Auto Insurance Claims: Auto/bicycle accident, bicycle accident, aduld

Question
QUESTION: My son was on his bike going to school and was taking a right turn onto another street.  The other vehicle was on the opposite side of the road taking a left turn onto the same road.  She hit  his back tire and knocked him off his bicycle.  His friend who was following behind is a witness.  We are dealing with the insurance agency.  We did not file a police report as it looked like it was a minor injury..banged his head and scrapes on the elbow..we took him to the pediatrician and then the hospital he received a cat scan..everything is ok..for two weeks after the accident he complained about a headache..we saw his pediatrician twice about his headache and he  referred us to a neurologist..we have not taken him to a neurologist because he seems fine.  We are now dealing with the other parties insurance company.  We sent medical bills to them.  So far it comes to about 3500 but there is more to come.  I'm estimating 4-5k when all said and done.  They are still trying to figure out who was at fault as I guess their insurer says it was my son's.  Because its a head injury and he's only 10..the possibility of him having issues with it in the future is our main concern of trying to settle the case.  At this point we do not know what would be a reasonable $$.  They are trying to figure out the liability and it seems like they want me to say that my son was also negligent.  They are bringing up the fact that it was dark and my son did not have a light lamp in front of his bike.  However in my opinion, wether he had a lamp in the front should not be an issue because clearly she should have yielded to him as he was taking a right turn and she was taking a left turn onto the same road.  Also they want to talk to him and the kid witness and I'm not sure if I should let them.

ANSWER: Hi Siri,

You need to get tough with this insurance company. A 10 year old can not be negligent. The aduld in the car will always be at fault in this situation. You should tell the insurance company to accept full liability. Then get you sone checked out as needed. When all is said and done you should ask for 3 times the total of all of the medical bills. So if the total bills come to $7,000 you should demand $21,000 then you will negoatiate down a little from there.

If at any time you do not feel you are being treated fairly, seek the advice of an attorney.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: That's what I thought.  I don't understand what angle the insurance company is coming from?  Should i let the negligent party talk to my son or my son's friend who is also 10 years old?  i wanted to have them type a statement but he keeps on telling that he needs to talk to them because he might have other questions that a statement will not answer.  I feel that he's being very shady about all this.  the law has a min of 25k to 50k per accident event can i use that figure to determine amount?
Thank you

Answer
Hi Siri,

You should not base your demand on what the minimum coverage allowed is. Regardless of the policy limit, you should denmand what you feel you are entitled to. If the policy limit is only 25k the adjuster will then let you know that what you are asking for in beyond the policy limit.

As I said before, it would be a good idea to speak to an attorney.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh