QuestionOn 1/20/2007 I was the victim of a hit and run. I managed to get a good portion of the tag plate number. I was hit on the front right side, which bent my wheel and now my car is smoking when moving. It's not drivreable. the accident aftermath was strange to say the least! After calling the police at around 4pm within 5 minutes after the hit we waited 10 minutes and a passing state trooper arrived and put flares and said he's not the one to handle the case on the scene. He waited 15 - 20 minutes recalled the local department gave them an address and still no one showed. After 45 minutes or so a duty police passing by stopped and the state trooper asked him to stay and wait. After a 5 - 10 minute window had lapsed he started to call asking questions to the local station. He then proceded to start filling the report & talked to the witness and still no perimedics on the scene!! I had my 9 year old brother with me who was in the car when we were struck he complains of minor side pain now. We finially got the vechical towed to my residence. The ordeal was over after a 1hr 1/2. My back has been giving me pain which is really starting to get nerve racking because I hate pain!! I've talked to the insurance company which is sending claim rep to see the car damage. I only have uninsured & liabilty coverage and up to 50,000 per person injured. Do you have any possible options I have with the dealing insurance company? The police report has not come out. I was told it will be atleast 5 more days. I was wondering about the no response of the police department and perimedics. I have never known an accident to happen and on one shows. Seeing how everyones bodys reacts differently and injury timing varies. I am also concidering settlementcentral.com and doing it myself. Overall I don't think it would be a good idea for me alone to go after the lack of response by the authorities though I'm pretty sure the insurance company wont.
AnswerDear Montague,
Sorry to hear of your ideal. That delay was frustrating on top of the accident and injuries!
You are right to take on your Uninsured Motorist coverage (UIM). Your coverage is $50K per person, which should be ON TOP of your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or no-fault med/pay coverage for medical bills and lost wages (in PIP only--after two weeks off work).
There should be no issue whatsoever about a phantom car exception for your UIM insurance. You can read here about how your insurance UIM coverage will be impacted on a hit and run. Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UIM) Insurance Claim: Hit & Run or Phantom Car That Caused Personal Injuries and Property Damage
http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0550.htm
If they give you any grief on the hit and run issue, let me know all about it. Other than that, I do not see a question posed to me, so I will kind of go behind the words to see if I can guess at what you would like to know.
One of the most obvious things seems to be the topic that took up most of your attention: the delay in getting authorities on the scene. You are right to be upset over the delay. But I think that is a political problem for the local area to address, not a legal one. Unless there was some complication that set in for either one of you because of the delay in help arriving, there is no legal action for you to take.
Let me know if there is any problem with your car repairs or any possibility of diminished value. I will start you reading some diminished value information from an expert in the field of auto insurance claims settlementsļ. Take some time and research diminished value on these pages:
Diminished Value--What it is and How to Make an Insurance Claim for a Cash Insurance Settlement
http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0455.htm
FAQ: Diminished Value Insurance Claims Explained in Answers by Doctor Settlement, J.D.--Auto Accident Insurance Claim Expert
http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0454.htm
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As for the issue of trying to settle the claims on your own, I would think that you were right to look to www.SettlementCentral.Com insurance claim settlement help. You do not have to know rocket science to resolve your own claim. Why don't you take some time just now to read a little bit about self-help online auto accident personal injury insurance claims procedures--DO IT YOURSELF SETTLEMENTS. Here is a series of pages that you can review. Take what makes sense to you and don't worry about the rest. Just get a flavor of how the system works without spending a ton of time right now.
Overview Tort Law Personal Injury Legal Claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3000.htm
Managing Medical Care After Auto Accident: http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0203.htm
Medical Care Documentation-the Key to Successful Personal Injury Insurance Claim Settlements http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0217.htm
Keys to a MAXIMUM INSURANCE INJURY CLAIM SETTLEMENT http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0089.htm
Outline of questions to be expected from insurance claims adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0190.htm
Detailed listing of questions to be expected from insurance claims adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0207.htm
By the way, did you know that getting an early settlement is a favorite trick of the insurance adjusters? Please see my website wherein we show Insurance Claim Adjuster Secret Tactics http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0092.htm
Responding to Settlement Offer From Insurance Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0244.htm
Do It Yourself Advantages, or do these claims need an attorney? As for an ATTORNEY, this does not seem to be a case that involves any legal issues in dispute nor any large or complex damages. Why should you pay someone one-third to do what you can do yourself? Do-It-Yourself Personal Injury Claims; Eliminate Personal Injury Attorneys' Fees; Save Thousands of Dollars Settling Your Own Insurance Claim http://www.settlementcentral.com/page3011.htm
Without having to join my website, I have given a lot of free information on handling insurance claims without having to join as a member. Read the module at "5 Easy Steps to Do-it-Yourself Insurance Claim Settlement" http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0102.htm
This stuff is not rocket science, but it will take some effort on your part to read and cut and paste letter examples and to communicate. But hundreds of people are doing it each day, and they are getting good results.
