injury limits are $15,000/$30,000 as it would seem, the carrier should _not) be settling individual claims (nor should your attorney be settling them). These leads me to think that the limits are much higher.
If those were the limits, $30,000 per accident, then a payment of $15,000 and $3,000 would be $18,000, leaving only $12,000 left over. This would not allow you to collect $15,000.
I just can't imagine there's a limits issue if they have settled even ONE BI...on this claim _________________ Have you been helped by a poster? Do you want to show your appreciation? YOU CAN !! Just simply click on the donate button and send them some coin!
Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:22 am Post subject: rearened in Salem
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Lori and tcope I feel a little embarrassed to ask for anymore advise
Don't be embarrassed (about the donate button) I do stuff like that all the time ! and we're here to try and help folks understand the insurance world the best we can...so you ask all you want/need to until you understand all you want..ok? alright...now...
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Anyway I went and looked up my insurance policy and what a surprise it states that 25,0000 each person 50,000 each accident.
First 'which' coverage were you looking at? I'lll imagine it was Bodily Injury coverage right? I doubt that your passengers were paid anything at all from this coverage...(While we are on this subject though...you have pretty low limits...and might was to think about raisin it)...
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Up until now all bills have been paid by my insurance company for both 1st and 2nd passenger till we settled then her insurance paids medical bills and then figures pain and suffering into it
Your passengers were probably getting their bills paid either thru your PIP or Medpay coverage...NOT your BI coverage...
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I'm not sure why the attorney is stating a figure of $15000.00 limit. I think the more I learn the more confused I get. Something does not seem right here HMMMM!
It is so confusing...here's the deal though just because you have 25/50 doesn't mean that the other party has that...they could (more than likely) have 15/30...that's where the 15k comes from...What are the MINIMUM limits that your state allows for BI coverage? Check your states Dept of ins site, or if you can't find the info let us know the state and we'll check it for you.. _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
Willa I don't know what happened to the post above...clearly some of my comments are in there....you should be able to understand the answers though...I think I might have mistakenly hit edit...and posted in wrong place...sorry That'll teach me to try and post while still half asleep with a headache I guess..sorry again. _________________ Have you been helped by a poster? Do you want to show your appreciation? YOU CAN !! Just simply click on the donate button and send them some coin!
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Also how do I donate a nickle. I'm new to all this. 
to ask for anymore advise 
