Bad wreck -- lawyer up, or no?

[Texas PaPaw]

Actually you have 3 separate claims, 1 for property damage to your truck/trailer and the others for your bodily injury and a separate one for your son's BI. Should be able to settle property damage claim on your own as that should be pretty straight forward. Not only do they owe you for repair/replacement of truck and trailer they also owe for loss of use for a reasonable time after accident. They should make you an offer on property damage PDQ to minimize the loss of use cost to them. They may push to settle the bi claims quickly but do not go there. Take your time on the bi part to make sure there are not hidden injuries that popup down the road. All 3 claims are TOTALLY separate so settle them as such. Can possibly use pending BI claims as leverage in settling the prop damage. If they are being difficult ask them "Do I need to get a lawyer"? FWIW-it's a 2 way street, so be reasonable in dealing with them also.

Keep a journal of everything that is/has happened for both you and your son's treatment and injuries. Wouldn't get in big hurry to get lawyer or settle the bi claims just keep good records. Need some time to tell how bumps, bruises, etc heal. If possible, get them to make you a WRITTEN bi settlement offer separately for you and your son. They should pay for all medical treatment, travel mileage, loss of wages, if any, and possibly payment for pain and suffering. If offer does not include some pain and suffering compensation, ask about it and see what they say. If you get a written offer and don't think it is fair then get a lawyer. When lawyer wants 35% of all settlement tell him you have written offer for $XX.XX and will only give him % of anything over $XX.XX that was offered. May have to give bigger % but he will only get paid for getting you more money but nothing for what has already been offered.

Hope you and your son heal well and get everything settled satisfactorily.

 

[Ryder]

+3 to Cottage farm and others.
Lawyers do serve a purpose.
They are your hired gun. Be sure the insurance companies will have their hired guns.
They are pros at this. You are not.
On one hand a third seems like a lot. But it may actually be a good deal.
I handled a situation once myself with insurance companies. I asked a lawyer for advice as to how to do it. He told me what to do and his charge was very reasonable. Had things gotten sticky I had him there to step in if needed.
I am not talking about frivolous lawsuits trying to take advantage of someone. That is a different matter.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I got hit turning like that last year . Guy was doing 75 and fell asleep. It's the last time ill get out of my truck without being put on a stretcher. I ended up barely paying off my truck . And had to buy a 10 year old trailer . Lost 6k for my flat bed . It won't happen again . First I'm headed to the hospital then the lawyers office. I my not sue but ill come out even on the next one .

 

[bbirder]

If you hire a lawyer, just remember that he or she is the 3rd party and is "mainly" concerned with his interest not yours. I have been involved with lawyers stealing millions. They were prosecuted and served less than 10% of the sentence. They are A55es, and this is what I think of them. :deadhorse: :deadhorse: one more for good measure :deadhorse:

 

[I luv herfrds]

I agree with Jo. find a good honest lawyer, yes they are out there. get your options.
do not sign anything from the insurance company!

I got hit by a guy doing an illegal U-turn and he hit me on the right rear quarter panel of my '71 Nova. Insurance company offered me $500.00 to total it! I had already spent over $2000.00 restoring it!
pulled out all the receipts and parts, got $1500 to repair the quarter panel.

 

[skyhightree1]

If you hire a lawyer, just remember that he or she is the 3rd party and is "mainly" concerned with his interest not yours. I have been involved with lawyers stealing millions. They were prosecuted and served less than 10% of the sentence. They are A55es, and this is what I think of them. :deadhorse: :deadhorse: one more for good measure :deadhorse:

There is good and bad people in every profession .. if you think lawyers don't serve a purpose get wrongly accused of something and go to court and represent yourself while the other party has a lawyer and lete know after you are found guilty how it worked out.

 

[skyhightree1]

I gladly pay my retainer fees for one of my lawyers. My other lawyer is my cousins wife no fee required.

 

[bbirder]

There is good and bad people in every profession .. if you think lawyers don't serve a purpose get wrongly accused of something and go to court and represent yourself while the other party has a lawyer and lete know after you are found guilty how it worked out.[/quote]

Sky,
I agree with your first line. Sorry for the rant. Guess I shouldn't post after 5pm. It's just that we have had millions (cash assets) stole from us, and had them convicted in a court of law. Judge gave them 52 yrs hard labor, lost license to practice law and today after just 4 years they are back on the street with no restitution.. Doesn't feel like justice to me! There are poor people who have been sent up for stealing $5.00 that served more time than that. The system doesn't seem to work to protect the innocent. Who you know and how much you spend will always win!

 

[skyhightree1]

I understand but like people that hate guns because people get killed by them hate the crime not the guns. When we stereotype because of a bad experience that's never a good thing .. if one person had a bad experience with a cattle farmer and they hated you because cattle farming was your profession you probably wouldn't like that. I know very well about people stealing from you trust me.

 

[Chuckie]

I read what you wrote, and didn't read what anyone else wrote as you must know this....
I had a head injury at work. The company would not treat me for my head injury because they said because of my symptoms, I didn't need it.
First, is this through their insurance that they will not check your head, or your insurance that says they don't need to check your head. That is unbelievable!!! No scan with a head injury.

Your insurance may be telling the doctors to not treat you with the truck drivers insurance being liable. You must make the truck driver's insurance cover a scan for you and your son's brain. The doctors work for the insurance companies now. Not the patients.

