Question
Dear Doctor settlement,
On July 29 2003 I was rear-ended in Washington DC. The damage to my car was appr $6500 and was payed, by the other driver's insurance company.
My medical bills (whiplash)from diagnostic tests (CAT scan and X-rays)at the ER the next day and subsequent physical therapy were around $2700.
I didn't lose any time from work but wore a cast around my neck for about 10 days and took some painkillers for about a week. I have kept all the receipts. No payment offer has been made from the insurance company of the other driver.
I was told that the statue of limitation for DC is 3 years which leaves be a little over a month to submitt my claim.
I would like to submitt the claim, however I'd rather not hire a lawyer or make a big investment in terms of time and effort.
I have (from a lawyer friend)a sample of a "demand letter" and I am considering using that to draft my own for my claim.
My goal is to get compensated for my medical bills and possibly some additional money for "pain and sufferring".
My question is whether it would be possible to resolve that without a lawyer except for a visit to discuss the case and take a look at my documentation before a submitt it.) Also, can they delay the process of my claim so that the statute of limitations expires?
The reasonable assumption is that as long as you file a claim before the 3 year period expires you should be fine irrespective of the time needed to resolve the issues but this might not be the case.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Maria Gregory
Answer
Dear Maria,
I hate to tell you this but you are going to be my "poster girl" for advice to get something going in personal injury claims AT LEAST SIX MONTHS BEFORE EXPIRATION OF THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS EXPIRES.
Unless you already have a lawyer who will draft a lawsuit for you, it is WAY PAST TIME for hoping to settle in a month. It ordinarily takes about that long for an adjuster to review your file, do her work-up, present the claim to a committee or supervisor to get authority, and send you back a settlement offer.
There are three things you need to get right ASAP regarding personal injury attorneys.
First, there is NO OR LITTLE interest among personal injury attorneys in helping someone do self-help personal injury claims. You are seeking to hire an attorney by the hour to go review and make suggestions on your demand package. This is what we call "consultation" work. That is how many general practitioners will work when it comes to review of a real estate matter, for example BUT IT IS NOT HOW PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS WORK. We want only "representation" work in the personal injury field. It does not pay to risk malpractice for a person who is not even a client. Personal injury lawyers make their money, by taking a contingency fee on the award.
Second, no personal injury attorneys will show you the priesthood "behind the curtain" (picture the man in Wizard of Oz as the personal injury attorney trying to hide the priesthood secrets) for a few hundred bucks. They are not that desperate, and that is just work they will not do. You cannot just call someone up and ask for him to review your self-help personal injury claim paperwork. What kind of personal injury lawyer would do that? You are asking them to put their malpractice on the line for someone who is not even going to be a client for a couple of hundred bucks? Giving an opinion as to valuation and making suggestions for submitting your claim is their specialty—that is how they make their living, by using those secrets to handle cases for people, NOT TO GIVE AWAY what they know for someone who wants to take that knowledge and not hire the attorney for representation.
Third, you cannot just call up and find a personal injury attorney who will come to your rescue just because you waited too long. Getting in to see a personal injury attorney, interviewing to see if she will take your case, and then preparing a lawsuit and filing it before the statute of limitations expires will take almost a FULL MONTH. Getting a personal injury lawyer is not like going through a short order food service. They have motions set, depositions set, trial work to do, and yes, new clients to take in FOR REPRESENTATION, AND NO ONE IS GOING TO PUT A SELF-HELP PERSON AT THE HEAD OF THAT LINE (unless, of course, your claim were a WHOLE LOT LARGER, in which case you can always be "next"!).
Now that we have that straight, let's get one other misconception out of the way. You said: "The reasonable assumption is that as long as you file a claim before the 3 year period expires you should be fine irrespective of the time needed to resolve the issues but this might not be the case."
THAT IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG, ON THREE COUNTS.
