Legal Question in Personal Injury in Virginia

Re: Auto Accident Settlement

Do not even think of doing this yourself. You were seriously injured, and there are complicating factors making settlement more difficult. An attorney will likely charge a contingent fee of 1/3 of any recovery, but the insurance company will likely offer you far less if you don't have a lawyer and thus (1) lack the ability to sue if you don't reach a settlement and (2) lack the knowledge and experience necessary to fairly evaluate your claim. It is impossible to put a number on your claim with the information provided, by the way - even a ballpark estimate.

Re: Auto Accident Settlement

If I were the insurance company, I would offer you 0 since you do not know how to make them pay if they do not settle. You say you had surgery last June? What have you been doing since the date of the accident? You only have (or had) two years to sue. Why didn't you consult a lawyer right away, have you not consulted a lawyer yet? Your delay has already hurt the settlement value of your case. Probably you have made many mistakes -- such as giving statements or signing papers given to you by the insurance company -- which would decimate or completely wipe-out the value of your claim. Do you have some idea that lawyers don't earn the fees they charge? Or that all it takes is a phone call to the insurance company and they will send you a big check? This bulletin board is littered with the human wreckage of people who thought they could handle their own injury claims and wound up with 0 (and had to pay their own medical bills to boot). Please don't you be one of them.