Pain and suffering money

Ok so I was rear ended recently and an insurance guy I talked to said I would get "pain and suffering" money. How much should I expect to get/ how much is a fair amount?

How much pain and suffering did you go through?

I got a concussion and was very sore for a few days.

Insurance companies are retarded with that stuff. The last wreck I was in, I had to fight with them hand over fist for $1500 worth of car value. They made it a nightmare. Then, out of the blue, a check for $2500 shows up for pain and suffering.

But Dave, you didn't get enough! Your pain & suffering was dealing with the insurance company.

Dan

If you cash that $2500 check, then you can't sue them for more. They must be scared that you could go after them for more than 2.5K and that's why that check showed up, Dave.

Dr. Hess wrote: If you cash that $2500 check, then you can't sue them for more. They must be scared that you could go after them for more than 2.5K and that's why that check showed up, Dave.

Bingo. It's basically hush money.

Just watch some mid day television. One of those lawyer commercials with a smiling idiot holding a check saying "I gots MY money" will come on about 100 times. Call them, they will be happy to help you with your problem.

P&S is a hard thing to calculate. You might want to find out the details of the insurance limits that the other person carries. That will let you know the cap of what they will pay out.

When I was in a crash, I ended up getting just $300 in pain and suffering money. Mostly it was a sore neck that had me worried enough to see a doctor - who took a look and told me it wasn't anything to worry about.

If you have something definitive like a broken collar bone, the pain and suffering is easy for them to quantify.

Perhaps you have something that's more difficult for them to diagnose, such as headaches, low back pain, difficulty sleeping or inability to, um, perform, then it could become a much higher figure. Then it comes down to a fight between your attorneys.

I was on jury duty for a case like this back in the mid-90's.

Lady claimed she was hurt with excruciating back pain (she was 6' 235 pounds). She came to court in 3" heels, didn't do any type of physical therapy, didn't want to work etc.

Husband also wanted cash because she couldn't perform her wiferly duties....thought he was entitled to be paid one way or the other.

We re-imbursed her for her minimal outlay...gave him nada.

Woody wrote: If you have something definitive like a broken collar bone, the pain and suffering is easy for them to quantify. Perhaps you have something that's more difficult for them to diagnose, such as headaches, low back pain, an inability to attend The Paved Church of the Holy Cones early sunday mass because of a sore neck

"pain and suffering" money - that's what I do for a living. I'm a personal injury lawyer. Don't hate - it's what I do, not who I am. Anyway, exactly what injuries do you have from the accident? Has your doctor cleared you completely from all injuries? How much are your medical bills (whether you paid or insurance paid)? These questions go a long way to figuring what's fair. In the end, if you have any sort of significant injury or have >$1k in medical bills you'll probably be money ahead to contact one of my bretheren in the personal injury bar who is local to you. Look here http://www.carinsurance.com/kb/content37890.aspx for more info on when you're entitled to money for pain and suffering.

Strangely I'm not surprised that someone who's avatar image is a newer BMW 750 LI is a personal Injury lawyer..

If you feel like you are owed pain and suffering money because of what their insured did to you then by all means lawyer up to get what you deserve.. but be aware your lawyer will get 1/3 of what you deserve, so you will have to sue for 133% of what you are owed.

On the other hand if you have "back pain" and a "sore neck" and are just looking at pain and suffering money as a payday then get what they give you and try to get the most you can I guess..

Also, don't rush settlement, there may be other issues that present themselves after an extended time (talking about anxiety-related things, injuries that don't heal properly, etc). I'm dealing with this problem now.

pigeon wrote: you'll probably be money ahead to contact one of my bretheren in the personal injury bar who is local to you.

For future reference, I'm in the Atlanta area. Any recommendations from this list as where to contact a good PI advocate?

http://www.clubzone.com/c1/Atlanta/Nightclubs.html

Just askin?

Definately take your time with the settlement. It's not going to benefit you more than it will benefit them to settle early.

Remember if you are thinking of going for the big bucks that it is not free money they are doling out. It comes from the rest of us paying for our policies. If you have legitimate injuries get what you think is fair. If you have no apparent injuries and they offer you $2500 take it and consider it a good deal.

Honestly being a broke college student any money would make me happy. I did have a ER bill of $1800 for ct scan and seeing the doctor. I wasn't thinking it was going to be $2.5k that would be awesome.

