by Guest » Wed Nov 14, 2012 03:22 am
Hello,
My wife and I were involved in hit in run accident almost 2 years ago. The driver came at us going the wrong way on the freeway. He was able to drive away (lifted truck) but a witness did get a license plate #. The were no criminal actions because the witnesses were unable to identify the suspected driver. The owner of the car referred to his attorney and the criminal case did not go to court.
I hit the steering wheel and received contusions to the wall will severe bruising and 3 days lost work. My back does become sore at times and can twinge easier than before. I went to the doctor twice for it but have not been to the doctor for it in over a year. My wife whipped forward and back and has arm and neck pain. She has been to rehab for 30 session and seen a orthopedist and neck specialist as well as a massage therapist for almost a year and a half. She has troubling sleeping at night and can't sit for long periods or carry heavy items.
I did file for a potential civil suit before year 1 to insure my rights. Unfortunately my lawyer buddy who was helping me did not extend my file/case and it was dismissed.
Currently, I do have an offer from my insurance company for UIM claim and the two year anniversary is a week away. The insurance company offered $6K for me, including $3,400 for out of pocket (estimate I gave them) and $2,600 for pain and suffering, they also paid about $3,500 in emergency bills. My wife's offer was $6,500 for pain and suffering and $8,500 for medical bills owed (for Health Ins) and they already paid $5,000 in emergency bills.
I felt it was too low and wanted to make sure we were protected from providers coming at us after the fact and getting a good assessment of what is fair and prudent for our case. It is difficult to untangle the mess.
So I consulted a lawyer and he is offering to represent us on retainer for a 50% of the net settlement less our offer that is in hand (gives us credit). Also if he incurs any expenses (copy, request docs, filing) it would taken from our portion. We are to ask for arbitration but he is confident he can get it settled in 1-2 months for a good result. If not we can go to arbitration in 4-6 six months.
I asked about the 50% and fees and said since he charge 30% and 40% if there is no civil case (?). The 50% is because of the time constraints and amount of work to be done in a short period of time.
Should I go it alone and ask for arbitration? or use an attorney and worse case I don't owe anyone and get some more money above the original settlement amount?
Thanks
My wife and I were involved in hit in run accident almost 2 years ago. The driver came at us going the wrong way on the freeway. He was able to drive away (lifted truck) but a witness did get a license plate #. The were no criminal actions because the witnesses were unable to identify the suspected driver. The owner of the car referred to his attorney and the criminal case did not go to court.
I hit the steering wheel and received contusions to the wall will severe bruising and 3 days lost work. My back does become sore at times and can twinge easier than before. I went to the doctor twice for it but have not been to the doctor for it in over a year. My wife whipped forward and back and has arm and neck pain. She has been to rehab for 30 session and seen a orthopedist and neck specialist as well as a massage therapist for almost a year and a half. She has troubling sleeping at night and can't sit for long periods or carry heavy items.
I did file for a potential civil suit before year 1 to insure my rights. Unfortunately my lawyer buddy who was helping me did not extend my file/case and it was dismissed.
Currently, I do have an offer from my insurance company for UIM claim and the two year anniversary is a week away. The insurance company offered $6K for me, including $3,400 for out of pocket (estimate I gave them) and $2,600 for pain and suffering, they also paid about $3,500 in emergency bills. My wife's offer was $6,500 for pain and suffering and $8,500 for medical bills owed (for Health Ins) and they already paid $5,000 in emergency bills.
I felt it was too low and wanted to make sure we were protected from providers coming at us after the fact and getting a good assessment of what is fair and prudent for our case. It is difficult to untangle the mess.
So I consulted a lawyer and he is offering to represent us on retainer for a 50% of the net settlement less our offer that is in hand (gives us credit). Also if he incurs any expenses (copy, request docs, filing) it would taken from our portion. We are to ask for arbitration but he is confident he can get it settled in 1-2 months for a good result. If not we can go to arbitration in 4-6 six months.
I asked about the 50% and fees and said since he charge 30% and 40% if there is no civil case (?). The 50% is because of the time constraints and amount of work to be done in a short period of time.
Should I go it alone and ask for arbitration? or use an attorney and worse case I don't owe anyone and get some more money above the original settlement amount?
Thanks
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 03:48 am Post Subject:
The 50% is because of the time constraints and amount of work to be done in a short period of time.
