[marker88]

I was involved in a car accident.. I was a passenger I received injuries pcl torn in my right knee laceration to me forehead and top of my head down to my skull.. I have hospital bills of 40,000.The insurrance ajuster just told me today that the policy limit is 50,000.. He said that he will have to pay my medical bill of 40,000 and ill get the rest.. I said why can't you give all of it to me.He said that that he can't do that he would have to pay the medical bill that he has a lien with them where he has to pay them for me.As of now I told him no I don't except the offer..

( What should I do now?It was completely the other guys fault he parked on the interstate in our lane with his lights off and we came along and hit him in the rear end of his truck.

My brother was driving and his inssurance lasped so there was none on the car I was in.

[Lord_Darkclaw]

Presumably, you would have to sue the driver of the other vehicle.
You'll need some real legal advice about that though.

[ScottGem]

Offer? What offer? I gather it was the insurance adjuster for the other driver, since your brother was stupid enough to allow his insurance to lapse. What he is telling you is that the policy has a limit so they can't pay anything more than that limit. He is also telling you, that the hospital has an agreement that YOU probably signed to have any insurance payments made directly to them.

I'm surprised he offered to pay you the difference, but probably figured there may be more bills down the road.

Also In ANY rear end collision, even under these circumstances, the rear ender is considered at fault. At best you would share fault since he created an unexpected hazard.

So what you do is call back the adjuster and tell him thanks and please pay the hospital and send the difference. Just make sure you don't sign anything that takes away your right to sue the other driver. If you want any more money that's what you will have to do. The insurance company is only required to pay out up to the limits of their policy.

[marker88]

I was involved in a car accident..I was a passenger i recieved injuries pcl torn in my right knee laceration to me forehead and top of my head down to my skull..I have hospital bills of 40,000.The insurrance ajuster just told me today that the policy limit is 50,000..He said that he will have to pay my medical bill of 40,000 and ill get the rest..I said why can't you give all of it to me.He said that that he can't do that he would have to pay the medical bill that he has a lien with them where he has to pay them for me.As of now i told him no i dont except the offer..

( What should i do now?It was completely the other guys fault he parked on the interstate in our lane with his lights off and we came along and hit him in the rear end of his truck.

My brother was driveing and his inssurance lasped so there was none on the car i was in.

It was the guys fault that was parked in our lane my brother swerved to miss him and the impact was on my side of the car.. How do I know that's the policy limit for sure? And also I never signed nothing but one thing in the hospital and that was for help to pay for a bit of the medical bill.. I also received a bill statemnt like 3 months after the accident saying the 40,000 bill is now 2,000 cause I was at the poverty level I am guessing.. So I was thinking his insurrance knows that it is that much now and is trying to get away with paying me only 10,000

[Fr_Chuck]

The insurance company can only pay up to the max limit per person per accident on the policy ( and it was 50,000 more than your brother had on his policy)

And you had medical bills, so this is what the insurance is suppose to pay, what you are saying is that you don't want to pay your bills but would perfer to cheat the hospital out of their money??

He will pay the hospital their bills first, ( not only is it the legal thing but it is the moral thing also) and you will get the balance of the max they will pay.

If you have additional bills, loss work, bills not covered by hospital and the such, you can sue the other driver ( but remember his insurance has already paid their max, so you are not going to get an attorney to do it for free since there is no settlement most likely, you can win and perhaps garnish the other drivers paycheck for some money each week.

And if your brother had any fault at all, you can also sue him for damages also.

So you can not sue the insurance company but if the other drivers has money in the bank, or you want to try and garnish their paycheck you can try and sue them.

[excon]

Hello marker:

What you should do is hire an attorney. They'll sue the guy for your pain and suffering. Your attorney shouldn't charge you either. He'll take your case on a contingency basis, meaning you don't have to pay anything unless he wins.

excon

PS> (edited) The difference between my, and the Padres advice, depends on the net worth of the other driver. If he has NOTHING, then the Padre is right, you're going to have to pay the attorney. But, if the guy has a house or bank account, then I believe you CAN hire an attorney on a contingency.

[Fr_Chuck]

Sorry excon the only way the accident attorneys take the case is if and when they can setttle and know they are going to get paid, if the insurance company is already paying the max, there is no "big pocket" to collect any money from, the 40 or 50 dollar a week they may garnish from the other driver is not going to pay lawyer fees, I would say that the only way would be if he hires the attorney before he takes the 50,000, then the attorney will get 1/3 of the 50,000 and the rest will go pay the hospital and the guy will get nothing at all in his pocket.

No sadly you are not at the poverty level if the insurance company is paying the bill. The minute you would get 40,000 in your pocket, you were to notify the hospital that their insurance should be paying, and they will pay the hospital the complete bill. What you are wanting to do is fraud, and it is not allowed the insurance company will not do it.

And the adjusteers don't lie about policy limits and the such, this is their job to pay,
And actually if a car is parked I would say you are lucky they are even offering to pay, since it would only be partly the parked cars fault, and partly your brothers fault. ( where I was a police officer both parties would have been ticketed, one for illegal parking the other for too fast for conditions, since a person is suppose to be able to stop even if something is parked or laying in the road.

This offer is and seems completely fair and right, sorry if you thought you were going to hit the lottery on some law suit but this is the way it really works.

