Auto Insurance Claims: Claims, economic losses, statue of limitation

Question
QUESTION: Is the value of the totalled car can be included in the economic loss for injury claim, multiplied by 3.2 factor?

Thanks.

ANSWER: Hi Marcial,
You are dealing with two separate claims.  The car damage is a property damage loss and when it is totaled in a non-fault accident, you are entitled to be paid it's fair market value.

Your injuries are a separate claim and the damage to the car has no relationship to the value of your claim and can't used as part of your economic losses toward the injury claim.

I hope that you find this information useful.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area

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

QUESTION: Thanks and I really appreciate your answer to my previous question.

Followup..My Statue of limitation will end July 2008. My last visit to Kaiser Doctor was 9/22/06. They told me to observed my pain for 3 to 6 mos, cause they said it might go away by then.

Unfortunately it did not. So I went to Physical Therapist on 4/27/07 till 8/24/07 to cure the pain.

Now I'm settling it they said because of the gap of my visit they won't honor the P.T expenses.

Isn't right.

Thanks.

Answer
Hi Marcial,
The insurance company is certainly being unfair in this situation.
It's not unusual, especially with Kaiser, to stop physical therapy for a period of time in order to see if the body will heal it's self.

The insurance company feels that it has you 'over a barrel' due to the limited time left before expiration of statue.

Anytime that you are dealing with a personal injury when the statue of limitations is 2 years, if you haven't been able to settle the claim by the 18th month, you should consult with an attorney.

You still have 40 or more days left before the statue expires and you probably have an offer in hand from the adverse company for settlement.

It's not to late to consult with an attorney.  He can give you an idea of the size settlement he could receive vs what you have been offered and you would have to decide if that amount is large enough to cover his fee.

In most states, the first consultation is free or there is a minimal charge of about $20 for the first 30 minuet consultation.
You need to talk with an attorney who has TRIAL EXPERIENCE.  If you don't know one, call your county attorney referral service (it's free) ant they will give you the names of 3-6 qualified attorneys in your area.

After talking to an attorney, you can better decide on whether to settle without including the final Physical Therapy treatments or let the attorney file a suit for a larger amount.

I hope this information has been of help.

Sincerely,
Bennie