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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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I can *prove* that I was struck on my hip, back, left arm and left leg, by a truck traveling at high speeds. I can prove that in the opinion of myself and the guy who hit me, I should have been killed. Both of us consider it a miracle that I wasn't.

I think the number 1 thing you need to understand is that those two sentences do not entitle you to any recovery at all. It was a horrible accident, the driver is 100% at fault and you are very lucky to just be alive. But, that alone is not worth any money. Now, if you get to the second step (really the first step) and can prove some serious injuries with actual dollars attached to them (lost wages, long term car, super high medical bills) the story of the accident can amplify the value in front of a jury because, well, its a good story, but you can not get there just based on on close you came to serious injury. A story with no injuries is worthless. A great story with fairly minor injuries is worth something but not much. Even a bad story with serious injury and monitary loss is worth a lot. Facts regarding the injuries trump the story. Here, it sounds like maybe you have the good story on the accident but Gieco has the good facts on the injury.

So, while you could have ended up dead or in a wheel chair, in the end, its starting to sound like you ended up with a sore arm that's not bad enough to cause you to see a medical doctor repeately and did not cause you to miss work or lose income. That is worth money, at least your medical bills and maybe a little kicker but it is not anywhere near the same as a father with 3 kids to support hurt bad enough to miss 6 months of work or someone having to go to physical therapy 2x a week for 3 years and having demonstrably perment loss of function. Those are the claims that get settled for $100K+.

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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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My two cents: You're angry you got hit and want to be compensated for your anger. You want there to be money exchanged for your outrage. Sorry, that's not how it works. You only get compensated for actual, physical damages. That includes pain and suffering, but pain and suffering is (largely) physical, not emotional. Anger is not pain and suffering.

Try to look deep inside yourself and see if you can separate this out. At the end of the day you weren't really hurt very badly IN A PHYSICAL SENSE. You were very hurt emotionally, psychologically, etc..., but those kinds of things are rarely recognized by a jury (especially when the Defendant is sympathetic). You want vengeance, not damages.
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [ChrisM] [ In reply to ]
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I know this troubles you, but how does what the insurance company did have any relevance at all to what you might be entitled to?

I don't know... I just think it would be best if the jury got the full story. I assume that Geico will make the case that I'm making things up and trying to milk it. They will bring in "experts" to testify that I'm perfectly fine... or that injuries I have were pre-existing, or incurred after the accident. I can't *prove* otherwise... all I have is my word. If they are basically calling me a liar... and if I'm not allowed to explain the details of my interaction with them, and what eventually led me to seek a lawyer and file suit, then it seems to me that there is a big hole in my case.

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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [STP] [ In reply to ]
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Here, it sounds like maybe you have the good story on the accident but Gieco has the good facts on the injury.

I would have much preferred broken bones rather than the injury to my back. Seriously... not even close. Two weeks of constant pain interspersed with dozens of severe spasms per day (I was an invalid), until I went to the chiro and got adjusted. Then less pain and less frequent spasms. Back always fragile and have to be careful... watch what I do, make my 120 lb wife do all the heavy lifting. I can ride a bike still (thank god) but I have to stop and stretch my back periodically. For the past year I've been on a daily regime of traction and core exercises in addition to chiro and deep tissue work, and I've noticed some improvement. I honestly don't know what it will be like 5 or 10 years from now... and neither does anyone else. No, I'm not an invalid... but I'm not what I was before the accident either.

I haven't been to an MD for my back because I'm not at a point where I wish to seek surgery... and I don't believe that their non-surgical treatments would work as well as what I'm doing. I've also been paying expenses out of pocket, so I have to watch that.



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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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Definitely get a second opinion but I doubt anyone is going to want to take a case as small as yours to trial. Unless maybe the driver was operating on a supsended license or something I don't see why you would have a big case. It was an unfortunate accident and you are OK now. People that get these whopping settlements are f(*ked for life.

Think about it Let's just say for argument's sake your case is worth $75k, and it's not, your attorney only gets $25k. He would have to put in a lot of time and it would prolly cost him more than $25k to go to trial. Why bother when he can settle it over the phone or a few letters for $13k and take $4. He can to 10 of these cases without risking losing any money. They want to get you maximum but there is this thing called EV (expected value). I doubt they use that term specifically but they are calculating risk/payout (sorry, I can only think of this in terms of poker but it's the same principal). Your case is negative EV, bro...no one is going to risk their time/money.
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [Sluglas] [ In reply to ]
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I really have no idea where you are getting that. I was insanely upbeat and positive from the moment I found myself on the ground not dead, until Geico decided to screw me about a year later. I don't want to be left holding the bag. Is that vengeance?
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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rruff wrote:
I haven't been to an MD for my back because I'm not at a point where I wish to seek surgery... and I don't believe that their non-surgical treatments would work as well as what I'm doing. I've also been paying expenses out of pocket, so I have to watch that.

