Auto Insurance Claims: Personal injury claim questions, personal injury settlement, verdict search


Question
Dear Richard,

I was in a car accident, the other party accepted liability. I would appreciate if you could answer following questions regarding personaly injury settlement claim:

1. Loss of wage
After the accident, I did take 3 days off from my work, because of pain, suffering and depression, not on the days immediately after the accident, but on separated days within several months.  I can get a copy of my sick hour verification from my employer.  Does this account for loss of wage? I guess the at fault party¡¯s insurance would question as if the sick hours are directly related to the accident, right?

2. Mileage for visiting Dr.
I visited my Chiro-therapist for 34 time, driving 25 miles round trip each time.  Can I ask for the compensation for the gas cost? If so, how can I calculate, say $0.35/mile?

3. Second medical diagnosis and future treatment
3 month after finishing my Chiro-therapy, I am still suffering upper and lower back pain.  By home study, I found some latent symptoms can occur weeks and even months after an auto accident.  Now it is more than 9 month after my accident, can I still get second opinion about my injury, and if any problem diagnosed, get further treatment?  Some people say that the settlement is only for paying the medical treatments that have been received, but not considering future treatment. Is it fair to ask the compensation for any potential future treatment?

4.Verdict search
In calculating the value of a personal injury settlement, it is suggested that the history of verdict in the same area with the similar cases could be a very useful tool. Is it true, if so, how can one find the information for verdict history?

Thanks.  

Answer
Hi Kevin,

I will do my best to answer your questions in order.

1) You are entitled to be compensated for lost wages. However, it will require documentation and the time separation from the date of the accident will be questioned. You should look at this as a point of negotiation.

2) You are entitled to be compensated for your mileage for trips to the doctor or other treatment. This will require documentation. You could do a MapQuest directions search from your residence to the locations of treatment. Then your bills would document the the dates. You should ask for .485 cents per mile this is the IRS standard for mileage deduction. However again, this will be a point of negotiation.

3) Yes you can get a second medical opinion. If that doctor can directly relate any issues you are haveing to the accident of 9 months ago then you can include the cost of the second opinion and any associated tests. Further, if the doctor specifically indicates that there will be ongoing issues that will require ongoing treatment, then you can ask for an amount for future medical expenses.

4) As far as searching for verdicts in your area, most of the places that one would find this information are subscription based service utilized by attornies. You may have to pay an attorney to do the search for you because the cost of such a service is generally for a minimum of 1 yesr and can be very costly.  Otherwise you would have to go to your county courthouse and search through public records of past cases.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh