QuestionQUESTION: Auto accident happened 7/23/07 in Florida. I have received payment for my car which was totaled. We were hit from behind while waiting for the light to change. The at fault driver had the adjuster tell us he forgot to take his medication and passed out while driving.
My question is how much can we settle for if the total amount of bodily injury protection the at fault driver ins is only $10/$20k? I understand this to mean the max the insurance co will pay is $10k per person up to $20k. However there were 5 of us in the car. My 4 granddaughters were also in the car. I suffered a concussion and was treated for two weeks for headaches. My two older grandchilren wore neck braces for two weeks. One granddaughter was unconsious for about 10 min. Her cat scan done at the hosp was normal and she has been ok since. The other two granddaughters have not had any further back problems.
The only continued problem was the 10 year old who had spells of passing out which lasted three months and continues to have headaches. She was referred to a Neurologist. The MRI and Cat scan were normal. The neurologist said she was probably suffering from trauma of the accident.
My sons two daughters (who are sisters) bills are around $10k The other two granddaughters (who are sisters) medical bills total $9k. My medical bills total $5k.
The at fault driver's ins co wants us to settle and is asking for an amount.
I have seen the formula to determine settlement for other questions on this site where we are to add all the expenses and times that amount by 2.5 - 3.2 times these expenses in order to determine the amount to settle. Is this formula used when the limits of at fault driver's bodily injury is only $10k/$20k? Of course all of our bills are more than $20k. Is the $10k/$20k limit per accident which means we can only ask for a total of $20k for all our expenses. Or is this amount $10/$20k max for each person in the accident?
the total out of pocket expenses are about $4k for all of us.
Since our total amount of expenses (dr visits, hospital, transportation to hosp etc) were over the $10/$20k would we ask for the total $20k from the at fault driver's auto ins and then ask my auto ins co to pay from bodily injury protection for my grandchildren using the above formula? Is this formula used when most of the bills were paid by our own auto ins co and health ins co?
Thanks Wanda
ANSWER: Hi Wanda,
I'm sorry to learn of the injuries to you and your grandchildren.
Thankfully, it appears that no one is suffering a lifetime disability.
At the time of your accident, Florida was a no-fault insurance state.
There was a period of 'flux' in the insurance law between 10-1-07 and 1-0-08 in which no new no-fault policies were issued (I believe they issued tort liability policies during this time frame), but they have gone back to a form of no-fault insurance as of 01-01-08.
Your accident will be handled under the laws that were in effect as of 7-23-07 (the date of your accident).
You are correct in the fact that the adverse insurance company will pay a maximum of $10,000 to any one injured party and a total to all injured parties not to exceed $20,000.
Under your own auto insurance policy, if you carry UNDERINSURED MOTORISTS LIABILITY coverage in an amount greater than 20/40, you can request that your company allow you to settle a claim against the adverse insurance company for policy limits and open an underinsured motorists claim against your own policy. This MUST be done before settling with the at fault insurance company.
If you are able to open an underinsured motorist claim, you will need an attorney for this portion of the claim because most policies stipulate that claims against your own company be handled through arbitration and some even demand that they be handled by a jury trial.
I don't yet have copies of changes that might have taken place effective as 01-01-08, but the statue of limitations for settling a personal injury claim in Florida that occurred in 2007 is 4 years, so there is no need to rush into an early settlement.
If you and the parents of your grandchildren wind up hiring an attorney (he will work on a contingency basis for a portion of the settlement), be sure that it is stipulated in his contract that he is only working on the underinsured portion of the claim and not entitled to any portion of the compensation that you and your grand
children will receive from the at fault company.
You and the childrens parents should be able to easily settle the claim with the at-fault company without an attorney.
If you don't have higher limits of underinsured motorists coverage, then the childrens parents need to look at their own policies, because their policy covers the children while riding in someone elses car. If none of you have higher limits of underinsured motorists, then the three families should combine funds to hire an independent firm (it's a minimal cost) to research the assets of the at fault party to determine if he/she has sufficient assets to make this worthwhile to hire an attorney and proceed to a lawsuit.
I hope this has been of help.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks for your excellent answer. I only have $10/$20k uninsured motorist coverage under my plan. Which I quess I could use. Would I be able to ask my Geico auto ins to use my bodily injury coverage for my grandchidren? Am I correct in using the formula 1.5 -3 times the expenses? If we decide to settle by portioning out the $20k max from the at fault company do we just advise them we want to portion out the amount. Example - $5 for me, $6k for my daughter and $9 for my son (who had the most expenses). Seems like the at fault co would want to settle for the total $20 rather than us getting an attorey. Would umbrella coverage if he had it cover our settlement demand if we wanted lets say total of $50k?
The driver's wife is the owner of the car.
Sorry for all the questions but I am confused.
AnswerHi Wanda,
It is highly unlikely that there is an Umbrella Policy in existence.
Companies that write umbrella policies generally require that the client carry at least $100,000 coverage as underlying limits on their primary policy before a carrier is willing to write an umbrella policy.
The uninsured motorist portion of your Geico policy will not come into play in this accident. You would need to have been carrying UNDERINSURED MOTORIST coverage in an amount greater than 10/20 in order to have been able to file against Geico for additional payment.
As I mentioned in my first response, your son and daughter need to look at their own policies to determine if they carry UNDERINSURED MOTORISTS in an amount greater than 10/20 which would allow them to file a claim against their own companies for the children, since their policies cover the children while riding in your car.
If all three families only carry 10/20 then you need to follow my advise and have an independent firm research the assets of the at fault driver to determine if there are sufficient assets to make it worthwhile to hire an attorney (who will work on a contingency basis, meaning that his payment is a percentage of the settlement) and file a lawsuit.
There are 5 separate claims involved and since no one has any permanent injuries, each has a DEMAND value of approximately 3.2 times the total medical bills and expenses. Such a demand could be negotiated into a settlement of 2.5 to to 2.75 times the the total medical bills and expenses if adequate limits of insurance were available. If the at fault party has attachable assets, then an attorney would make a demand for a greater amount.
If none of you have UNDERINSURED MOTORISTS limits of at least 20/40 and the at fault party has no assets, then you will need to work out settlements with the at fault company which will portion out 5 different settlements.
In most states, any settlement for a minor child must be approved by the court system and such settlement is placed in an interest bearing account until the child becomes age 18.
I strongly recommend that you and your adult children review your own assets versus your insurance coverage with your Insurance Agent and make the necessary increases in coverage so you don't risk losing your assets if you should be at fault in a future accident.
Sincerely,
Bennie