What if you get only two-thirds the way to your settlement goal? Well, you can get as big a settlement as you can and then turn it over to an attorney and save a lot of fees. Thus, you could go it alone just to get an insurance settlement offer, and then take that insurance settlement offer to a personal injury attorney, thus exempting the amount of the offer from her fees. Do It Yourself Personal Injury Settlement Offer Reduces Personal Injury Attorney Fees http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0109.htm
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As for your brother, that is a minor claim, and his claim can be handled by your parents or by you. Here are some tips on settlement personal injury insurance claims for minors; GAL and court approval process
A parent (or you--or any adult) may NOT SETTLE her child's personal injury claim UNLESS it is small, or until a court approves the settlement AND the investment protection for the funds. The reasons for that are sound, and if you want you can read an exposition on the entire process to settle minor insurance claims http://www.settlementcentral.com/page8017.htm Guardian ad Litem (GAL) will interview you and your parent and your brother, investigate the accident facts, review the medical records and talk to doctors, write what is called a "GAL report", and present it to the court. The order will be entered and filed with the clerk. Thereafter, the GAL may become involved in setting up the "blocked accounts" in the minor¡¦s name, or verifying that the funds were disbursed as ordered by the court.
But to summarize here in my answer, if your brother does have a very small claim, it can be worked out with the insurance company to settle the claim with your parent, to sign the release by the parent, and to guarantee the settlement for the security of the insurance company.
The insurance company will forego the court approval process only on SMALL insurance settlements, and ONLY if the parent gives it a hold harmless agreement in exchange (i.e. to protect the insurance company should the minor later try to repudiate the insurance settlement agreement and release). But this is unusual, inasmuch as the insurance adjuster is instructed to get a full and effective release of the claim.
Since there are examples of former minor settlements being reopened when done without court approval, most adjusters do not have authority to let a parent sign a release on behalf of her child unless the claim is very small.
Plus, who is to guarantee that the parent will invest the proceeds in a blocked account for the minor instead of using the money herself to buy things that she would like her child to have but cannot afford on her own?
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Can parents settle children's insurance claims? What about the process for court approval for minor's insurance injury claims?
We believe that in many cases, parents CAN AND DO make good settlements of their child's insurance injury claim. There is no reason that a parent cannot negotiate a fine settlement for her minor child. The only catch is that the insurance settlement and the investment of the insurance proceeds MUST BE APPROVED by a court of general jurisdiction in your state.
It is possible for the parent, with guidance and proper forms, to present the case herself for approval. However, in most jurisdictions, an independent Guardian ad Litem (GAL--guardian for the litigation--most often an attorney) will be appointed to review the settlement and report to the court whether the terms and conditions are satisfactory. THE GAL REPORT will NOT RECOMMEND approval of settlements if it does not include consideration of long term consequences to the child. The court will then give approve the settlement, issuing a formal order approving the settlement and requiring investment of the proceeds in a safe and prudent manner.
A common question from parents is whether or not the money can be used to buy something that the child really wants, but which the parent cannot afford. All the cases I have seen the parent's request to use the child's money is refused, excepting in two instances: first, where the child wants a car and has a job that is so far that he requires a car to get to and from the job; and second, where the child is in poor physical and mental condition and the expenditure would, according to the child's doctors, go a long way in cheering him up and thus promoting his healing.
Other than those two kinds of examples, the court is not going to allow any parent to use the child's money for any other purpose.
Read about Guardian ad Litem for the minor, his attorney's fees, procedures for court approval of minor insurance settlements, paying fees and court costs, and asking for insurance company payment of all fees and costs http://www.settlementcentral.com/page8017.htm
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FINAL TOPIC: Effective communication with insurance claims adjusters. Establish Firm, Professional, and Positive Relationships With the Insurance Injury Claims Adjuster http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0059.htm
Always communicate with the adjuster in writing, showing your own analysis of value. It is OK I guess to have one call or so, but no more. Always have your information and ammunition in writing to give to the adjuster.
Let him know that you are FIRM IN YOUR RESOLVE to get what you are demanding (NOT "asking", since that invites a counter-offer, but instead "demanding" as fair and reasonable compensation) by asking him what the options are to resolve the matter fairly should he not agree to a reasonable claim value. In other words, let him know that you will go through with a court filing if need be.
Remember these tips, do your homework, print out your evidence, show resolve to get your fair settlement, and you will DO JUST FINE.
I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
