@jym626, at the time I was uninsured, so it would have been better than nothing!
Ever thankful for USAA.
My husband was rear ended by a large, full, dumptruck at a stoplight. Made one call to our own insurance (USAA) with the information, and that was that. The truck was clearly at fault, and his employer’s insurance paid for everything: repairs, and a rental car for weeks. They never tried to contact us directly - it was all handled through the two insurance companies. There were no medical claims.
Something to talk to our kids about - a friend’s college age son was involved in an accident and the other person’s insurance company contacted him (over 18, but the insurance was carried by his parents) and offered him $1000 for ending all medical claims, which, being inexperienced, he accepted. His parents found out about it later, when his knee started hurting and he went to a doctor.
If we are talking about what our inexperienced drivers have done, my young driver k ew he was supposed to give HIS insurance info to the other person in an accident, but he failed to get the other person’s info. Fortunately, other parents found us and called.
I’m with the majority here, who,say don’t settle until you really know if you have serious medical issues.
As an occupational therapist , I cannot stress enough that it is too soon to settle . Get an attorney to look out for your interests.
Another delayed injury story (not from a car accident). My daughter fell and hit her head - doctors did diagnose a concussion. She took it easy (rest, no electronics - standard concussion treatment) and seemed fine after a couple of weeks. Three months later she had aura headaches, jaw pain, neck pain - severe TMD. Spent almost a year going to dentists, TMD specialists, Chiropractors, Physical Therapists, taking pain killers, muscle relaxants, using mouth guards (several thousand dollars worth of treatments - mostly uncovered by insurance) before getting better. The PT who finally cured her is pretty sure the whole thing was started by an undiagnosed neck injury from the initial fall.
OP back with an update. The property damage part of the claim is settled, and I am satisfied with the result.
As additional background, a short time before the collision I underwent surgery to repair a partially torn distal bicep tendon, and the trauma of the collision apparently aggravated the surgery site, causing complications that resulted in the need for a subsequent, follow up surgery. With my high deductible insurance policy, my out of pocket medical and rehabilitation costs have been in the neighborhood of $8,000.
I have a bodily injury claim consisting of medical expenses, including the additional surgery, and pain and suffering.
I’m dealing directly with the trucking company, which is self insured, and seems eager to settle without going to trial. They have acknowledged fault and also acknowledged that the collision was at least partially responsible for my delayed recovery from the initial surgery.
Today they tendered their initial offer, which I will counter.
I’m so glad you didn’t accept their initial $1,000 offer! A good lesson for all of us.
Remember, too, that whilst you paid $8K out of pocket, your health insurer might want a share of any proceeds for the monies they have paid out for the second surgery
^Excellent point!! That happened when my son was injured in a chair lift accident caused by operator error. They ski resort wanted to pay only our out-of-pocket damages, but the health insurance company had first dibs on any money paid out! It’s part of a typical contract. After a few months, the ski resort finally paid everything.
Even if the health insurance company hasn’t asked you about this, you are probably obligated to tell them. Contact an attorney if you need to.
@somemom - Yes, excellent point. I’ll check the math and see if they’ll have a claim to any reimbursement.
I’m curious if anyone here has experience with how much flexibility typically exists between initial offers and actual settlement authority. Unlike their initial $1000 lowball offer, the current offer isn’t unreasonable, but the language in which it was presented clearly indicates there’s room for negotiation.
Echoing others, make sure all bills are settled with the health insurance before entertaining any offer. The term is subrogation. I am noticing more and more forms asking questions leading to a possible subrogation claims when filling out paperwork for health care. Have you checked with an attorney on this? As the details get complicated, paying them to deal with insurance claims and back and forth can be worth while. S year ago was in a rather complicated accident requiring surgery, rehab and keeping him from a summer of college employment. The insurance company paid, but it was so complicated, taking a good deal of MY time in the process.
You should also get an amount for any list wages or vacation/sick leave you had to use, as well as pain and suffering. Be sure every hint is fully resolved BEFORE you consider accepting any. Some injuries take time to surface and resolve.
It is common to have to reimburse whomever paid the bills you get paid for, but you can also get credit for a portion of the amount for your work in getting the recovery.
For example, say you have $10,000 in medical expenses and insurer paid $5,000. Often, insurer will settle with you for $3,000 or $3,667 plus a release from you for all future claims related to this accident for your work in getting any recovery (you keep the balance).
Typically a release is required in connection with any settlement so all further expenses are 100% on you.
My health insurance had a subrogation clause in it. They got paid first in the case of auto related injuries. For claims, I had to actually put if my injury was related to an auto accident.
My health insurance company actually handled the claim…they got money for them…and money for me! Win win.
I’m betting health insurers don’t do that for their clients anymore. My accident was a LONG time ago.
I suspect there are still subrogation clauses in all work comp and medical insurance. I have a relative who does subro for work comp and is happy to represent the injured party and get money for them and WC carrier with full disclosure and consent of both WC and injured party. Often he reduces his fee since he’s getting some money from WC carrier and done from injured party, so win/win.
Your medical insurer can tell you who the subro attorney is. They are entitled to reimbursement out of any settlement in any case.
Regarding subrogation, I need to check to see if my insurance company paid anything at all on my behalf in 2017, that is, whether or not my total medical costs for the year exceeded my deductible. If so, clearly they will be entitled to a reimbursement. But we’re talking a small amount, if anything.
Regarding the settlement from the insurance company, what they’ve offered exceeds my medical costs, so we’re basically negotiating the value of my “pain and suffering”.
In that regard, perhaps I should feel lucky, as most of the world’s pain and suffering is uncompensated. On the other hand, there’s no way on earth I would have chosen to go through this ordeal for triple what they’re offering.
I’m trying to approach this as a simple business negotiation. They want to pay me as little as possible and it’s my job to push them as far as they’re willing to be pushed.
And in case anyone is thinking I’m trying to rip off an insurance company, thereby raising everyone’s rates, that isn’t the case. As I noted upthread, there’s no insurance company involved. The trucking company is large enough that they’ve chosen to “self insure”, meaning they are paying their own money to take care of their own liability.
I’ve made my counter offer. Please wish me luck!
First, glad to hear your medical costs are over with, and you are close to putting this behind you.
The trucking company’s decision to self-insure is their problem, not yours. If they had insurance, you quite possibly could / should be looking at a much larger settlement, but it probably would get strung out over a much larger period of time.
Be very careful on the subrogation. If your health insurance carrier did not end up paying anything, or even if they paid very little, your provider and/or the carrier might still have a right to a portion of your settlement if they applied their negotiated discounts to the providers’ charges.
I don’t think it is wise to proceed without an attorney, unless you are willing to accept substantially less than you are entitled to.
But best of luck to you!
Very interesting, slightly absurd, and definitely annoying.
Most times, attorneys increase settlements significantly more than the cost of the attorney’s fees. They generally only get a portion of the award and $0 if there is no award.
Pain and suffering awards are generally not considered income and NOT taxed.
Fortunately for me, one of my brothers, a physician and a medical malpractice attorney (an extremely powerful combination), has been able to help me understand the medicine and has also been helpful with understanding the trucking company’s strategy and vulnerabilities. I just reached out to him and now he has given me some very helpful insights on subrogation.
He and I agreed from the outset that I could probably handle this negotiation on my own and so far I have no regrets.
The trucking company has upped their offer and the ball is now in my court.