Personal Injury case...how long/how much?

[lord1234]

So last month my GF got in an accident. She was hit headon by a driver who failed to yield, and the accident has been officially deemed the other drivers fault(no fault to my GF).
During the accident she injured her wrist and elbow as well as suffering some whiplash. We brought her to the emergency room that night and she was pronounced with "whiplash and a sprained wrist". Well not the case because she still has pain. Yesterday she went to an orthopedic to have a look at her and he said that she probably had an impact fracture in her wrist or a pinched nerve/tendon.

Regardless...she went to a PI lawyer to talk to him and he says she has a case. The question is how long does it take to get money from them? And how much could she expect with this type of injury?

--L1234

[shartley]

So last month my GF got in an accident. She was hit headon by a driver who failed to yield, and the accident has been officially deemed the other drivers fault(no fault to my GF).
During the accident she injured her wrist and elbow as well as suffering some whiplash. We brought her to the emergency room that night and she was pronounced with "whiplash and a sprained wrist". Well not the case because she still has pain. Yesterday she went to an orthopedic to have a look at her and he said that she probably had an impact fracture in her wrist or a pinched nerve/tendon.

Regardless...she went to a PI lawyer to talk to him and he says she has a case. The question is how long does it take to get money from them? And how much could she expect with this type of injury?

--L1234

[lord1234]

was (for once) hoping you would chime in shartley since I remember your daughter's accident.

[beam]

Now don't things change if the injured has already settled with the insurance company? I have a friend who got into an accident. There were three 15 passenger vans involved. Alot of kids received settlements from the insurance company and it wasn't much. But they were happy about it and moved on. My friend, however, was told NOT to accept anything from the insurance company. Not to settle. He was advised to wait at least a year after the accident to make sure that no lingering medical issues cropped up. It's been over a year and half and he hasn't received a penny. I do know that everything is still in process and there is a court date I believe, but he is not guaranteed anything. He has racked up some pretty spendy medical bills too. So he is hoping to at least have those covered.

Personal Injury is not a retirement program. You should be fairly compensated for your injuries, but it shouldn't be an obscene amount.

[Caffiend]

A couple of years ago, I was hit a few days before Halloween, the insurance company settled on New Year's Day. No lawyers, no injuries, I just wanted my car paid off (they totaled it.) So don't expect anything soon.

[Recon by Fire]

But I have found most reputable insurance companies will do the right thing, but little more.

I'm going to have to disagree there...the insurance companies will be more than willing to cover the medical cost when they know they are liable. As long as it all falls within policy limits and is relatively cheap. They will gladly take care of this when you sign away your rights and accept their help as complete remedy. Trust an insurance company as far as you can throw them, they are not working for you and the adjusters only job is to limit the expense. Attornies are no better but at least they are working for YOU. Yes, they are making money but in the process they are working in your interest. Not all attornies are created equal either and many will just collect some fees and settle your case within the policy limits anyway (most of these are the fellows you see on the TV commercials).

That all said, the injuries sound fairly minor and you can likely be fine going with having the insurance company take care of it. If you are worried about the injuries or any persistant effects or just plain want higher compensation, go with an attorney. A good PI attorney will not charge you anything and can collect his fees from the other party. Since no major injuries or death are involved, don't expect to get set up for life.

Oops, forgot to address the time frame for payments: Settling your claim is the fastest way to collect but cn still take months to accomplish. Litigation can take years. Many auto accident cases I have dealt with have been a few years old, but those were fatalities.

Just my $0.02 from over 10+ years in civil litigation.

[nulam]

How it works

Time frame: approximately 4-12 months.
Dollar value: Under $20,000.

The way these work is the injuries suffered are run through the "Colossus System" which is an insurance industry calculator for what injuries are worth. If the demand for payment that you make is within the parameters generated by Colossus, the insurance company generally will pay it. If you have more specific questions don't hesitate to PM me.