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Member |
Lawyer up. The low offer could also be related to the limits of her policy. Especially if more than one party is damaged. An example of why one should carry un/under insured motorist coverage. Limits in CA are absurdly low. | |||
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Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock |
In Colorado, I've heard that it can be "on average" 60%....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! James ---------------------------- "Voldemorte himself created his worst enemy, just as tyrants everywhere do! Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!" Book 6 - Ch 23 | |||
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Little ray of sunshine |
There are many contingency deals. Expenses come off the top, but the lawyer eats the expenses if you lose. That would include expert witness fees as (probably) the largest component. The percentages of the lawyer's take typically runs from 25% up to 40%, depending on your exact deal. Sometimes it depends on how far down the litigation road you go. You pay less if you settle quick and more if the case gets tried. 60% sounds high for an average, and could even be improper, although that would be a state-to-state thing. Maybe that includes costs, but the amount of costs could vary widely by the type of case. The fish is mute, expressionless. The fish doesn't think because the fish knows everything. | |||
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אַרְיֵה |
הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים | |||
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Member |
My step-daughter has an open claim with another at fault driver, and their insurance company. Luckily she was not hurt, was not even in her car. The other driver hit a sign post, sent the sign post through the air and it hit my step-daughter's parked car. Just to make things interesting, this happened at a shopping mall. The at-fault driver wreaked her car. However, she had a very low amount of coverage. So that amount of "property" coverage was "breached" meaning the insurance will only have to pay what the driver's policy stipulates - I think it is something silly low like 5-10K. All the claimants, my step-daughter, the mall, and another parked vehicle owner submit their damage reports, and then the insurance company pays X% to my step-daughter, Y% to the mall, and Z% to the other vehicle owner, all in proportion to their damage. Since the scheduled amount of coverage will not cover the damage (called breaching the policy), the additional damage costs may be recovered by suing the driver - assuming the driver has assets, and your lawyer believes that is worth while. If, though, someone is driving around with the minimum coverage, they probably have little in the way of assets - and are "judgment proof". Interesting, is that the insurance company is not who you sue, since they are "providing" coverage, just not very much, and that's what the driver got. Bodily Injury, and ongoing pain and suffering, and rehab, is a completely different issue, but that is still payable upto the policy limits, and can also be "breached" if the at-fault driver chose a low number for medical and bodily injury. Good Luck, just be careful, PI Attorneys take 40% off the top. | |||
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The Unmanned Writer |
It does help - yes. Then in this case, when suing the other driver the driver's insurance company would provide lawyers in defense to protect their interest(s)? If so, then OP would still be wise to get a lawyer for the court actions, yes? Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. "If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers The definition of the words we used, carry a meaning of their own... | |||
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Member |
Most states have a non-joinder statute that prohibits you from suing the insurer. You sue the driver; the insurer defends and indemnifies them. To prove your case you need to prove each element of your claim. If you sue for negligence, for example, you need to prove duty, breach, causation, and damages. And you need to prove these things with admissible evidence. If you are going to offer medical records, who is going to authenticate them? Who is going to offer evidence on your medical condition and prognosis? Are there any statutes or procedural mechanisms that could shift attorneys’ fees? What are her policy limits and how much of those have been eroded by the other claim? These and a host of other questions are why you hire lawyers. Not to mention the prospect of a competent lawyer getting a judgment in excess of policy limits makes insurance companies more reasonable, but pro se plaintiffs typically do not. | |||
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Member |
Wow, a little more involved than I thought. I will hire an attorney. As a DIY person, I would love to do it myself. But from what I read in the above posts, there are lots of pitfalls. Tomorrow I will make some calls, I have a short list to start with. -c1steve | |||
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Low Profile Member |
That would be your best move | |||
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Member |
Probably a good call. Happy to answer any questions you may have as you weigh your options. | |||
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Little ray of sunshine |
Yes, part of insurance contract is that your insurer has a duty to defend you. In fact that duty is broader than the actual coverage. The duty to defend could be triggered even if it turns out later that there is no coverage. That is good for insureds. Yes, the OP needs a lawyer. I am glad he has decided to do that. The fish is mute, expressionless. The fish doesn't think because the fish knows everything. | |||
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Striker in waiting |
Everything jhe888 said. I'm just dogpiling at this point and highlighting the quote in my signature line. -Rob (who also does this sort of work for a living) I predict that there will be many suggestions and statements about the law made here, and some of them will be spectacularly wrong. - jhe888 A=A | |||
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Wait, what? |
Lawyer, and be prepared for a long process for fair compensation. Keep records for EVERYTHING that is quantifiable. Everything. We were involved in an accident (completely the other drivers fault) that totaled our car, gave me significant 2nd degree burns on my wrists from airbag deployment, and left the missus in chronic pain in her neck and shoulder area. She burned through what the insurance company allowed for rehab and we we had to start going out of pocket. The insurance made us a laughable offer on pain/suffering/rehab for her (I didn’t bother with my burns) so we had to obtain an attorney. It took over 2 years to finalize the process and make it as right as we could get it. Again, if anyone was injured, get a lawyer. “Remember to get vaccinated or a vaccinated person might get sick from a virus they got vaccinated against because you’re not vaccinated.” - author unknown | |||
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Member |
It wouldn't hurt to buy the Nolo book too. It should give you a general idea what to expect. | |||
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Hop head |
when my MINI was totaled a bit over a year ago, Nationwide treated my case as 2 cases, (I have Allstate, the driver of the truck that hit my car was insured by Nationwide) the car was one case, and they lowballed me on that, even after my objections the auto guy basically told me that if I was not happy with the offer, I could either go thru my insurance, or thru the second case, second case was for 'pain and suffering' (That's what Nationwide called it) to cover my medical, I ended up putting most of it on my insurance (ER visit, PSP visit, 10 trips for PT), they lowballed me with an offer 2 days after the accident, then a follow up slightly higher low ball a week later, when they called the 3rd time, about the same time we settled on the car, I used a lawyer from the wife's office, they started negotiating after the last of the PT and the bills came in, and ended up maybe 8 months after the accident, I did not get a huge sum of cash, but did get about 5x's the lowball offer, I was told most of the negotiating between my lawyer and Nationwide was done via email, so time spent by the lawyer was maybe a couple hours,,, full disclosure, my wife is a paralegal and the firm she works for did not charge us a dime for the lawyers time, (which apparently was not much) https://chandlersfirearms.com/chesterfield-armament/ | |||
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