Pointers on dealing with insurance after accident

[lalvidrez]

On July 4th me and my family were headed home after fireworks at my brothers house when a kid ran a stop sign and t-boned us totalling out our van. Me and my little girl went to the emergency room and released 6 hours later. Luckily none of us were very seriously hurt. My wife's back was also hurt and one of my sons hurt his neck. I still can not lay on either side because my back hurts. Now were in the middle of insurance crap. So my question is has anyone else been through this? If so how did you deal with the insurance when they made you an offer? They've already gave us an amount for our van which btw was not enough to replace it. So now we're waiting to hear back from them on the medical bills and pain and suffering. How do you put a dollar amount on that, the pain and suffering? I'm not the type to try and get rich off of a lawsuit but I don't want to get the shaft either. We're in the middle of an addition to our home and had freed ourselves of car notes this year and now we're looking at having another car note. Any advice would be helpful.

[MDJAK]

What country are you in? If it's the US, you should immediately hire a lawyer and not even deal with the insurance company.

In New York, when a car is totaled or stolen, an insurance company pays you what the replacement value of the car is as determined by the market. They actually do, and supply you, with comparables, just the way an appraiser values a house.

If you've already accepted the settlement from the insurance company for your van, there may not be much you can do to get more though.

mark

[cowpix]

Yes, hire an lawyer. You don't even want to think about settlement for your personal injuries for some time. It takes time to heal, and to see if you're left with any long term medical problems. Take your time.

[lalvidrez]

I'm in Texas, and I did meet with a lawyer a few days after the wreck. He gave me a bunch of info that really didn't stick with me. He did say that I may be able to get more if I did it on my own because his fee was 1/3 of what the settlement is. I just don't know what to say if they make me an offer that I don't think is fair. Do I just not accept it and threaten to sue or tell them I want to think about it, or that my back is still hurting? My wife asked me what amount I thought was good enough for me to accept but I really don't know. I do know that I don't want to have a car payment just like before the accident. How do you price pain and suffering?

[rklepper]

If they make you an offer that does not seem fair get an attorney, and I would not get the one you talked to first.

[lalvidrez]

If they make you an offer that does not seem fair get an attorney, and I would not get the one you talked to first.



Why not? Is his rate a bit high? He said he would be happy to take my case if I felt I was gettting stiffed by the insurance.

[Woolburr]

1/3 of your final settlement is a fairly standard attorney fee. If you aren't comfortable negotiating for yourself...or think they are trying to short change you, hiring an attorney is about your only option.