how to calculate a settlement after a car accident?

[Phanie]

Ok, very weird question.
Got rear ended and I am trying to figure out the possible settlement amount I can hope.
Hubs said that any money I will get will be mine to do as I please.
You all know what that means! My bling budget just got a little push.
Whiplash of course and pain is just crazy.
Anyone knows how insurances calculate a settlement?
Thanks

 

[Mayk]

My experience was long... 4 1/2 years
6% of the settlement request
Lawyers got 33%
Insurance Company on Business Car I was in, which was totaled (I wasn't moving I was mowed down in a police chase) had a claim to a portion.

In the end not much...

Good Luck... They drug us through Civil Court then promised if I got on the stand they would mke me look like a money grubbing gold digger. Because I have a good job and live a comfortable lifestyle. The county I was in near the county seat can be very blue collar. One other person in the string of injuries in this crash was life flighted (he was on a bike) months and months or rehab he also got just enough to cover medical and attorney's fees...

For the record I was a long distance cyclist. I've never riden again. I tried. 20 miles is about as far as I can get. I had Horner's Syndrome an injury to the dorsal muscle and weakness in my right side. I still have issues with my eyes. It's a little like shaken baby syndrome is how it was explained to me. She was going 60 in a Range Rover struck my car on the driver's side intentionally. She was sentenced to 33 years because she also tried to run over a cop then was released because of mental capacity for time served... My friend who I happened to know who was on the bike will never be the same. In total she hurt 7 people.

 

[missy]

For the record I was a long distance cyclist. I've never riden again. I tried. 20 miles is about as far as I can get. I had Horner's Syndrome an injury to the dorsal muscle and weakness in my right side. I still have issues with my eyes. It's a little like shaken baby syndrome is how it was explained to me. She was going 60 in a Range Rover struck my car on the driver's side intentionally. She was sentenced to 33 years because she also tried to run over a cop then was released because of mental capacity for time served... My friend who I happened to know who was on the bike will never be the same. In total she hurt 7 people.

Mary, OMG I am so sorry. What a horrible traumatic experience you went through and thank goodness you survived!!! I did wonder why you stopped long distance cycling and I told Greg that you probably didn't want to share that with me in my thread for concern of discouraging me from getting back on our tandem and being able to long distance cycle again. So awful and your poor friend. I cannot believe they let that woman out of jail! And they call it the "justice" system. Ugh!

Ok, very weird question.
Got rear ended and I am trying to figure out the possible settlement amount I can hope.
Hubs said that any money I will get will be mine to do as I please.
You all know what that means! My bling budget just got a little push.
Whiplash of course and pain is just crazy.
Anyone knows how insurances calculate a settlement?
Thanks

Phanie, forgive the threadjack above. As for your case I hope it goes well and most importantly that your injuries all heal completely. As for the bling budget increasing LOL. A true PSer you are!

 

[momhappy]

I was involved in a (fairly) minor car crash several years ago and received a small settlement. I was at a complete stop (in a Ford Festiva - tiny car) and was hit head on by a large van carrying construction equipment (heavy tools, etc.). Thankfully, the van was traveling at a low rate of speed and I only ended up with whiplash, which was painful, but certainly nothing catastrophic. I remember the process taking a long time (I refused the initial settlement and just decided to wait it out). The insurance company finally came back with another number (about a year later) and I accepted it. I don't recall how the numbers were calculated and I wasn't really looking for a specific number.

 

[tyty333]

Mayk - that sounds horrible. I cant believe that your lawyers couldn't do better. Can they even bring in where you live, how much
money you have and how you live? It seems irreverent to how much pain/suffering/loss of physical abilities that was caused by
the accident.

Around here it seems like the better lawyer you have the better you do. I know the insurance companies have many and probably
some of the best.

Phanie - so you're not going with a lawyer? I really have no clue how things are calculated. Can you find anything on line? It looked
like there was a lot available on-line but I think a lot of it is sponsored by lawyers who want your business.

