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anyone do personal injury cases


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not "serious money", just a broken arm, lost wages, medical bills, new bike 15-25k. my thinking if i deal with them personally i won't lose that 33-40%.

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I'd call a lawyer.

 

He or she will know what you are entitled to claim and should have experience dealing with insurance representatives. Two things that you probably don't know and don't have.

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i am not an atty, but i used to be a special unit claims adjuster for five years and dealt with these types of cases daily.

 

i cannot speak for other claims adjusters or their companies, but i can tell you what I did most of the time.

 

take all of your medical bills and lost wages. now multiply them by 2.5 or maybe 3 and you will likely get that as a settlement. there are lots of factors involved here, but you have a broken bone and that is pretty significant. do not go to a chiropractor as they do not get the same credit as a physical therapist. claims are typically typed into a computer program and then it factors in all sorts of things such as age, male/female, scarring, broken bones, location of claimant, race, and so forth. it then spits out a range for settlement. not everything is as cut and dry as this, but I am just trying to give you some insight as to what typically occurs.

 

when i dealt with a claimant that was educated and not trying to take me to the cleaners, i was as lenient as possible to them and gave them as much as was in my authority. when i dealt with a claimant or attorney that was manipulating the system, i was a complete a-hole and fought them on every thing regardless of how minimal.

 

good luck and let me know if you have any additional, more detailed questions that i might be able to answer.

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i am not an atty, but i used to be a special unit claims adjuster for five years and dealt with these types of cases daily.

 

i cannot speak for other claims adjusters or their companies, but i can tell you what I did most of the time.

 

take all of your medical bills and lost wages. now multiply them by 2.5 or maybe 3 and you will likely get that as a settlement. there are lots of factors involved here, but you have a broken bone and that is pretty significant. do not go to a chiropractor as they do not get the same credit as a physical therapist. claims are typically typed into a computer program and then it factors in all sorts of things such as age, male/female, scarring, broken bones, location of claimant, race, and so forth. it then spits out a range for settlement. not everything is as cut and dry as this, but I am just trying to give you some insight as to what typically occurs.

 

when i dealt with a claimant that was educated and not trying to take me to the cleaners, i was as lenient as possible to them and gave them as much as was in my authority. when i dealt with a claimant or attorney that was manipulating the system, i was a complete a-hole and fought them on every thing regardless of how minimal.

 

good luck and let me know if you have any additional, more detailed questions that i might be able to answer.

If I may, Id like to pick your brain. My dog was attacked by another dog causing severe injury to the dog ( I know, its property). But I was also bitten in the scrum and I have scarring on my thumb. The dog that bit me was also unvaccinated - fortunately no rabies but I also declined shots becasue the owner assured me his dog was up to date. I have been dealing with his property and casualty adjuster and am awaiting an offer from her. To date, my out of pockets are 5600.00. most of that vet bills etc but some medical for me. I also want to be reasonable but I have personally been through a lot of inconvenience etc, missed time from work (had to take vacation days), hours and hours of care for the dog etc. What would you say is reasonable in this case?

 

Thanks and I do appreciate your input if you would. Im not even certain if Im entitled to anything above and beyond my expenses but she has all that and said she would look at it and make me an offer so Im guessing there may be something additional. At this point I'd be happy to get my expenses back but would I be eligible for additionals due to the time off, my injury etc.

 

To top it off the owner was a real dck, so I wouldnt mind sticking it to him a little

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i am not an atty, but i used to be a special unit claims adjuster for five years and dealt with these types of cases daily.

 

i cannot speak for other claims adjusters or their companies, but i can tell you what I did most of the time.

 

take all of your medical bills and lost wages. now multiply them by 2.5 or maybe 3 and you will likely get that as a settlement. there are lots of factors involved here, but you have a broken bone and that is pretty significant. do not go to a chiropractor as they do not get the same credit as a physical therapist. claims are typically typed into a computer program and then it factors in all sorts of things such as age, male/female, scarring, broken bones, location of claimant, race, and so forth. it then spits out a range for settlement. not everything is as cut and dry as this, but I am just trying to give you some insight as to what typically occurs.

 

when i dealt with a claimant that was educated and not trying to take me to the cleaners, i was as lenient as possible to them and gave them as much as was in my authority. when i dealt with a claimant or attorney that was manipulating the system, i was a complete a-hole and fought them on every thing regardless of how minimal.

 

good luck and let me know if you have any additional, more detailed questions that i might be able to answer.

 

Thanks, think I got a handle on things for now. Funny part is things are in limbo because the guy won't call his ins. co. back so they can get a statement from him. thet sent him a certified letter. :wacko: now it's a 2 week wait for the police report. also got the wheels rolling in filing for workman's comp.

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If I may, Id like to pick your brain. My dog was attacked by another dog causing severe injury to the dog ( I know, its property). But I was also bitten in the scrum and I have scarring on my thumb. The dog that bit me was also unvaccinated - fortunately no rabies but I also declined shots becasue the owner assured me his dog was up to date. I have been dealing with his property and casualty adjuster and am awaiting an offer from her. To date, my out of pockets are 5600.00. most of that vet bills etc but some medical for me. I also want to be reasonable but I have personally been through a lot of inconvenience etc, missed time from work (had to take vacation days), hours and hours of care for the dog etc. What would you say is reasonable in this case?

