Advice for a best friend getting a settlement

[Pstar1978]

One of my best friends was in a hit and run auto accident back in May. He was t boned on the drivers side and had torn cartilage in his left shoulder. The driver of the car left the scene and was later arrested with a very high blood alcohol level. The driver's car was not his and the owner's insurance covered the damages to my friends car. He had to have surgery to get his shoulder back to over 75% strength after therapy couldn't do it. Now he's looking at a 5 figure of a settlement but I'm seeing what you guys would recommend he do with his settlement? He currently lives with his dad for 400 bucks a month. His dad is elderly and is very demanding. My friends vehicle is a 2009 Malibu and is a little small for a 6 foot 5 guy. He doesn't have any retirement savings at the moment and he lost his job due to the accident. He has a chance of getting rehired where he got let go from. He's getting his wages through no fault at the moment and will be getting them until he's cleared to go back to work. As anyone who's about to get a settlement, he's got everyone telling him what he should do with it and I'm looking for advice for him. Thank you in advance, Steve.

[golfandfishing]

5 figures does not sound like enough to be honest. His lawyer is doing him a disservice - hit by a drunk driver, who left the scene while driving someone else’s car. He could own the drunk driver for life and if he had consent from the car owner to be driving - own him also. He needs a better lawyer first.

[GHIN n Juice]

5 figures does not sound like enough to be honest. His lawyer is doing him a disservice - hit by a drunk driver, who left the scene while driving someone else’s car. He could own the drunk driver for life and if he had consent from the car owner to be driving - own him also. He needs a better lawyer first.

 

A bit hasty to judgement considering you don’t know which state, or country, this occurred in. Civil remedies vary from state to state and then there’s always the problem of actually getting the money.

 

OP, your friend needs to address his long term and short term needs. Depending on how much he actually pockets he might be able to get a new vehicle and start a retirement savings account. He should probably get with a financial advisor to maximize his settlement.

[GDTBATH]

As a PI lawyer, my best advice is find a good one. Yes, lawyers take a cut, but they can help you maximize what you get in your jurisdiction, help you avoid technical traps and possibly find sources of coverage you might miss as a layperson. You aren’t hiring one to sue (though certainly make sure the one you hire litigates, if necessary), rather you’re hiring one to guide you through what has become an extremely complicated process. Good luck. Hate to hear of this misfortune.

[GHIN n Juice]

As a PI lawyer, my best advice is find a good one. Yes, lawyers take a cut, but they can help you maximize what you get in your jurisdiction, help you avoid technical traps and possibly find sources of coverage you might miss as a layperson. You aren’t hiring one to sue (though certainly make sure the one you hire litigates, if necessary), rather you’re hiring one to guide you through what has become an extremely complicated process. Good luck. Hate to hear of this misfortune.

 

I agree. I’m an attorney in one of the most business/ insurance friendly states in the nation. There are no punitive damages in my state and insurance payouts are capped. In this guy’s situation he’d probably recover the depreciated value of the vehicle, if totaled, and a pain and suffering payment for 25% loss of the use of his shoulder. And that 25% could be reduced if he had any previous damage to the shoulder that left him with less than 100% function at the time of the accident. It gets even worse if it cannot be determined if the shouler damage was the result of the accident or a prexisting condition. A 5 figure settlement could be the best case scenario.

[Pstar1978]

Thank you everyone so far. His car has been repaired by the owners insurance which was around 4k if I'm not mistaken. He hired an attorney which is highly reputable. Also his settlement is capped per the owners insurance company but he thought per his attorney that he was looking at 6 figures.