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bowleg45764 · May 28, 2007, 03:03 PM

Hi My name is Barry and I am living in the State of Illinois. Now last year September my wife who was 9 months pregnant with my son was hit by a driver who was on his cellphone and ran a stop sign. She was rushed to the hospital via ambulance where she spent on night and after that she had to have the baby early. She was banged up her legs were swollen and she could not walk for days. Now we got a lawyer and they are working on the case. The person who hit my wife had insurance (Travellers) and he also got a ticket. How long does this kind of case usually last and are they going to count my son a one more person in the car. Oh you the suv was total. The company already pay off our truck to the financal company. Our medical bill that one night at the hospital was $6000.00 dollars.

Thanks inadvance

Barry

Fr_Chuck · May 28, 2007, 03:07 PM

I have seen them take up to 10 years after several vistis to court.

I would assume they had made a couple offers you thought was too low, and that is why you got your attorney.

And of course you need to be sure if your attorney does not believe he will include the money you were already paid as part of the total, thus wanting a percent of that also.

How much settlement do you want ? You got SUV paid for, and should get the 6000 paid, well now you need 33 percent more just to pay the attorney before you get anything. Was wife out of work for a while ? If so what was that value,

snnorton · Aug 13, 2007, 11:09 AM

In 1999 my sister and I were hit by a drunk driver. It took us two years to get the case settled. Once it was settled the lawyer got 33 1/2% percent of our winnings. So just ask the attorneys how much they charge to represent you. Search around there can be some cheap, but good, lawyers where you live.

ScottGem · Aug 13, 2007, 11:33 AM

What does your attorney say? I'd suspect he took the case on contingency so he gets nothing if you don't and probably a third if you do.

You want payment for the car, and you want ALL your medical bills and other expenses paid now and for the future. So you have to figure out how much this cost and may cost in the future.

GoldieMae · Aug 13, 2007, 11:57 AM

The answers to all of your questions are "it depends."

It will depend on whether the person in the other car was clearly at fault and Travelers does not want to fight the case. It will depend on whether a lawsuit is filed or whether the case is settled in a pre-suit demand. It will depend on whether the other driver is symathetic, i.e, were you hit by a little old lady or a guy making a drug deal. It will depend on exactly what caused your wife to have the baby early. Was there a placental abruption, did the doctors just induce her to be on the safe side? Was the baby injured? Did/does your wife need physical therapy?

It will also depend on how much insurance coverage the other driver has. The amount of insurance coverage may limit how much you get, particularly if the other driver is otherwise broke and won't be contributing to any settlement.

A good estimate of time is 1 year if there is no lawsuit filed, or 2 years if there is a lawsuit filed. However, it can be as short as 6 months or as long as 4 or 5 years.

However, I do not know of any (good) lawyer who will give you a dollar amount because it varies widely from case to case.