Had a very bad car accident summer of 2007. Have had shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff, have had surgery on each arm for nerve damage due to compression from impact onto steering wheel, still having neurological issues from 5 herniations in my cervical spine. C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 are all severely herniated, C4 and C5 are pinching into my spinal column and I am experiencing periodic numbness in my body, not loss of control of my body but just a pins and needles feeling in parts of my body from this herniation. I am going to have neck surgery because of this, surgery is set for march of this year…The driver that hit me ran a red light and sideswiped me. She is a highschool student that lives in her parents house…she is 18 and lives in her parents home because she was going to be a senior in highschool that fall….my lawyer called and told me he has recieved a call from the girls parents insurance company, whom she is insured with under her parents policy…they have a 50,000 policy…the insurance company have offered the full 50,000 and want her to settle. I asked the lawyer what my options were because I have such devistating injuries, can I go after their assets, or home owners insurance beings she was a driver under the parents and they dont have low insurance…they own a 430,000 dollar home, the father drives a 50,000 truck, the mother drives a new caddillac escalade, he owns a large trailer that hauls vehicles…the trailer is very valuable, over 20,000 dollar enclosed trailer. the lawyer says that I can get the 50,000 policy and cant go after homeowners but my question is, I am told that when a child of a parent is living in the home and driving, a parent should have an umbrella policy in case the child driving causes a devistating auto accident that results in severe injuries, so they cant lose their home….my lawyer seems really eager to settle this case and I haven’t even had my neck surgery yet…he says my own insurance PIP that I have will cover all surgeries that I need and give me all the medical care that I still need until I fully recover, but I am very angry and extremely upset because my injuries are worth way more than 50,000 dollars minus the lawyers 1/3 fee…I have had several surgeries and I am going to have a fused neck because of surgery that is needed, and my neurological health is still at risk…I want to know my options, I am afraid to go to another lawyer to ask advice but I need to know what I should do so I don’t screw myself out of compensation…I live in northern new jersey and I want to know if anyone knows what my options are….can I get the 50,000 off of their policy and then file a civil suit in court against them and go after all of their assets and when I win in court because she is found to be 100% negligent because she ran a redlight and hit my car at a high rate of speed 60 mph side impact…when I win would they be ordered to pay by a judge and all of their assets, including their home or whatever have a lein put against it??? I dont want to come across as a snake here but I am really in a bad position because I am permanately disabled from this accident and lost a career and a large part of my life as I knew it and I dont want to settle this out for peanuts….thanks..
just looked at all paperwork and girl that hit me was NOT 18…She was only 17 at the time of the accident. She was a 17 year old senior in highschool….I want to know if her being under 18 changes anything with the fact that she is a minor and still the responsibility of her parents….does this make my case better or does it stay the same..thanks
By car insurance | 3 Comments
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June 3, 2010 @ 5:19 am
The insurance co always offers you a low offer at first..
You need to change attorneys. You need a competent attorney.
Find an aggressive attorney that you can relate to. You deserve at a minimum a million dollars.
What you do is take how much money you would make in a lifetime plus pain, suffering, etc.
Call the bar association in your state and ask for the name of three attorneys in you state. (not your town). When they give you the name of each attorney ask how many complaints have been filed against him and who..They will give you all of that information.
Go to the Law library at your county courthouse and look up each attorneys name and see how they are rated. It goes from A to D. You want an attorney that is rated at least a B. It is called a Hubbel’s Directory that you want to look for.
Word of mouth is good too. Ask around about one but always check them out.
EDIT: THAT IS WHAT INSURANCE IS FOR. TO PAY YOU IN AN ACCIDENT. THE INSURANCE CO. PONIES UP AND YOU NEED TO RECEIVE WHAT IS COMING TO YOU.
GET A GOOD REPUTABLE ATTORNEY THAT IS AGGRESSIVE ..AND WILL TAKE IT ON A CONTINGENCY BASIS. THAT MEANS HE GETS PAID A PERCENTAGE OF YOUR SETTLEMENT. USUALLY THEY GET 30-40 % OF YOUR CLAIM BUT HE WILL NOT CHARGE YOU ANYTHING OUT OF YOUR POCKET.
June 3, 2010 @ 5:32 am
I would say your lawyer is a sleaze — some criminal lawyers often used to do this when they were paid from the public purse — they told all of their clients to plead guilty. Until the system was changed, this way they got 10 clients to plead guilty in about 50 minutes and got 10 day’s worth of fees for doing no real work.
In this case, your lawyer is assessing that if he puts in more work, the settlement amount may go up, but his marginal return will be far lower for the amount of time he puts in.
I can’t say for sure though…
it may legitimately be that there was no umbrella policy for the parent’s insurance – definitely INSTRUCT your lawyer to have a look at the parent’s policies and INSTRUCT him to explain everything. He works for you, even if he is on a contingency. If there is anything you don’t understand, crawl up his ass until he has explained it properly and look at the documents yourself as he explains them.
Also, I suspect you have, but if not, begin the court proceedings so the limitation period is saved.
Best of luck.
Re: going after parent’s assets, I’m afraid that you can’t do this unless you can prove they were negligent in some way. If the girl has any savings, though, you could go after those (and any value left in her car).
…but, although not legally required, If the parent’s are loaded they will pay the excess rather than leave it on their daughter’s record that she is a judgment debtor – if you take this to trial and win, that will follow her until bankruptcy or she’s rich enough to pay you off from her own pocket but that could drag this out for years/decades.
but yes, if your lawyer doesn’t straighten up, consult someone else, even for a second opinion.
June 3, 2010 @ 5:40 am
I am not sure about this one. I think that you need a real personal injury law firm. These things are handled on a contingency basis. fifty grand is not anywhere near enough for what you are going through. The girl that hit you is an adult. Even though she is on her parents policy I am not familiar with how the law reads in this state. My suggestion is aside from getting a real personal injury law firm is don’t accept any money or sign anything as this in itself may waive your rights in this matter. You need a real expert on your side. Good Luck Bob