QuestionI was involved in an auto accident on Dec 8th 2009 where an individual had "T boned" our SUV. It was entirely his fault and he was sighted at the scene for careless driving. I suffered 3 ruptured disks in my thorasic spine area and underwent surgery on Nov.11th 2010 to have a fusion at the T4/5 and T5/6 level as well as a discectomy at the T10/11 level. I have since settled with his insurance for his limit of $25,000 per my insurance companies request and am currently seeking to claim under my under-insured policy. My underinsured limit is $500,000 and my medical bills exceed $150,000 to date. I have lost nearly $150,000 in wages as a result of this accident.I am having a hard time making ends meet with all of my doctor bills and no paychecks have been coming in based on me not being able to work for the last year. I am told that I should wait to settle with my insurance until I am completely healed up, but I'm not sure I can wait that long. I had excellent credit before this accident and have chewed through my savings trying to stay ahead of these bills. Should I request the maximum on my UIM claim? (I should also mention that my insurance company so far seems to be willing to work with us, so if I could keep from hiring an attorney that would be a plus).
How do insurance companies figure out pain and suffering?
Should I start at the top ($500,000) and work from there? and do I need to write a demand letter requesting those funds? or will a simple phone call work?
Thanks so much for taking the time to help on this matter.
Jerry
AnswerA phone call will do just fine, but if there is any type of dispute you should send a demand letter.
It sounds to me as though your claim is worth over $500,000, so they should just pay you the limit. You will need to provide them copies of all medical bills, reports, and lost wage documentation so they can evaluate it. If they do not yet have this info, you can send it to them with a demand letter. They might be willing to obtain it for you if you sign a medical release, saving your self a couple hundred dollars in medical record fees.
The value of your claims will be your medical bills + lost wages + other related expenses + a subjective amount for the pain, suffering, and agravation.
I would talk to the adjuster and ask for help. Explain your situation. Advise you believe your claim is worth more than the policy limit and you'd like to resolve asap without getting an attorney. Most adjusters are not bad people; they have feelings too.
By the way, an attorney will take a large percentage of your settlement (or award if this goes to court). Probably about one third. In your case, that is highway robbery and you should avoid it if at all possible. Even if the insurer only pays you $450,000, the $50k you lose is probably much less than the lawyer's fee would be. But I'm hoping there won't be any dipute about the value, which appears to me to easily exceed the limits.
The only potential problem will be if the insurer questions the medical treatment you received, and whether or not the accident caused all this. Did you have prior back problems before the accident? If not, you should be fine.
Good luck. Let me know if you have trouble and I'll be happy to help if I can.
