what settlement to ask rear ended Long Island

[johnsjmc]

I was travelling in new York June 2011. I was rear ended . Several weeks of physio and the back and neck pain Worst pain I have ever experienced) resolved but nearly 2 yrs later I still have 2 numb fingers on my left hand. I had a neck and back MRI with no clear results. I have several bulged discs but no before accident MRI to compare so could all be age related (I,m 62)
I live in Canada so I do not know what my insurance company has spent on my healthcare if anything because we never see a bill for our healthcare. Being retired I have no lost wages.
I approached the at fault drivers insc co(State Farm) The adjuster says "no money in this file" (partly because the only bills they've paid were for vehicle repairs not medical) He said He could offer $3500 to close the file I said for that little amount I might throw it to an ambulance chasing lawyer and take my chances. He then offered $7500.
He had no record of my nerve testing in my arm and was going to request the results from my insurance co in Toronto. He was to get back to me in a couple weeks *4 weeks ago.
Ontario has no fault insurance with a $50000 threshold for personal injury before you can sue. New York has some threshold for a minor injury to become a major injury. What I have seen on the net says a lingering injury even minor past 90 days might escalate the claim
What would you expect to settle for? I appear to have a permanent however minor injury with the 2 numb fingers. We don,t sue for much here so I need an American opinion.

[aigel]

What's the statute of limitations for personal injury in NY? Make sure you do not exceed that time limit. I sure hope it isn't 2 years and that's why you haven't heard back.

Not an accident lawyers, so I can't help more.

G

[johnsjmc]

Statute of Lim.is 3 yrs and coming up on 2 yrs this coming June.
To be fair to State farm I suspect the claims dept is swamped with Hurricane Sandy claims and my small accident is not at the top of anyones to do pile.

[Chocaholic]

Are you seeking "windfall" advice or only wanting to recover what is appropriate considering your medical expenses? If the latter, your conscience is your best guide.

I once heard a saying...."pigs get fatter, hogs get slaughtered".

[Rot 911]

I'd give you some advice, but don't want to be accused of being an "ambulance chasing lawyer."

[T77911S]

GET A LAWYER!

DO NOT DEAL WITH THE INSUREANCE COMPANY

my brother tried to settle with an insurance comp after his wreck. they basically told him to screw himself. after he got a lawyer, they paid waaaay more than he asked from them.

i just got a 100k settlement from being hit by a car riding a bike. the amazing thing was the lawyer negotiated my medical bills down from around 50k to 8k. THATS were you get your money. i still think i should have gotten more. 2 seperated collar bones that will never heal. now my right should is giving me more pain, mostly when i sleep, but the docs could not find anything wrong in the begining. i have also lost some motion in a finger.
i now have headaches almost daily. i NEVER had headaches on a regular basis.

i hate to say it, insurance companies MAKE you get a lawyer

[Steve Carlton]

I think your claim is worth a lot more than $7,500. I don't see how you could lose by getting a good attorney. I think one rarely gets more settling these things themselves.

[Jferr006]

If I got rear ended on Long Island I'd at least ask for cab money.. kidddingg.

It really depens on your medical bills. I settled for around 10k when I was hit several years ago. I had neck problems for a while and it still have them from time to time. my biggest beef was the scar the seat belt left on my collar bone, it's been 6 years and it's not visible much anymore, thankfully.. It never occured to me the numbness I experience in my fingers had anything to do with it.

Get a lawyer but, a legit one, that doesn't advertise all day on daytime tv.

[HHI944]

My 'ambulance chased' , also one of the nicest guys I know, managed to get my med bills reduced from 29k to 6k post settlement.........that's the ticket....of course it didn't hurt that the EMTs removed my helmet and the glove from a visibly mangled hand, causing unnecessary pain and suffering

[jwgn777]

Try to contact the Superintendent of insurance NY it might be listed as New York Superintendent of Financial Services . I used them a very long time ago I don't know if they handle this now however somebody in one of these departments should point you in the right direction. And obtain a Lawyer.

[GWN7]

You had medical costs. Just because someone else (the tax payers) payed for them doesn't mean they don't exist. You can ask for a printout of your medical treatments.