Head injuries are very serious, The closed ones are as serious as open ones because you don't know the damage that is there.
Later on, I started having troubles with controlling body functions and having head aches. My blood pressure started going up to 185/100. Normally I have low blood pressure.
I started seeing double and I still do to this day.
The company would still not treat me, and my insurance would not treat me because it was Worker's Comp. It is the same principle as why your insurance will not treat you.

One day I became so sick and scared that I was dying that I asked my husband to take me to the ER. They did a CT scan and there was a cyst that had formed in the frontal lobe of my brain.
A year had gone by and the company had not treated me, they said that the cyst could have happened at any time and I could not get treated.
So, put pressure on someone to take pictures of your head now. Both you and your son. If something happens in two months from this wreck, the man that hit you will not be liable.

From my head injury, the damage has caused dystonia in my neck, shoulders, back and continues to move. I have trouble with composing what I write; trying to get sentences out correctly, and math no longer exists. I was spot on the math before. It is amazing how much your life can change.
The cyst is still there and cannot be removed.

I tell you this because if you put it off, you will not be able to afford to be treated out of your own pocket. You must document it now. One reason you need to document it, your insurance could come back and say that a problem that shows up later could have been from the wreck. You need proof that it was or wash't there.

People think that insurance companies don't do this, but I cannot be treated at all for this reason. They are in business to make money, not to hand it out.

 

[greybeard]

I reckon you already know, that you can bet your butt, the truck driver, his employer (if not self employed) and his insurance company have already obtained legal counsel........and are hoping you will not.

 

[ohiosteve]

I'm not sure what you SHOULD do, but I'm sure you should not "Ham it up" to try to get money. That is a big part of what is wrong with the world today.

 

[Kingfisher]

Unfortunately your in a " legal" deal and you should get a lawyer to guide you through it. Choose your counsel wisely. Glad your ok! I got clobbered turning left a few years ago and praise God I didn't get killed. I did spend alot of time getting paid for my property and in hind sight would have "lawyered" up.

 

[Till-Hill]

I reckon you already know, that you can bet your butt, the truck driver, his employer (if not self employed) and his insurance company have already obtained legal counsel........and are hoping you will not.

Wish someone would have gave me that advice 9 months ago. I settled for $1,000 not to sue over a totaled car vs tractor with my wife and 7 week old baby girl. Both are fine but took 9 months to pay a dime for car,medical and damages to property. Next time I'll hire a lawyer on way to hospital.

 

[Nesikep]

95% of lawyers give the rest of them a bad name!

I am in agreement with what most people have said.. Don't settle the bodily harm claims in a rush.. the property damage, well, you know how much your truck and trailer is worth, so you can spot a fair shake on that... Bodily harm, that's a little harder... I'd push to make future hospital bills related to this accident covered. I don't think you're out to win the lottery on this, but if you have to hire someone to do your work for some time, they're going to need to be paid, and that money should come out of the insurance. If you do "win the lottery" on this and feel bad, can always give what you don't need to charity.

Most of all, be thankful it wasn't worse..

Heal up well!

 

[sackshowcattle]

my wife had a similar situation. They wanted her to settle quick. She was going to and I told her not to. She felt fine the first couple months. Then physical therapy, Injections, weekly chiro visits started for almost a year. Finally 4 doctors later we fount out it was a herniated disk that only fusion would fix. its 125k for the surgery plus is only good for 10 to 15 years depending on how active your life is. She is 29 and if you figure 3 to 6 surgeries in her life time at that cost plus the daily pain and having to tell our son that she can't pick him up cause her back can't handle it. The 25k the other person had and her underinsured amount doesn't even cover 10 % of what total costs could be. In a lot of ways insurance companies are more crooked than lawyers. Our health insurance collected what they paid out in the settlement and are going to make us pay for at least the first surgery since the wreck caused it which means when the pain is so bad she can no longer stand it we have to pay over 60 grand out of pocket since the settlement came out that much short. So I say go after every penny you can cause for every story of an ambulance chaser there is a story of someone who got completely hosed due to there being to low of a minimum set for what needs to be carried for liability. Her attorney told her the minimum is set for the ambulance ride and an er visit that's it in some states. If its anything major you can be in a world of hurt.

 

[fitz]

The craziest thing I've run into is the "at fault laws" of this wonderful commonwealth of Virginia.
In an accident you are either at 0% fault or 100% fault. There is no percentage assigned to both parties.
Had a stepson hit while crossing the street by a large commercial truck earlier this year. Police said driver was at 0% fault. Victim was totally responsible for his own demise. I feel certain the company name on the truck had a lot of bearing on the situation.


fitz

 

[Workinonit Farm]

his own demise. I feel certain the company name on the truck had a lot of bearing on the situation.
fitz

Oh no! I'm so sorry for your loss. Very sad.

As for the name on the truck, you could be right.

Kateherine

 

[fitz]

his own demise. I feel certain the company name on the truck had a lot of bearing on the situation.
fitz

Oh no! I'm so sorry for your loss. Very sad.

As for the name on the truck, you could be right.

Kateherine

Thank you so much Katherine. One of very few situations in life where I know I'm right. Caliber of our lawyer was without question. Also a very close friend of mine. Helped me a lot through the years. Just a screwed up law.
Didn't mean to sidetrack the thread.

fitz

 

[banekar]

My husband does investigation work for a personal injury attorney and from everything I see you need to get a lawyer. The insurance company will have one and try to get out as cheap as they can.