QuestionThank you so very much for your response. I have no SUM, and the driver who hit me has only a residential house and vehicles for assets. Are these considered exempt?
Also, a question regarding my lost wages. I was under the impression that the insurance would pay me for 80% of my lost wages up to the max of $2000.00 per month. I have just gotten my first payemtn, and it appears they have only paid me 60%. I called them and they said that my total lost wages for the period they were paying me for was $2600.00, so they paid me 80%, less another 20% that they stated I am to file for and collect from New York State disability insurance, and less fica. How can they remove themselves from the responsibility of paying me the 80% less fica, and demand that I collect the rest from New York State disability. I htought that was my option whnether I wanted to collect the difference between the 80% they paid, and the 20% that was still not covered. Now it appears that I am being told that they will only pay 60%, and I have to collect the rest from the state. HELP!!!!
Thank you so Much.
Jillane-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
I was a pedestrian hit by a truck, sustaining multiple injuries, teeth, head, neck shoulder and knee....the person who hit me only has 50000.00/100000.00 bodily injury liability . To date I have lost wages of around 5000.00 to 6000.00, and medical of approximately 5000.00, but it could be as high as 10000.00 by the time I am done ( if no surgery is required). Should I attempt to settle for cash now, before I use up all of the monies in his liability, and if so, how much is this worth. I am 46 years old, and am sure these injuries will be with me forever. Thank you very much for your help.
Answer -
Dear Jillane,
Your injuries are very serious, and I hope you are restored to good health soon.
Insofar as the medical and wage loss, why are you looking to the tortfeasor's third party coverage?
If you have your own insurance, your own health insurance or auto insurance PIP (or MEDPAY) should cover you as a pedestrian.
I would not settle at this time, at least not until you know these THREE IMPORTANT POLICY LIMITS ANSWERS:
1. The complete nature and extent of your injuries, including surgery AND YOUR PROGNOSIS.
2. The coverage available to you through your own AUTO INSURANCE Underinsured Motorist (UIM) COVERAGE.
3. The nature and extent of the tortfeasor's assets that are beyond those he can exempt in a bankruptcy action. If he only has $50K, and you have no UIM coverage, but he has $100K in non-exempt assets, you will have to sue him.
For free information on policy limits claims, please visit my website at this page:
http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0451.htm
I trust the foregoing will be of value to you and I ask that you kindly take the time to leave me some feedback on the form provided by this website.
Best Wishes,
David Jackson,
Dr. Settlement, J.D.
www.SettlementCentral.Com
AnswerDear Jillane,
I will bet that you insure fully in the future; one is really insuring herself against the other person's negligence, as opposed to the perspective of most people, who only think they have to protect against their own negligence. Always get the UIM/SUM.
As to suing the tortfeasor, how do you know in advance of asking under oath what assets he has? Sometimes the tortfeasor will agree to complete an asset listing under oath in order to avoid a lawsuit, and investments can pop up there.
As to exemptions in your state, call the legal assistant of a bankruptcy attorney and ask him. In most states, the entire house is not exempt, just some amount of equity, such as $35,000. That means that if there is substantial equity, one can obtain a court order to sell the house and take all the excess over the exemption amount. This will be the topic of concern for an attorney, and I would urge you to check it out BEFORE you agree to settle the policy limits claim.
Same on the car: it will be exempt, but only up to a certain value, such as $15,000. Otherwise, one can get a court order to sell it and take the excess over $15K.
As to the shortage in wage payments, I agree with your analysis, and I cannot explain why the insurance company should be able to dodge its responsibility.
Here are the basic regulations, and no mention is made of anything other than a 20% discount. Insurance Commissioner's Regulations
http://www.ins.state.ny.us/acrobat/r68ftext.pdf
Section 1, First Party Benefits, addresses payment for lost wages and mentions ONLY a 20% discount from the actual loss.
I would do two things. First, send them a letter and ask for a written citation to authority for their position. Second, make contact with your own state insurance commissioner and ask about it, and if necessary file a complaint.
Insurance Commissioner's website:
http://www.ins.state.ny.us/nyins.htm
The contact with the commissioner's office will get their attention.
Good Luck on this.
David Jackson
Dr. Settlement, J.D.
www.SettlementCentral.Com
