How much should I ask for?

Question

I was rear ended in a car accident which resulted in two of my disc in my neck bulging and protruding. I went thru the physical therapy and rehab, this was in march when I had the accident I had about 7300 in medical bills and about 4300 damage to my vehicle, my body still hurts unable to sleep,etc. how much should I settle for? I had to get an attorney, the insurance company only wanted to give me 500.00

Answer 1

If you have an attorney, why not ask him/her?  

However, bulging discs are usually considered pre-existing and not accident related.  They are degenerative.  Your medicals are awfully high for three months of treatment.   Does this include MRI and other diagnostic testing?   Are you still treating?  Did you miss any time from work?  How has this incident effected your daily activities.  Will you be left with a permanency that is causally related to the accident?  Without access to your medical reports, nobody can evaluate this claim.   There are too many unknowns.

What state did this accident occur in?  Case value varies from state to state.  Just because you may have been injured, does not mean that you are entitled to any monetary compensation.   The tort threshold requirements also vary from state to state.   Some are verbal, some are monetary, and others your injury must be "serious".  The definition of serious also varies.  

The insurance company probably thought your injury was not related to the loss, or you did not meet the threshold requirements for your state.   Do you have PIP coverage?  Did your PIP cover your meds? The $500 was a nuisance offer.

Answer 2

That's one of those questions that should be directed at your attorney. He will be able to tell you first hand what you should do, and never do any negotiating without him. Always require to have the indiviudual and insurance company direct their offers to your attorney. Don't tell them anything!

Answer 3

Take the money!!   Your attorney is working directly with the insurance company to scam you out of your money.  Don't make the lawyer more wealthy.  There is a reason there are so many lawyer jokes.

Answer 4

I just want to comment on the bulging disc question.  While not necessarily degenerative, they are not always indicative of an injury.  In otherwords, there are many people walking around out there with herniated or bulging discs out there who don't even know it.  The test must to compared to your physical exam.  Only if you had a recent MRI before your accident which showed no bulging disc AND that your exam and MRI match can it be truely claimed that your accident caused your bulging discs, and/or your pain.  

...presense of a bulging disc is often an incidental finding...and your defendant's attorney, if he's sharp, will say this in court.  Be prepared.

Answer 5

Any time someone asks a question about auto insurance or claims, the first thing you need to tell people is what state you're asking about.  Each state sets the law for auto accidents.  In NC, that much damage to the car and $7300 in medicals  is a pretty strong claim.  It is NOT true that bulging discs are "usually" pre-existing.  They're only pre-existing if they were pre-existing.  If you haven't had any prior history of bulging discs and were in good medical shape prior, then there's a good chance the accident caused the damage to your spine.  In other words, let the medical records (not claims adjusters) determine if it is accident related.  Bulging discs in NC are typically valued higher than a typical "soft tissue" or whiplash injury because bulging discs are easier for a jury to see via x-rays, CT scans, etc. I'm presuming the $500 is above the medical bills and lost wages.   I can tell you that if you're in NC and are only offered $500 over the medical bills, that is NOT a good offer if you were the clear victim in the accident.   But, again, it really matters what state you are in.  In North Carolina, if you are found to be 1% contributorily negligent for the accident you can completely lose out on the claim.  So if the adjuster thinks you're partly to blame for the accident itself, he may be offering a low amount to just close the file.  

I'd says $500 is ok if you're in a completely b.s. low impact (below $800 property damage) chiropractor treatment only soft tissue case.  If you were hit by a driver with Allstate insurance in North Carolina that kind of offer wouldn't surprise me either.

As for saying that attorneys are only in it for the money, there's another reason there are so many attorneys and that's because so many suckers end up getting screwed by adjusters who are only worried about the bottom line.  An attorney worth his salt adds value to most cases as insurance companies are more inclined to pay more to avoid the costs of litigation.  

And you should absolutely speak to your attorney.

Answer 6

I second that.  Speak with your Laywer first.  That is what he or she is there for.