Legal Question in Insurance Law in Indiana

my wife was rear ended on dec 8. she suffered whiplash as a result of a kid hitting her with a f-150 truck doing 60 mph. their insurance has had her to go to different doctors. each time they did xrays and not an mri. finally 2 weeks ago they did an mri and it was found she had 2 discs in her neck that are pinched. she got a shot in her neck to shrink the disc and with therapy hopefully this will do the trick. the therapist's first comment to my wife when she came in was "you should have been here 4 months ago!. Having said that leads me to my question. I am undoubtably going for pain and suffering in this case. is there a formula the insurance companies use for these kind of settlements? if so what is a logical dollar amount I can request? thank you dave hasty


Asked on 4/18/11, 10:50 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Larry Jackson Jackson Law Firm, LLC

Dave....Sorry to hear about the run around you and your wife have been getting about her medical care and condition. It is still too early to determine what a fair settlement amount will be as your wife continues to receive medical care. Once she has been released from treatment, you will want to have a permanent impairment rating assigned by a competent physician.

The settlement value is determined by evaluating several factors which include: the total cost of medical treatment, any lost wages, the degree and length of the physical and emotional suffering, and the permanent impairments with which she will suffer. There can be other factors depending on the circumstances of the particular injury.

In a case this significant, I would recommend that you and your wife seriously consider having an attorney represent you. Adjusters are paid to minimize what they give you and certainly do not have you and your wife's best interests at heart.

Please let me know if you would like to discuss this matter further. My email address is [email protected] and my mailing address is below. Best of luck moving forward.

Larry

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Answered on 4/18/11, 11:44 am


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