Legal Question in Personal Injury in Ohio
Settlement between injured parties
I was in a car accident last year. There were four in our car: my husband, myself, my brother-in-law, and his wife. We were hit head-on by an elderly man with dementia going the wrong way on the highway. My husband was killed in the accident, as well as the other driver. Me, my brother-in-law, and his wife suffered serious injuries. We have all recovered, but there will undoubtedly be permanent effects.
My brother & sister-in-law's medical bills amount to approximately $115,000 (63k & 47k respectively). Mine are approx. 37k. The policy is a typical 300/100. The first 100k is going to my late husband's estate. The remaining 200k can now be split between the three of us. They (in-laws) believe that we should each be awarded the amount of our medical bills, then split the remainder three ways. Only my injuries were life-threatening and only I was in intensive care at the hospital - although they did suffer serious injuries, too. I'm not sure if I feel the split is fair to me. What would be a fair basis for the split?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Settlement between injured parties
You do not state whether you or the others are represented by an attorney, or separate attorneys. You are at a disadvantage in dealing with evaluation of your injuries and sources of recovery, without competent legal counsel.
Several issues are raised by your question: 1) you may be required to pay back your medical insurance company, and that amount may be negotiable; 2) the 100 thousand should not go through your husband's estate, but rather to you as next of kin; 3) other sources of recovery need to be pursued, such as your underinsured motorist coverage (if any), and possible other assets of the person who hit you, as well as general liability policies.
There is an obvious conflict of interest between you and your brother/sister-in-law on the issue of division of the insurance proceeds. There is no rule of thumb to determine "fairness", as this will be determined case-by-case. Your attorney should do a complete workup of your damages in order to advise you on this. If you do not have an attorney, I urge you to consult with one as soon possible.
Best of luck,
Re: Settlement between injured parties
If you do not have an attorney, you should seriously consider retaining one. That said, it needs to be determined if there is alternate or secondary coverage to the primary policy. Also, it sounds as though the extent and severity of your injuries/damages may need considerable compensation, greater then what your "split" would be. Apperently it must not seem fair if you have to ask the question.
I suggest you speak with your attorney if you have one, if not GET ONE.
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