Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
Settlrment determined by softwear program for auto caused PI???
Lady friend was rear ended at stoplight by unaware.. ( read no application of brakes)driver. Now insurance company states thy are only obligated to pay settlement based on computer softwear program that ties amount of damage to car as deciding factor in settlement. Lady that was rear ended was looking for work after returning from Oregon, where shad been living and working. The injury sustained by this rear end collision caused her to be unable to work for over 1.5 years along with $17,800.00 of medical expenses at chiropractor. To be fair, should recieve lost wages... medical expenses+ additional monies for pain and suffering... Insureds co claims they are only paying$7,500.00 as she in her Saturn only had $300.00 in damage to her car.. Insureds car had substantial damage. ?????????Thanks--name removed--
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Settlrment determined by softwear program for auto caused PI???
There is software out there that some companies use. It has a lot of flaws and problems. If your friend has $18K with a DC and $300.00 in P.D., she'll have a lot of problems settling her case. Who let the DC run up such a huge bill with no controls or boundaries? Your friend should look for an atty in the city/county where the accident occured.
Re: Settlrment determined by softwear program for auto caused PI???
If your friend has delayed for more than 1.5 years since the accident, and she has not filed a lawsuit or retained a lawyer, she may well get ZERO, especially if she does not file a lawsuit in the proper court within two years of the date of the accident -- she will have blown the California statute of limitations. At that point, she will no longer have a right to receive any compensation, and the insurance company will laugh at her. Even if she hires a lawyer in time to file a lawsuit within the limitations period, after 1.5 years it is much more difficult to do a successful lawsuit. But she had better get a lawyer ASAP as there is no guarantee, even if she were to accept the insurance company's low-ball offer, that they would pay her before the time ran out.
Re: Settlrment determined by softwear program for auto caused PI???
Your friend will have an uphill battle in this case. Granted, that evaluation of individual's injury case using a computer software is wrong in and of itself, nevertheless, $300.00 damage to the car with $17K+ in chiro care without actual MD (ortho/neuro) invlovement, including MRIs and/or CT scans is highly questionable.
If all those things have been done, then your friend will need a very good biomechanics expert to connect the forces to the injury, in addition to strong medical expert to opine on the mechanics of the injury.
Tell your friend to go see a PI lawyer in her area.
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