As you haven't had this nerve damage fully investigated, what if the only thing that helps with your nerve damage is a deep tissue massage. That currently runs $60-$75 a pop. Your 62 (average male life expectancy is 74) That means a trip (mileage) for the massage over the next 12 years, once a month will cost between $8600 and $10,000 to treat. Add in cost of living. What the insurance company has offered is chump change.

[Chocaholic]

The entitlement expectations referenced above just amaze me. We drive cars, motorcycles, bicycles, boats, etc., with a certain expectation of risk. The idea that somehow others should compensate us up the yin-yang for every possible result from a traffic altercation just blows my mind. Fix the car and cover basic med expenses, ok. Deep massage for life? Really? Do you know where the insurance company gets all this money you want from them? It comes from people that pay inflated premiums. People like me that don't file erroneous claims or seek ways to extort money based on a lifetime need for "deep massage". How about accepting some, just some liability for your decision to play in traffic? What a concept.

Yet, we all happily complain about ambulance-chasing lawyers.

Unbelieveable. Rant over.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

The entitlement expectations referenced above just amaze me. We drive cars, motorcycles, bicycles, boats, etc., with a certain expectation of risk. The idea that somehow others should compensate us up the yin-yang for every possible result from a traffic altercation just blows my mind. Fix the car and cover basic med expenses, ok. Deep massage for life? Really? Do you know where the insurance company gets all this money you want from them? It comes from people that pay inflated premiums. People like me that don't file erroneous claims or seek ways to extort money based on a lifetime need for "deep massage". How about accepting some, just some liability for your decision to play in traffic? What a concept.

Yet, we all happily complain about ambulance-chasing lawyers.

Unbelieveable. Rant over.

We'll see after you've been hurt. Where do you draw the line? Let's say that 'risk' you were taking by driving resulted in you using a wheelchair for the rest of your life. No more income for you because you can't think the way you used to ab able to.

Still want to let it be?

Where do you draw the line? Let's hear it.

[johnsjmc]

Originally Posted by Rot 911

I'd give you some advice, but don't want to be accused of being an "ambulance chasing lawyer."

If you are advertizing on all the cable channels with your 800 number even though you are in some other state that,s the type of lawyer I,m referring to. My own lawyer in Ont. isn,t licensed to work in New York and doesn,t have any desire to be able to.
What is a typical settlement if there is such a thing for 2 numb fingers?
Health care costs here are hard to determine My GP gets a monthly fee for me even if I don,t go see him. So no increased Dr. fees for the treatment I received here.
My insurance company paid for the 2 MRIs because I was in Florida last winter and was insisting they do something instead of just ignoring me and hoping I,d go away.
The physio I had including massages were covered by my supplemental benefit plan at no increase fee to me.
I,m at an impasse here as far as treatment because I went to a Dr. in the US. My local Dr. tried to refer me to a Cdn,neurologist and he said go back to whoever ordered the MRI's (1200 mi away)

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

The entitlement expectations referenced above just amaze me. We drive cars, motorcycles, bicycles, boats, etc., with a certain expectation of risk. The idea that somehow others should compensate us up the yin-yang for every possible result from a traffic altercation just blows my mind. Fix the car and cover basic med expenses, ok. Deep massage for life? Really? Do you know where the insurance company gets all this money you want from them? It comes from people that pay inflated premiums. People like me that don't file erroneous claims or seek ways to extort money based on a lifetime need for "deep massage". How about accepting some, just some liability for your decision to play in traffic? What a concept.

Yet, we all happily complain about ambulance-chasing lawyers.

Unbelieveable. Rant over.

My MVA was 12 years ago. I still require medical attention because my injury is permanent. Basic med wouldn't even come close. And it was a "no-fault" accident.

[ckelly78z]

A personal injury lawyer told me that the pain and suffering part of a settlement goes upon a 1-4 times factor that kinda goes as follows;

1- If you had non debilitating injuries like whiplash or bruising, and were in discomfort/maybe missed a day or two of work, you are entitled to 1 times the amount of any medical costs incurred (on top of reimbursment for the medical bills)

2- If you sustained a broken bone or two, or maybe several lacerations that required stitches and a week or two off work, you get 2 times the medical bills plus reimbursment.

