At-fault partys auto insurance is not enough to cover my medical expenses (even with my underinsured coverage)

Question

I was rear-ended by an 18 yr old, and sustained spinal injuries. I have been off work now for 9 mths. and my disability ins. will only pay for 12. His insurance policy will only cover part of my expenses. And even with my own underinsured ins., I am looking at a lot more expenses. I was told by my Md. that I need surgery for my herniated discs, which are causing me great pain. In the meantime, once my disability coverage runs out, I will have no more income to live off of. My atty. told me that once the insurance maximums are met, I can only sue the person who hit me for any overages. But, he's only an 18 year old. What can I do? Not only about my medical situation, but also about my financial situation. How can I afford upcoming medical expenses and cost of living? How do so many people get lost wages, etc. in these cases? Is it that they were just injured by someone with money or extra insurance? I'm unable to work on my existing job (of 27yrs) with this injury. HELP!

Answer 1

It's too late now, but you absolutely did not need an attorney. Especially if your medical bills top the kids BI limits. Your attorney will be getting 30-40% of the cost of your med bills now, per the contract you signed in allowing him/her to rep you. Hopefully a lot of the treatment wasn't done at his suggestion which is pretty common of accident attorneys...OUCH!!

Have you thought about getting a second opinion? Maybe stop the expensive treatment and start on natural remedies like yoga or juice fasting? Maybe you have. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

With so much to lose, there's no harm in trying things you may have thought foreign before this. Maybe then you could then go back to work and won't risk having no income...

Hope things work out for you!!

Answer 2

Do you have LONG TERM disability at work or only SHORT TERM?

What about your group health insurance? They should pay for your surgeries.

Is your employer keeping you on the payroll?

If not - you might try filing for Social Security or Medicaid and food stamps.

You can sue the kid but what are you going to do with a judgment? It won't put food on the table.

And to top it all off, your attorney is going to get 35-40% of the kid's coverage to boot.........and yuou'll find that the attorney doesn't REALLY care about you.......

Good luck and I hope this helps!

Answer 3

From what you are saying it sounds to me your only option would be social security disability income (SSDI) and Medicaid. Since you can't work you should be able to qualify after your disability and current health runs out. If I were you I'd contact the social security office and get the ball rolling.

You can sue the 18 yr old. I'm not a lawyer (and you will need one) but that is the only other option and you can do this even if you get on SSDI. Depending upon your state and the court even if he doesn't have any assets now it's possible that the court could garnish his wages to the tune of around 30% for the rest of his life or until you're able to return to work.