QuestionA car ran out of gas and was sitting partially in the roadway. I stopped to help and offered to push it out of harm's way until the lady could get some gas. I told her to take the car out of gear and then I grabbed the hood and tugged. The front came up, the car did not move, and then I heard a pop and felt a pain in my arm. I went to her window and told her that I hurt my arm and could not help her.
I left and went to the Emergency Room for treatment. Bottom line... I tore a bicep tendon loose at my elbow. Have had surgery to repair, and have 3 to 6 months I can not work.
My health insurance is paying and I am getting weekly S&A checks. But I am responsible for co-pays and the S&A is less than half of my normal weekly wage.
Since my accident, several people have said that her insurance should be paying my wages and medical expenses. Is that true?
Thanks for your assistance.
AnswerThe issue you ask about has two aspects:
1. will this be covered as a no-fault payment under either her policy or your policy? This would be under her or your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or no-fault med/pay coverage, depending upon what state you live in.
2. can you get an insurance personal injury award from her insurance company by showing that she was negligent?
Unfortunately, neither of these has a clear answer. But that does NOT mean that you just give up. I think you DO HAVE THE BASIS OF A GOOD CLAIM.
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The fist thing is to try on the PIP or no-fault issue. I would contact your own insurance and tell them to open a medical and wage loss claim under your PIP.
BOTH YOUR PIP AND HER PIP DO COVER PEDESTRIANS. You do not have to be riding in or struck by the car to be covered by the PIP.
BUT THE INJURY HAS TO BE CAUSED BY THE CAR IN SOME WAY. In this instance, it is clear that she did not take the car out of gear, and thus the car was involved in the injury.
DO NOT REPORT THIS INJURY AS YOU HAVE DONE HERE. It makes YOU the primary cause of the injury; whereas in fact, was it not the failure of the woman to take the car out of gear that caused you to strain such as you did to injure yourself?
You can get a good idea of coverage issues by contacting your state insurance commissioner http://www.settlementcentral.com/links.php
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Issue #2, making a claim versus her insurance for negligence. This is your ultimate best choice since you get medical, lost wages, and general damages (pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life).
The first issue is to show that she was negligent.
There are two aspects of this that come to mind, and I think that they are both good ones.
First, she was negligent in letting her car run out of gas right there in the roadway. Is there a foreseeable risk of injury to anyone who comes to move your car out of the roadway? I think so. Maybe it is not THIS kind of injury exactly, but your injury really is within the ambit of risks that she created by her negligence. Hence you should be covered on that theory.
The next theory is that she was the direct cause of injury when she was behind the wheel and she failed to move the car out of gear, as instructed. Hence, this made it impossible to move the car and your straining injury is foreseeable.
BE DARN SURE to let the adjuster know that you are not some darn fool out there straining his body in a vain hope trying to move a rock. Instead, make it clear that you COULD HAVE MOVED THE CAR WITHOUT INJURING YOURSELF IF SHE HAD TAKEN IT OUT OF GEAR, AS YOU DIRECTED.
I don't know whether or not you can do this claim by yourself or if you need an attorney. But if you want to give it a shot to start with, here are some links to information as to how to make a do it yourself personal injury insurance claim.
. Learn how to submit and settle your own personal injury insurance claims—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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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