Call one of the free consultation lawyers around you. This is where you need an expert - you have NO IDEA what you case is worth. A decent personal injury lawyer will know, and very likely even after paying him/her you'll wind up with more than you would negotiate on your own. For instance, here in NY I would expect 5k-7.5k+ for a similar case - but again, different locations have different values associated with injuries so call someone who knows the local "market" so to speak.

It also depends on what state you are in. Some are known to give away big awards against insurance companies. In those states, you are more likely to get a settlement.

I had a big wreck in college where a driver hit me head on, I spent a year recovering and the other driver's insurance was being pretty rough. They ended up suggesting I go to another doctor to get a second evaluation, so I did. Turns out he found something my doctor had missed and I ended up getting the maximum they had for coverage instead of what I was asking for.

A couple of lessons in there I think!

nocones wrote: be aware your lawyer will get 1/3 of what you deserve, so you will have to sue for 133% of what you are owed.

I hope I don't come off as a jerk-a-mo, gotcha guy but the math geek in me just can’t leave this alone…if your attorney takes 33%, you’ve got to get awarded 150% of the true remedy rather than 133%.

Example…I’ve got $100 in P&S so give me 1.5X = $150 so when my attorney takes a third ($50), I’m left with the appropriate $100.

RX Reven' wrote:

nocones wrote: Strangely I'm not surprised that someone who's avatar image is a newer BMW 750 LI is a personal Injury lawyer.. If you feel like you are owed pain and suffering money because of what their insured did to you then by all means lawyer up to get what you deserve.. but be aware your lawyer will get 1/3 of what you deserve, so you will have to sue for 133% of what you are owed. On the other hand if you have "back pain" and a "sore neck" and are just looking at pain and suffering money as a payday then get what they give you and try to get the most you can I guess..

I hope I don't come off as a jerk-a-mo, gotcha guy but the math geek in me just can’t leave this alone…if your attorney takes 33%, you’ve got to get awarded 150% of the true remedy rather than 133%. Example…I’ve got $100 in P&S so give me 1.5X = $150 so when my attorney takes a third ($50), I’m left with the appropriate $100.

Yeah your right. I realized that after I hit reply and didn't feel like ninja editing. I was in a hurry and been real busy at work this week (it's thursday afternoon and I had already worked my 40 for the week as of about 10am this morning..). I take no offense to you correcting me. 33% is pretty darn good comission.. And think the Insurance companies actually have to pay close to 200% of what your final payout is, because if it "costs" my lawyer 33% of the payout to get my money, you can be sure that the insurances lawyers "cost" 33% to try to not give me my money.
But again, people whom are legitimately damaged by other peoples negligence deserve getting made right, even if that means the payouts are quite high.

alex wrote:

Dr. Hess wrote: If you cash that $2500 check, then you can't sue them for more. They must be scared that you could go after them for more than 2.5K and that's why that check showed up, Dave.

Bingo. It's basically hush money.

Oh - I get that. It was just irritating that they were such cheapskate shiny happy people on the vehicle value, and then threw money my way under a different line item.

Dave. There is about this | | much wiggle room with car property damage settlements. They see it as black and white. Whatever an estimator says is the value. Thats what I have to work with. Bodily injury claims have much more wiggle room. Thats why lawyers generally dont take on property claims. Hell most of them wont settle it for you if you retain them on the bodily injury claim.

Being on the insurance side of the table I agree with the rest. It depends on the injury.

I am in the unique position of being a third party adjuster. Basically the company I work for handles claims for other companies that either dont have the man power, dont have local adjusters or just outsource part or all of their claims. I woud get authority up to a certain amount to settle a claim. I often wish they granted me more and would often offer the full authority off the bat if I felt they had a real injury.

Off the top of my head with $1800 in med bills a concusion and soreness I would expect a settlement in the range of $2500-$4000 for a complete settlement including meds.

In my experience (no offense to pigeon) on many claims the lawyers do not warrant the 33% fee they take. So the lawyer might get you 5k and you pay leaving you with about $3,300. Then there is the lawyer who will immediately put you in physical therapy with a practice that is in on the deal and you will treat for a couple months two to three times a week. It will drive up you medical bills to and be a general PITA for you and your employer. I believe this is the reason real working people dont get as "injured" in minor accidents while the welfare crowd thinks a car accident is like winning the lottery with weekly massages.

I would routinely offer $300-$500 for someone who did not treat and was just sore.

I am doing more property claims than casualty now but I still handle the occasional bodily injury claim.

Good luck with your claim. Make sure they get a copy of your med bills. Oh and being an ass never got anyone more money from me.