What are you basing your assumptions of treatment options on? It sounds like you're not a physician, and don't really know exactly what may (or may not) be wrong. You don't know if their non-surgical options would work, since you haven't even gone to see what the non surgical options are from my understanding. Maybe it would benefit you to get an opinion or two on your injuries and treatment options from different physicians. It may help put into perspective their offer as to how reasonable or not reasonable it is. It's not up to them to pay for suffering that you won't explore treatment options for.

Just a thought. The more information you have, the better. And the better your sources (doctors for medical treatment over opinion, assumption, etc)...the more valuable your information becomes.

Shane
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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rruff wrote:
I haven't been to an MD for my back because I'm not at a point where I wish to seek surgery... and I don't believe that their non-surgical treatments would work as well as what I'm doing.

You are injured but won't see a doctor because you would rather take the advice of a quack like a chiro, and now you want money? If you get someone like me on the jury then you are fucked. I would take the above statement as proof that you are either a moron or a scammer, perhaps both.
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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rruff wrote:
Here, it sounds like maybe you have the good story on the accident but Gieco has the good facts on the injury.

I would have much preferred broken bones rather than the injury to my back. Seriously... not even close. Two weeks of constant pain interspersed with dozens of severe spasms per day (I was an invalid), until I went to the chiro and got adjusted. Then less pain and less frequent spasms. Back always fragile and have to be careful... watch what I do, make my 120 lb wife do all the heavy lifting. I can ride a bike still (thank god) but I have to stop and stretch my back periodically.
For the past year I've been on a daily regime of traction and core exercises in addition to chiro and deep tissue work, and I've noticed some improvement. I honestly don't know what it will be like 5 or 10 years from now... and neither does anyone else. No, I'm not an invalid... but I'm not what I was before the accident either.

I haven't been to an MD for my back because I'm not at a point where I wish to seek surgery... and I don't believe that their non-surgical treatments would work as well as what I'm doing. I've also been paying expenses out of pocket, so I have to watch that.


Insanity is defined as doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.

Just because you see a doc, doesn't mean you have to have surgery. In your shoes, I would be in the doc with my entire history in hand, and ask him what is wrong and how to fix it. You've been doing traction for a year and it hasn't worked...have you ever though that maybe traction is exacerbating the injury?

Nobody is saying you aren't entitled to compensation, or fair treatment, or anything like that. What people are telling you is that you are basically fumbling around in the dark looking for a light switch and wandering into walls. Go get educated (i.e. get a doctor of medicine, preferably board certified in spine or similar), take a breath and reassess.

John



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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [Devlin] [ In reply to ]
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I think you must have misread my post, because the treatment I've been doing for the past year for my back *has* worked... meaning that I have improved, compared to the prior year in which I didn't. Unless you consider that anything less than 100% recovery is a failure.

Based on long past experience I do not hold MDs in awe. And in this case, the chiro was able to get me out of an invalid state instantly, while the MD I saw for my elbow was much less impressive.

Yes, consulting with an ortho surgeon about my back is in the plan...
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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My first advice is not to talk about an ongoing case in a public forum.


Other than that: I was a pedestrian (running) hit by a truck with a 3 day hospital stay, 3 surgeries on my leg and 100+ visits to pyhs therapy. In the end my net settlement (after the attorney fees, physician and hospital bills, physical therapists, some help at home for a few weeks and other assorted costs) was about equal to those costs - so the various providers got about 1/3, my attorney got 1/3 and I got 1/3. Mostly offset my time away from work and a few other things (not to mention I lost 20% of my running speed and have some small permanent disabilities) so its not like I reaped a huge windfall. As others noted the settlement process is supposed to make you whole in terms of damages, not compensate you for being pissed off that the guy hit you.


I am sure that insurance companies like to go slowly in these matters- at some point every plaintiff cracks a little and decides that they want some money rather that waiting for a few years, a trial and the chance of no money. You can always be insistent about your settlement, push for a trial or even find a new attorney.


I was not very optimistic about finding 12 jurors in AZ who would be sympathetic to a runner.


don't just do something..... sit there
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [sp in az] [ In reply to ]
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As others noted the settlement process is supposed to make you whole in terms of damages...

That reminds me of something. A couple people have mentioned that a good gauge for a fair settlement to a juror, is to say you have a choice... to be injured for money. How much would we have to pay you before you'd opt to go through the same injuries and rehab as this person experienced? Of course it would vary for everyone, depending on how important money is to you vs your physical ability and health. And frankly it doesn't work for me at all because I value one much more than the other, and I'm uncertain how long I'll have symptoms. If it was turned around, as in... how much would you pay to *not* have had this happen to you? I could at least take a stab at that because my ability to afford it would come into the picture. But it's obviously a hell of a lot more than the near-zero I'd get from Geico's offer. It's a lot more than the original settlement offer I gave them.

Your injuries were pretty bad, and you got a standard 3x settlement. I wonder how you would feel about it from this perspective?

I was not very optimistic about finding 12 jurors in AZ who would be sympathetic to a runner.