 

[Phanie]

Mayk. Oh my your story is so awfull.I cannot believe how very little you got for the terrible extend of your suffering and injuries.
I consider myself lucky as it could have been worse. Rear ended while stopped, I started to feel dizzy and throwing up a few minutes later. Could not remembered my DOB when asked nor my work phone number. I got ambulance'd to the ER ( I work in the PACU of that hospital!! Weird to be seen by colleagues).
I was supposed to restart karate (took 6 months off due to schedule conflicts) this Tuesday ( I am a green karate belt!) And the autocross season is just restarting and I won't be able to do any I think this year ( it is racing cars on parcours, my car is super cool). And my hubs and I white waters Colorado trip (5 stars) this summer is a bust. The car should be repaired but it's a 15 year old rare model and parts are so rare it takes forever to find them.
I guess I should get a lawyer. I was not contemplating this as The insurances people are already talking pain and suffering but I guess I should.
I do not know any injury lawyers and the online thing send me to one that advertise on TV ( which I think is pretty shark bait like).
I am getting massages and acupuncture( both are friends so they saw me really quickly once I was able to drive without wincing too much).
I guess I should just wait to see what the insurance offer.
The pain this is on all levels is just so annoying.

And Missy thank you! True PSer label from you! Yay!
I kid you not, when my hubs said that whatever I get, I do what I please with (after covering expenses of course) I was: "yes Erica (fromLAD) is going to see me again (I live within 30 minutes of her!!!!). Necklace is what I think.

Let's keep my healing hopes up. My LMP is saying 6 months...

 

[luv2sparkle]

It took a very long time to get a settlement for my son's accident. It was about 4 years also. For him, they calculated a lifetime of lost wages, his health care needs. I believe there is a formula and most lawyers (if not all) know it. The challenge is the variables involved and frankly how long you are willing to wait out the other side. The other side is waiting for you to take the minimum because you need too, especially if they are at fault. The waiting is how they pay less.

 

[minousbijoux]

So things have changed in the last 15 years or so in the insurance industry, with insurance companies playing hardball with victims with "soft tissue" injuries in car accidents. I was in an accident several years ago and that was told to me by several attorneys and those who work in the industry. In my case, I was driving across a major street on a green light, and noticed that a car coming up the main arterial street was not slowing down despite their light being red. My son was in the passenger seat, and I hit the brakes hoping to avoid his car (he was texting with a car full of friends and was not looking at the light). When I realized that they would hit us, I put my arm across my son to shield him from the impact. Thank God that I slowed down as the oncoming car hit right in front of the passenger seat and took the wheel out completely, otherwise they would've hit the front passenger seat and my son (who was fine because he did not see the car coming and was not all tensed up like I was). Their car was totaled and my car should have been. I had damage to my neck (disk problems in one or two vertebrae with pinched nerves) and whiplash. My car was in the shop for 6 weeks and although fixed, was never the same. I missed work, and spent the next year plus seeing doctors (who said based on x-rays that nothing was wrong in my neck), chiropractors, and massage therapists to no avail. I was popping advil all the time and would come home from work and have to ice my neck because it hurt so much. I finally went to a specialist doctor who ordered an MRI and saw the problems. After that, it was fairly easy to fix with cortisone shots in the neck and occasional painkillers. I racked up lots of bills.

As was explained to me by my attorney, the insurance company didn't care about being fair, or making me whole for my injury, that they would do whatever to minimize their exposure, including blaming the injury on existing conditions (they claimed there were early signs of arthritis in my neck - something that though probably true had NEVER been a problem for me prior to the accident). So the settlement basically covered my out of pocket expenses. I wanted to get on with my life and had no intention of any kind of court litigation as it was explained that the insurance company would do whatever they could to portray me in a negative light. Frankly, by this time, I was just so relieved to be pain free and wanted to be done with it all! Oh, and then keep in mind that you have to pay back your health insurance company for their share of any reimbursement for medical costs you receive. I had no idea about that and that alone made it worthwhile to have hired an attorney!

Good luck to you and I hope you feel better soon. Sorry about your car.

 

[Phanie]

I have been told already that any and all medical bills should go to my insurance first. Now I have to track the ambulance ( I did not get any paperwork from them super weird); the ER and my first PCP visit.
The only thing is in my state , the first $10K of medical comes off my personal injury insurance then the other driver. So weird. Was not told so until later and now once again I am the one having to track and reverse and rebill to the right person this whole mess.
The other driver totally at fault has none of the inconveniences but I have to deal with all the crap. Argh. The whole thing between the financial, loss of wages, loss of time worked, pain and all is incredibly annoying and disruptive to my life and family. And I consider myself lucky because I was not majorly injured with need for immediate hospital stay or surgery.
I'm going to be dealing with this for 6 to 18 months when the at fault driver will gave nothing to deal with.
I keep telling myself it is just a bad whiplash, it could have been a concussion too, so feel blessed.