I'm going to call 100% BS on that! Work...? You mean like make a call? Ouch! That is a whole lot of work to be done.
What a joke. You've already done about 95% of the "work". he only needs to spend about 20 minutes on the phone increasing the offer. Heck, you could easily do this for free!
He wants 50% as usually he'd keep 40% of the _entire_ offer. At least he's being honest and somewhat fair in not taking 40% of what you've already been offered. I can't fault him for wanting 50%... but don't tell people it's because of the "work" needed.
Were these the carriers initial offer? If so why not simply do what that attorney would do and negotiate? Write down some notes about what you went through and the additional medical treatment that you will need. Treat this like buying a car. The insurance company offers a low number, you offer some reasons why it should be higher and ask for a high number. They counter and you counter. The banter about the injury and future medical bills is just to give a reason to keep the numbers moving. At some point mention that you are not using an attorney but if you do, the cost to the carrier will probably go up. Perhaps you will get less in the long run... but the cost will still go up. You are just trying to seem reasonable and argue your case. It's a lot like po_ker. You don't want to over bluff as this will shut the adjuster down. Feel free to take your time and call back after you've "considered" their last offer. When you feel that you have their final top number (and if you are willing to accept it), tell them if they put $500 in it, you will settle. If they won't, ask for $300 and you will settle.
You do need to know exactly what your medical expenses are as you may very well need to pay that money back to your health carrier or who over. You also need to satisfy all outstanding bills. However, you can negotiate down any outstanding bills and even negotiate down anything you owe to your health carrier. But what you still are having your UM carrier consider are the full amount of the bills.
(It's UM... not UIM. UIM is under insured... UM is uninsured)
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 04:09 am Post Subject: UM Claim-CA
Thanks for the information, this does help. I don't have qualms over negotiating for a higher settlement with the insurance company but I am unsure about what is an acceptable amount. Is it 2 x medical expenses, 3X medical expenses? If I ask for arbitration and go it alone for negotiating, can I consult an attorney with the most recent offer. What worries me is making sure all bills and providers have been paid. I feel if the attorney can take that part it is worth the % cut he would get.
thanks
Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 01:36 pm Post Subject:
I really don't see the need for arbitration. It's not that big of a case and there are no big issues. You can do this... but each party splits the cost of the arbitrator which would seriously eat into your money.
I can't tell you what you claim is worth as I've not seen all of your medical bills and notes. Also, different areas command different amounts. If this is a soft tissue injury, I can't see you getting 3x the medical bills but that is also not unheard of. So it might be a good starting point. You need to understand that the insurance companies first offer is going to be low. So your first demand should be high. Did they offer you $100 above your medical bills? No. So I'd not start at a million dollars either. That is going to shut someone down. You want to shoot high... but you don't want the adjuster to think you are just being stupid. But you also want to give reason's why your claim is worth that high amount. Is it possible that you had to take some off work to seek medical treatment? Then you might have lost sick time or vacation time. Could you sleep at night or was that difficult? You want to convince the adjuster that you had a real hardship. But perhaps you also want the adjuster to know that you are not going to be unreasonable. This is what attorneys do... they are good at negotiating on the phone.
Why can't you go to all of your medical providers and ask for the bills? They will print them up for you. They do it all of the time. If they were paid by your health carrier then your health carrier can give you EOB's for everything they paid. If you don't know what all of your bills are, how does the adjuster know? You need to be sure that the adjuster has all of the bills for consideration.
Yes, you may need to spend an hour or two on this. But an attorney (in your case) might be taking $1000 or so of your settlement to do the same thing. Is $1000 worth two hours of your time?
It's up to you.
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 05:02 am Post Subject:
I did file for a potential civil suit before year 1 to insure my rights. Unfortunately my lawyer buddy who was helping me did not extend my file/case and it was dismissed.
You still have about a year (3 years total is the statute of limitations in CA) to refile your case. Find a different attorney. 50% contingency is egregious, but not unethical (go figure). It's your money, decide what to do with it wisely.
As tcope has alluded to, you and the insurance company are not so far apart as to need (a) an attorney or (b) arbitration. Figure out what your total damages are -- as close to the penny as possible . . . no estimates -- and ask for 2x that amount. It may be a bit less than an attorney might press them for, but you'll end up with all of it in your pocket instead of only half.
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