I've mentioned that to my lawyer a couple of times, and oddly he dismisses it... even while he is giving me all sorts of other reasons why I should settle for nothing.


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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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Physiotherapy/Chiropractic will help many cases for initial rehabilitation, but for ongoing issues and pain a Doctor should be giving you a referral for surgery or pain management. A person cannot not continuously receive Chiropractic treatment for the rest of their lives, just because they think this is the only thing that will help. A surgery or some kind of pain management treatment can potentially eliminate any ongoing issues, so this is something to consider.

Hope this helps! :)
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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Not sure why this thread got resurrected at this point....but would you share the outcome of your situation? Just curious. I was hit by a car while cycling a few years ago, and settled my claim about the time you first posted this thread.
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [cholla] [ In reply to ]
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My lawyer basically refused to go to court because he couldn't see enough upside for himself. Actually it was worse than that... he wouldn't even go through depositions. He did very little. Going to court might have been twice the money for him (and no guarantees) but 10x the work. For me it would have been the difference between $0 and something... maybe $15k or so?

I went to mediation last Sept and it was a joke. The mediator was on my side, but my lawyer wasn't! I settled for getting my bills paid to date and nothing else.

If I had it to do over, I'd behave as though I was going for big $$$ from day one. It's easy to come down from that if the situation warrants it, but if you start out just hoping that you will heal up and be fine, you stand a good chance of being screwed.

And get a lawyer who isn't so busy with high dollar cases that *he* screws you over...
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [cholla] [ In reply to ]
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How did yours turn out?
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [STP] [ In reply to ]
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Sorry to hear that. Have you contacted your lawyer? I advise you to contact your lawyer asap. I was in a similar situation. I got hit by a car while crossing so it was a pedestrian accident http://www.kcyatlaw.ca/personal-injury-lawyer/ Hope that helps!
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [CBlack0] [ In reply to ]
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CBlack0 wrote:
Physiotherapy/Chiropractic will help many cases for initial rehabilitation, but for ongoing issues and pain a Doctor should be giving you a referral for surgery or pain management. A person cannot not continuously receive Chiropractic treatment for the rest of their lives, just because they think this is the only thing that will help. A surgery or some kind of pain management treatment can potentially eliminate any ongoing issues, so this is something to consider.

Hope this helps! :)

Many times the insurance company will not pay for continued treatment if the doctor recommends surgery and the patient opts for less invasive therapeutic measures.

Proud Representative of Slowtwitch Anti-Atheists Society.
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [Iamironman] [ In reply to ]
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how the hell did this thread pop back up?
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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rruff wrote:

If I had it to do over, I'd behave as though I was going for big $$$ from day one. It's easy to come down from that if the situation warrants it, but if you start out just hoping that you will heal up and be fine, you stand a good chance of being screwed.

Imposing your will on another person is inhumane. I was involved in a lawsuit where I was morally and legally in the right but felt "badly" for the other party and wanted to give them a chance to do the right thing. The other party offered me $20K which was completely low ball but I accepted it and was ready to moved on. Except they never paid me. So I sued. I spent $6K a month on legal fees for 5 months. At mediation we spent as much time discussing the merits of the case as we did convincing the other party that I was financially prepared to keep spending and see the case through. My advice to anyone who be 1) trust your lawyer or hire someone else 2) accept that you are going to forcefully impose your will to see justice served or simply let it go. There is no middle ground. 3) It takes a lot of money to see it through so keep that in mind from the beginning. If you say "I am willing to see this through," and "I am not willing to spend the money on XXXX" then you are being inconsistent. Or you don't trust your lawyer. Which is why that comes first.
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [ajthomas] [ In reply to ]
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ajthomas wrote:
I was involved in a lawsuit where I was morally and legally in the right but felt "badly" for the other party and wanted to give them a chance to do the right thing. The other party offered me $20K which was completely low ball but I accepted it and was ready to moved on. Except they never paid me.

If you had a lawyer at the time of the $20K settlement, you had a malpractice claim.
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [cholla] [ In reply to ]
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I did not have a lawyer at that time. That was offered prior to any lawyer being involved.
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [ajthomas] [ In reply to ]
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" How much would we have to pay you before you'd opt to go through the same injuries and rehab as this person experienced?"






No way would I agree to be injured like I was even for 10x my final settlement. He took away my running for 2+ years, took away my ability to run a 10 k in a reasonable mid pack/age group time & my ability to ever run (ok i could walk) another marathon. That's not priceless but for me it's close.






don't just do something..... sit there
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [sinkinswimmer] [ In reply to ]
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sinkinswimmer wrote:
how the hell did this thread pop back up?

Crazy, hunh?
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Re: Personal Injury Settlements... your experience [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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Three years ago I hit a deer that jumped out in front of me. Ten broken bones and 9 days in the hospital. The deer left the scene and I had no one to sue. Just as well. I find the personal injury lawsuit industry very distasteful--and I am a lawyer. B
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