Hit by a car

greenmachine0227 · February 20, 2006

What should we do?

Awhile back my sister was hit by a car while crossing the street. She was crossing at an unmarked crosswalk,at about 6 PM, but the crosswalk is well lit. Both lanes of traffic stopped as she was getting ready to cross the street, but when she got into the far lane a car started off and hit her. She survived, but broke a bone in her wrist and has been having back problems. She was forced to take vacation time to seek medical treatment. She is beginning to receive forms asking for full disclosure of medical, employment, etc. records. She doesn't seem to want to sue the insurance company, but we are trying to talk her into it. What should she be doing now? Should she be seeking leagl council? Thanks.

Asleep · February 20, 2006

...Should she be seeking leagl(sic) council? Thanks.

Absolutely. Make no disclosures to anyone, get an attorney.

greenmachine0227 · February 20, 2006

This would be the name of this section of the chat board:

Counselor's Corner

Get free legal advice on everyday problems

Doesn't getting hit by a car require legal help? I was just posting because I thought I would get opinions from others before she proceeded any further. Thanks for the other website though.

alcap26 · February 20, 2006

Def. get an attorney before you fill anything out. The insurance company might be trying to slip in some papers that prevent any legal recourse. Get an attorney.

gslabbert · February 21, 2006

Unfortunately your only recourse is to get an attorney and be prepared for a long and drawn out case which in all likelihood will settle the day you get to court (in my case right before we walked into the courtroom and after jury selection). Insurance companies are not in the insurance business they are in the MONEY MAKING business. I had to deal with this when some Word not allowedhole shot my daughter with a 30-06, just about blew her leg off. Anyway that is a story for another day, also when it comes time for your settlement keep a close eye on your attorney, as he may want to settle for to little. He too does not want to get into a long drawn out court case which takes him away from his office and revenue source. Be prpared to pay about 40% of the settlement fees to the attorney and then be prepared to pay taxes on your winnings (in some cases). We were 1099-ed and had to hire a tax accountant to write to the IRS (a few times) before we finally proved that we were not liable for the taxes.

You may want to find out what the limits of the insured policy is and write to the insurance company and settle for that, with the understanding that this is a one time offer and DO get an attorney to write that letter.

arkstorm · March 7, 2006

This is taking me back a while (to the bar exam)...but if I'm not mistaken, you only pay Federal Income Tax on punitive damages. Compensatory damages are not included in gross income. What was the mix up in your case?

BJL · March 12, 2006

Awhile back my sister was hit by a car while crossing the street. She was crossing at an unmarked crosswalk,at about 6 PM, but the crosswalk is well lit. Both lanes of traffic stopped as she was getting ready to cross the street, but when she got into the far lane a car started off and hit her. She survived, but broke a bone in her wrist and has been having back problems. She was forced to take vacation time to seek medical treatment. She is beginning to receive forms asking for full disclosure of medical, employment, etc. records. She doesn't seem to want to sue the insurance company, but we are trying to talk her into it. What should she be doing now? Should she be seeking leagl council? Thanks.

Yes, get a lawyer. A lawyer should not charge you for the first consult. If you do not want to expend funds to pay a lawyer on an hourly basis, work out a contingency fee arrangement. Do not give the lawyer any more than one-third of the net recovery.

BJL