Legal Question in Personal Injury in Pennsylvania

Re: Looking for an answer on a personal injury claim

There are two problems with answering your specific question at this point. First, you have not said whether your insurance is "full tort." Your injuries may warrant a third party (pain and suffering) claim even if you have "limited tort," but it is important to know which type of coverage you have.

Secondly, from what you describe it sounds as if it is too early to value your claim. The amount of time off work, course and completeness of your recovery, inconvenience, effect on your family--all of these factors are yet to be determined.

An attorney with experience in personal injury cases can negotiate on your behalf. In addition to knowing how insurance companies have valued other cases, an attorney has ability to back up a settlement demand with a credible threat of filing a lawsuit.

This is general information for discussion purposes. We would need to have an attorney-client relationship for me to give legal advice.

Re: Looking for an answer on a personal injury claim

Well the problem may not be how much is the pain and suffering worth, but how much is the insurance limit on the person who hit you.

The problem is that when you have a serious injury like yours and someone who has little insurance the insurance company only has to offer you the policy limits of the person who hit you. That is to say, if the person who hit you only has a policy limit of 50,000 and the insurance company pays for your hospital bills (lets say for example 30,000) and for damage to your car (say 10,000) they only could give you 10,000 for your pain and suffering. Your really need to find out what the policy limits are for the person who hit you. But, chances are the insurance company isn't going to tell you.

Now, this doesn't mean that you can't recover more, but you generally have to sue the person who hit you and recover the money from them, not the insurance company. And if the person who hit is poor, or has no assets, you will probably be stuck with the policy limits of the insurance.

But, back to your question. How much should you get? You should at least get the policy limits of the person who hit you.

But, I don't think anyone can accurately answer your question without knowing all the details of the people involved and what the levels of insurance everyone is carrying. Also it depends on the insurance company itself. If you are dealing with Allstate or State Farm you are going to low-balled. These two companys fight all claims very hard. An insurance company adjuster is being paid to keep your claim the lowest possible even though the person it insured is completely at fault. And this is why it usually takes an attorney to make them pay their fair share. Even if you pay an attorney 1/3 of the amount recovered you can still be ahead if you attorney gets you 90,000 rather than the 50,000 offered by the insurance company.

If you have an attorney discuss this with him or her. If you don't have an attorney consider talking with an attorney. Most give free consultations. Remember you only have two years from the time of the accident to file suit.

I hope this helps. If you need any further explanation of what I wrote feel free to call me.

Sincerely,

Re: Looking for an answer on a personal injury claim

It is virtually impossible to answer the question you pose without talking with you in person, looking at the medical records and police report. It would be irresponsible and negligent for me to do so. If you would like to discuss you case with us, please give me a call. Once we talk and review your case, we should be able to answer your question.

Ted Hoppe

(610) 892-7777