3- If you you sustained serious injuries that required surjury with rehab, or therapy, and/or life threatening injuries that required a long recovery off work you get 3 times.

4- If you sustained permanent, life changing injuries that would be considered a disability when fully healed, you get 4 times

5- Death is at least 5 times and/or negotiable with the survivors

[carambola]

i'm just from NJ and i'm not a lawyer

but

the nerve damage was pre existing

come down here twice a month to continue this thing forever

[Christien]

John, my dad used to do personal injury litigation for the insurance companies. I used to do summer work at the office when I was in high school and university. If there's one piece of advice I can give you it's take a good settlement offer and don't get involved in litigation. It completely consumes your life, and is an absolutely miserable process. A $7500 offer doesn't sound too bad, IMO.

[GWN7]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

The entitlement expectations referenced above just amaze me. We drive cars, motorcycles, bicycles, boats, etc., with a certain expectation of risk. The idea that somehow others should compensate us up the yin-yang for every possible result from a traffic altercation just blows my mind. Fix the car and cover basic med expenses, ok. Deep massage for life? Really? Do you know where the insurance company gets all this money you want from them? It comes from people that pay inflated premiums. People like me that don't file erroneous claims or seek ways to extort money based on a lifetime need for "deep massage". How about accepting some, just some liability for your decision to play in traffic? What a concept.

Yet, we all happily complain about ambulance-chasing lawyers.

Unbelieveable. Rant over.

Here's a concept for you. Your sitting on your couch and a guy drives a car thru your house and hits you sitting on the couch. In your world you just say "oh well, that's life" After all you have to accept liability that there are cars in this world and someone might injure you with one of them.

No?

When I pay my insurance company it's with the expectation that they will represent me when I have a accident. That means they will do their best to not pay any claims for damages because the less they have to pay the better their bottom line. If I cause a accident they will hope that the person I damaged won't know about the 3 year limit (in NY) so if I claim damages after that they can go "So sad, too late, go away" and close the file with the least cost to them.

In 1998 I was sitting at a intersection waiting to make a left hand turn. I had been sitting there for awhile waiting for the light to change. As I was the second vehicle to be making the turn I was stopped before the crosswalk as I probably wouldn't make the same light as the car in front of me was also turning left. A 18 yr old kid driving a 1 ton bread van drove into the back of me. He hit the brakes about 5' from behind me while doing about 35-40 mph. He said he didn't see me. It was a good thing he hit me as I was driving a Reg Cab Chev 1/2 ton instead of the Honda Civic that was in front of me. My truck was bent sort of like this < . My head went over the head rest and I broke the rear window with my head. The Dr. showed me my x-ray and where my C5 was all swollen. He said if I hadn't been is such good shape I might be riding a chair for the rest of my life. The left side of my body was black & blue from the seatbelt and the same with the left scapula area. Knees also from hitting the dash. Nothing broken, just a lot of bent, broken and torn. I was off work for 5 months. I still go and get my shoulder/back massaged every 6 months because that was the only thing that removed the scar tissue from my muscles. I pay for it out of pocket. No lawyers involved. They are not allowed up here.

The OP has nerve damage from the accident and needs further care to fix the problem or retraining his body so he can live with it.

Until you have been in a major accident any rant you have is just fluff.

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by Zeke

We'll see after you've been hurt. Where do you draw the line? Let's say that 'risk' you were taking by driving resulted in you using a wheelchair for the rest of your life. No more income for you because you can't think the way you used to ab able to.

Still want to let it be?

Where do you draw the line? Let's hear it.

He has two numb fingers! That's it. He says that in Canada "we don't sue for much" so he asks for an American perspective and receives consistent encouragement to go for Fort Knox (and a lifetime supply of massage stamps). Let's be reasonable here.

You guys can come up with all kinds of events that would warrant a different approach (sitting in living room, etc.), but that's not the case. I'm talking about blatantly trying to snag as much windfall as possible. Apparently the American way....just not my American way.

Lawyers run our country...this is why!