 

Thanks and I do appreciate your input if you would. Im not even certain if Im entitled to anything above and beyond my expenses but she has all that and said she would look at it and make me an offer so Im guessing there may be something additional. At this point I'd be happy to get my expenses back but would I be eligible for additionals due to the time off, my injury etc.

 

To top it off the owner was a real dck, so I wouldnt mind sticking it to him a little

 

There are so many angles here. How did this accident occur? Whose dog initiated this? Where did it occur? What are the State laws in Pennsylvania? What are his Med Pay limits on his home/liab policy? Were both dogs leashed at the time? Were you in a public place or on private property? Does he have an aggressive breed of dog?

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but if the other guy is not 100% liable for this incident, I'd have to find a way to pay you proportionally. Just because the guy might have admitted liability to you, does not mean he is 100% liable. Just trying to be honest about how this could be handled.

 

If it is cut and dry liability, then I'd probably offer you not much more $7500-$8000. But I'd try like hell to prove some liability on your behalf.

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There are so many angles here. How did this accident occur? Whose dog initiated this? Where did it occur? What are the State laws in Pennsylvania? What are his Med Pay limits on his home/liab policy? Were both dogs leashed at the time? Were you in a public place or on private property? Does he have an aggressive breed of dog?

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but if the other guy is not 100% liable for this incident, I'd have to find a way to pay you proportionally. Just because the guy might have admitted liability to you, does not mean he is 100% liable. Just trying to be honest about how this could be handled.

 

If it is cut and dry liability, then I'd probably offer you not much more $7500-$8000. But I'd try like hell to prove some liability on your behalf.

all his fault and he was convicted of failure to confine his dog and unvaccinated dog. It was ordered he pay my expenses by the criminal court as victims restitution.

 

And Id be thrilled to get 7500, wouldnt even counter

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not "serious money", just a broken arm, lost wages, medical bills, new bike 15-25k. my thinking if i deal with them personally i won't lose that 33-40%.

Get a lawyer. You might save 33% but you never know what you're leaving on the table. Maybe you settle yourself for 30k and save the 33% but a lawyer could have gotten you twice that. 66% of 60k is 40k so you come out ahead. Despite the (admittedly fun) bad rap we lay on lawyers, most of them are an absolute necessity. What if your rehab goes poorly? What if you develop complications in 3-4 years? Did you forfeit anything with the agreement you sign on your own? They surely have lawyers on their side, don't go into a fight (and it will be a fight, make no mistake) unarmed.

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There are so many angles here. How did this accident occur? Whose dog initiated this? Where did it occur? What are the State laws in Pennsylvania? What are his Med Pay limits on his home/liab policy? Were both dogs leashed at the time? Were you in a public place or on private property? Does he have an aggressive breed of dog?

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but if the other guy is not 100% liable for this incident, I'd have to find a way to pay you proportionally. Just because the guy might have admitted liability to you, does not mean he is 100% liable. Just trying to be honest about how this could be handled.

 

If it is cut and dry liability, then I'd probably offer you not much more $7500-$8000. But I'd try like hell to prove some liability on your behalf.

 

So he has no basis in the law to recover more that $5,600, and you'd offer to pay him $7,500 to $8,000.

 

Ain't no insurance company that I have worked with, for or against would do that, even in the face of absolute liability.

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So he has no basis in the law to recover more that $5,600, and you'd offer to pay him $7,500 to $8,000.

 

Ain't no insurance company that I have worked with, for or against would do that, even in the face of absolute liability.

Not trying to be greedy cause i expected to get nothing back so 5600.00 is also awesome. But what about the fact that I was bitten, have scarring and "potential" future complications? Nothing for that? just asking.

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Not trying to be greedy cause i expected to get nothing back so 5600.00 is also awesome. But what about the fact that I was bitten, have scarring and "potential" future complications? Nothing for that? just asking.

 

My apologies.

 

I didn't realize that you were injured. I shoud read more better before I post. :wacko:

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I'm not sure what a dog bite case goes for.

 

$5k maybe? :wacko:

I dont know - I read 1.5 times the damages is fair. Honestly I think thats alot and especially since I am really only hoping for my out of pockets. A little inconvenience and misery cash would be nice - but if I get my 5600, Im more than good

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I dont know - I read 1.5 times the damages is fair. Honestly I think thats alot and especially since I am really only hoping for my out of pockets. A little inconvenience and misery cash would be nice - but if I get my 5600, Im more than good

 

Well, I have quite a bit of experience evaluating personal injury cases. Typically, the assesment for non-economic damages is done independently from the calculation of economic damages. But I don't have any experience with damages at that level, so you could be right.

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Well, I have quite a bit of experience evaluating personal injury cases. Typically, the assesment for non-economic damages is done independently from the calculation of economic damages. But I don't have any experience with damages at that level, so you could be right.

cool - thanks for your input. I guess when/if I get the offer I'll bring it back here and see what you guys think

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I handle those cases and would be happy to field a PM.

 

Furd, the dog bite cases are all about the scarring. A bad scar on a kid from a proven dangerous dog could be $50k and up in my neck of the woods depending. They are not bad cases. At least you have home owners' limits (almost always 6 figures and up) versus auto limits (often minimum limits as low as $25-30k) to deal with.

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