[marker88]

The accident happened last year and he is offering me the settlement this year.. Means I was at poverty level last year when the bill occurred?How can they take from the insurrance money this year?

[ScottGem]

You need to read carefully what you signed. In most cases, when you go to a hospital for emergency care due to an accident, they will place a lien on any insurance payout. You may not have had to sign anything, that may be covered under law.

As for the reduction due to poverty level, that would only apply if you had to pay the whole thing. If there is insurance money to cover, then the insurance company would pay the actual bill.

I know this is not what you want to hear, but that's not our concern. We are here to give you the facts based on what you tell us. Based on what you have said, your brother is at least partially at fault. The insurance company is paying you the max they can. So you should accept what they have offered. If you want to see a copy of the other driver's coverage you can request it. But I doubt if the adjuster would lie to you about that.

Edited: The timing doesn't matter. The facts are that you had $40K in medical expenses due to the accident. The Insurance company is obligated to pay those bills. End of story.

Aside to Chuck. The other vehicle was stopped in a travel lane on an interstate (at least according to marker). Not pulling off to the shoulder would make him at least partially at fault.

[excon]

The accident happend last year and he is offering me the settlement this year..Means i was at poverty level last year when the bill occured?How can they take from the insurrance money this year?

Hello again, marker:

The hospital isn't going to give you a price break when they know your bill is going to be paid by an insurance company.

What year an accident happened and when it was settled have nothing to do with each other.

excon

[marker88]

He told me if I took what he offered I would have to sign off.. I can't sign off if I plan on sueing the guy for the rest right?

[marker88]

My friend got 21,000 for a cut on his face got stitched and released the same day.. I feel like I am getting screwed cause I was hurt worse and sent to the hospital for a week.. Dont seem fair to me that I should get paid less cause I was hurt worse?

[excon]

Hello again, marker:

Wrong. The insurance company doesn't care if you sue him. Plus, "sign off" is not a legal term. It certainly won't prevent you from suing the driver.

excon

[marker88]

The guy was in a 2001 Ford F150 Truck and he was like 53 so I am guessing he prob owns his own Home in all also.. So my best bet it to sue him then I take it..

[excon]

Hello again, marker for the last time:

I don't know why you have such a hard time understanding what you've been told. I'm sorry about that. But, I'll repeat my advice for you. You can sue the guy for $20 million if you want. If he has it, you'll probably get $100,000

Why is that bad news?

excon

[ScottGem]

Depends on what you are signing. If what you are signing says that you waive your right to sue the driver then don't sign. If it just says that you waive your right to sue the insurance company go ahead. But I would take the agreement to an attorney first.

The bottom line here is that the insurance company is only going to pay $50K total. Nothing you can do will get them to pay more. And of what they will pay, the first $40K will go to the hospital.

So you have to look at the other driver. If his coverage maxed at $50K, he probably was trying to keep his payments low, which means he doesn't haven't much money. If that's the case, you will have a hard time getting any money from him. And if you hire a lawyer, that lawyer is going to take a third of anything you get. So, if all you get is the $50K then about $17K goes to the attorney. The other $33K goes to the hospital and you get $0.

So you need to weigh the possibility of getting any money from the other driver against the $50K you were offered. Before you make this decision you need to do some research. Even if he has his own home, that may be exempted from a suit. You REALLY need to consult an attorney. Most will offer a free consultation. But I would be surprised is an attorney doesn't give you the same advise, take the $50K and be happy.

As for your friend, fairness doesn't enter into it. If you brother hadn't been so stupid as to let his insurance lapse you might have gotten more. Each circumstance is different.

[marker88]

Thanks for the Help I just like to be clear of my options..

[marker88]

I was involved in a car accident..I was a passenger i recieved injuries pcl torn in my right knee laceration to me forehead and top of my head down to my skull..I have hospital bills of 40,000.The insurrance ajuster just told me today that the policy limit is 50,000..He said that he will have to pay my medical bill of 40,000 and ill get the rest..I said why can't you give all of it to me.He said that that he can't do that he would have to pay the medical bill that he has a lien with them where he has to pay them for me.As of now i told him no i dont except the offer..

( What should i do now?It was completely the other guys fault he parked on the interstate in our lane with his lights off and we came along and hit him in the rear end of his truck.

My brother was driveing and his inssurance lasped so there was none on the car i was in.

Here is the outcome o my Case so far.. There is a lien on the policy that is owed to me.. They have agreed to take 26,000 and leave me 24,000 If I sign off... I was told by a lawyer that if you sue the guy that he wouldn't be force to sell his house or nothing that you would prob end up with like 30 Dollars a month.. So I guess it isn't worth sueing..

[ballengerb1]

The other guy my have been a total fool but guess what. In many states your brother would also be ticketed for driving too fast for conditions and for failure to avoid an accident. Sure I understand the day to day practicality that the guy could not be seen. However, you are never supposed to drive faster than you can see ahead of you. Also, just because his insurance has a limit doesn't mean your damages are limited.

[marker88]

My damages aren't limited but there is nothing I can do about it.. the guy only had a policy of 50,000 and so far I will only be getting 24,000.And is my state the guy parked there was at complete fault that isn't in question at all..