First, there are dozens of lawsuits each year that are dismissed because of that assumption. In most jurisdictions, you MUST ALSO SERVE THE DEFENDANT WITHIN 90 DAYS OR YOU HAVE NOT COMPLIED WITH THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS AND PERSONAL SERVICE RULES. The problem for any attorney who agrees at this date to take on your case is what if the defendant has moved and you cannot find him? Do you know where the tortfeasor is after these three years? How do you expect an attorney to find him and serve him in that short time? It is not impossible using a good process server, but often times one has to make "substituted service" by publication or service upon some designated official. That in and of itself is yet another pitfall for lawsuits that get thrown out.
Second, you are not going to have "the time needed to resolve the issues". The adjuster may go through your demand letter or she may just turn your claim over to the litigation department. MOST OFTEN, THE STANDARD OPERATIONG PROCEDURES FOR ADJUSTERS IS TO TURN LAWSUITS OVER TO LEGAL ASAP. So, what makes you think that after keeping them waiting three years, the company is going to go against their policy and entertain settlement talks with you? THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY I KNOW OF TO DO THIS, AS WE TEACH OUR MEMBERS, AND THAT IS WITH A STIPULATION THAT YOU WILL NOT ENTER A DEFAULT JUDGEMENT AGAINST THE INSURED WITHOUT FIRST HAVING GIVEN THIRTY DAYS WRITTEN NOTICE OF YOUR INTENTION TO DO SO (see below where I will send it to you).
The third reason your piece of advice is WRONG, is that when a defense attorney gets your claim, HE IS GOING TO JUMP ON YOU WITH INTERROGATORIES AND A DEPOSITION JUST AS SOON AS HE CAN. Here is why: if I am defending this case, I want to get to you while your memory is still stale. I can ask all kinds of questions that your attorney will not have you prepared for if I do it early on. The second reason the defense gets involved in discovery early is that they get to charge some fees in the claim with relatively easy work (I guess that cynical remark shows that I have always been a "white hat" on YOUR SIDE—that of the injured plaintiff).
NOW, let’s get down to some helpful advice. I want you to do some reading ASAP and pick up a couple of pointers on the Internet. Then I want you to get an attorney who will draft and serve a lawsuit for you for a fee. This IS NOT GOING TO BE A PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY. Or, if it is, it will be a beginner. You need to find someone who is a general practitioner who will prepare the lawsuit, file the lawsuit, and serve the lawsuit. You WILL HAVE TO ENTICE HER TO DO THIS WITH CASH.
You will need $700 RIGHT NOW. Borrow or beg it, but get it NOW. $450 to the attorney; $150 (I am guessing) to file, and $100 to serve the summons and complaint.
YOU WILL ALSO PREPARE YOUR DEMAND LETTER AND SEND IT AND TRY TO NEGOTIATE, BUT TAKE CARE OF THE LEGAL END FIRST.
I have special stipulation language that we teach our members and I will let you have it to put in both your demand letter and in the lawsuit. It is designed to encourage the supervisor to make an exception and to leave the case with the adjuster rather than send it to the litigation department, as per standing instructions. I am not going to post it here for everyone else to read, so write to me at my website and ask for that stipulation. Just make sure to mention allexperts.com so I will know where we met.
Here is your reading assignment, in order of importance:
Directory of Legal Information Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Insurance Claims Motor Vehicle Accidents http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0452.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
Write Effective Personal Injury Insurance Demand Letter http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0170.htm
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
Thus, you could go it alone just to get an insurance settlement offer from your own company, 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
IN SUMMARY: do the reading first; write to me for the stipulation to include in both the lawsuit and the demand letter, get the attorney lined up to file the lawsuit, THEN AFTER ALL THAT IS DONE, write and submit your demand letter. NO NEED TO MAKE IT A TERM PAPER—just get it done and in to the adjuster; after all that is done, then on July 27th you can file the lawsuit. If you have luck, the adjuster will go for the stipulation and give you a chance to settle this yourself.
AND DON'T BE BASHFUL IN ASKING FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING GENERAL DAMAGES. You were injured and you suffered—NOW GO TO WORK AND MAKE THEM PAY.
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 locate the feedback form on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D.
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
