Person hit by car; nothing major done

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

anybody have any insight in this scenario?

to recap:

senior citizen taking daily walk. crosses street at streetwalk. is 3/4's a way through when a a vehicle fails to stop and hits the pedestrian. the pedestrian is thrown onto pavement. doctors verify no broken bones. just badly bruised toe and hip.

week later, insurance company calls and wants to close the case and offers 250 dollars, plus any and all medical expenses up to the moment.

--

to me, that is a ridiculously low figure. anybody have any experience with this. is it a no brainer go talk to a lawyer situation? or a hey, live and let live moment, maybe ask for a bit more situation?

thanks for any insight.

Daniel

:energetic:

[aussiewench 9]

If anything like here in Australia........A big NO to closing the case. Is a typical ploy of insurance companies. What happens if a condition etc shows up at later date as a result of the accident. Agreeing to close it means there is no recourse in having medicals paid etc. They usually get pissy when won't close but just gotta stand your ground. As for the $250 I'd contact a lawyer.

[Jaylen Brit 0]

Were the police involved? If so are there any proceedings for dangerous driving?

If the insurance co are offering money without being asked (I dont know if thats the case here) then they are admitting liability - so yeah I;d say they'd be prepared to offer more if pressed - possibly if the person's claim was reasonable they'd settle.

Example: I was 3 - 4 months pregannt and fell down some very badly marked new steps in my home town. The steps had no 'edging bricks' and nothing to differentiate them from the bricks of the pavement at the top or bottom. As a result I mis-stepped and fell down the lot (about 7) and twisted my ankle badly.

Ambulance came - I sent a while in A&E - nothing was broken although my ankle WAS sprained and I needed crutches but I was terrified as I was pregnant. Luckily there was no harm to the baby.

I HAD been due to work that weekend on overtime but as I couldn't walk

I couldn't go.

I wrote to the council asking for around £1000 - part of which was lost earnings, but also for the fear, the ruined clothing (which had to be cut off in the hospital), and the fact I had to take 2 weeks off work and lost further overtime opportunites (my work was at the time offering as much as I was able to do).

They at first refused and tried to place the blame on the contractors but I can speak legalese very well and told them if they refused again (as they had employed the contractor and it was up to THEM to make sure the work was correctly carried out) and I would take them to court over it and contact the newpapers - my husband at the time had already been back and photographed the steps showing how impossible SEEING them actually was. We also found out that the week before my accident someone else had fallen down them.

They paid up.

Edited February 20, 2006 by Jaylen Brit

[Jasman0717 9]

That sounds typical for insurance companies.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Yeah, don't let anyone close the case.

[Shemmy 4]

Someone run into the back of my car a few months ago (with very little damage) and the insurance company paid me $250 just for a headache.

So no, I wouldn't close the case. Thank God the person wasn't badly hurt.

[Traviesa 0]

Don't close the case. That is extremely low. You can get MUCH more if you sue them.

[Angelica 0]

Not a good idea to close, especially as the victim is a senior . Not all injuries show up on x ray ...an existing condition (ie arthritis) could be aggravated by such an accident and with that it may be too soon to know. I'd wait and see.

Kim

[JAYKE 0]

I'm an automobile claims adjuster... I do this for a living. $250 is VERY low. However, filing suit is very likely not going to be neccessary. Keep in mind, if you get an attorney they will take 1/3 of whatever you get, and THEY will likely settle before ever filing suit anyway.

Who is negotiating with the insurance company, the senior citizen, or the family member?

What I'd suggest is telling them that $250 isn't NEARLY enough.

here's some things to keep in mind:

Are there any photos of the bruises?

ANY medical attention, including just a visit to a primary care doctor to be "checked out"?

How was her daily routine affected - e.g., couldn't go for daily walk, needed someone to come over every day to check on her, had to sleep in a chair, hard to cleanse herself, money spent on heating pads, aspirin, are they nervous to go back outside and cross streets? Make a list and call the adjuster back. Have a dollar amount in mind, at least as a negotiation "starting point".

Once the adjuster knows the full extent of the issues, I'm sure they'll move on it. Unfortunately, sometimes people, especially older ones, have a tendency to "minimize" the issue ("oh, it was just a bump, I'm fine"), and the adjuster really has nothing to go on.

Good luck. If I can be of any more help, feel free to PM me.

[rebeccajo 14]

You can PM me for my boss' phone number.

He would love to speak with you.

[faith 0]

I'd talk to a laywer.. I see law suits come thru our office every day for similar stuff.

And just as an example.. a girl i know was climbing a fence at the fairgrounds when she was a teenager (she wasn't supposed to be climbing the fence mind you, it was off limits and clearly marked) and cut her foot and had to have a couple stitches. She got nearly 10 grand from that episode because she had a lawyer speak to the insurance company of the fairgrounds. And SHE was at fault. So in my opinion $250 isn't going to cover the pain, suffering, and any future problems due to being hit by a car.

[almaty 19]

good advice faith

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

thanks for the responses folks! i really appreciate the different perspectives.

to add to the mix:

someone asked if the police was involved. yes. the driver at fault was an off duty officer taking his kids to

school.

(It was my dad who got hit). When my dad received the call from the 'adjuster', they 'haggled' on the sttlement amount. ad:250; dad 2k; ad; 500; dad 2k; adj 750; dad 2k; adj 1250; dad 1500; adj 1250; dad called it off there.

for the moment we will probably just hold off in accepting a sttlement for a bit more. perhaps consult an attorney. but maybe just talk to the adjuster.

we've never dealt with anything like this before. and generally don't like the sue them for every penny mentality(there are situations for that, but ...). plus, we have discussed the fact that somertimes things develop from falls/accidents in the body after a while. so, it has been a balancing at of how sooner or later to settle and move on with our lives.

there really isn't a rush. but we don't want to pass some kind of deadline. and according to the first doctor that reviewed him and later reviews by my dad's regular doctor, everything appears fine.

i'll post later what the conclusio or next 'chapter' was.

Daniel

:energetic: