Home > Research Legal Advice > Personal Injury > I had a car accident with the other person at fault.
Asked 4 months ago - Odenville, AL
FlagThey ran a stop sign and messed my neck up real bad. I had to go immediately to the hospital from the scene and had open neck surgery, 2 lvls with plates and screws. My neck is not doing well after surgery and can't do alot of the stuff I used to do. I'm very depressed and scared. I'm 35 yrs old and have my whole life ahead of me and that life is now looking grim for me and my husband. I think they have only 25k policy and I was told that 25k will be all I get for the rest of my life with me in agony. Is that true about only getting 25k or is there something some1 is not telling me? I would Please like to know since i'm hurting and probably hurting or misshaped for the rest of my life with only 25k with lawyer taking 33%. Please help. I would be in your debt:) Ty v much!
It really depends if the other driver was working at the time or may have been drunk. If not, the issue becomes do you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. It also matters if anyone else in your household had a car with underinsured motorist. Feel free to call me at any time. 256-534-3435 or 1-800-752-1998
Typically you are limited to the amount of coverage for the person who hit you. Did you carry uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage? This would give you another level of coverage for situations like this. Another option would be to sue the person who hit you personally but this is typically not worth your time.
This is why it's important for people to carry a high level of uninsured /underinsured coverage, in case they get seriously injured by some clown with low coverage. Part of your attorney's job is to investigate all potential sources of recovery, so if s/he is telling you $25k is all that's available, that's not a good sign. Sit down with your lawyer and get a full explanation. If that's all there is, it's unfortunate, but you may have no alternative
If you have not settled already you could proceed with litigation and depending on the facts and timing you could potentially attempt to recover the assets of the person who caused the accident. My guess is that you lawyer already explored collection against anyone beyond the insurance and was not encouraged, the low limits is an indicator the party may not have funds to pay a judgment.
Under-insured motorist coverage is sold for this very situation.
As your lawyer to see if there are any other avenues for collection. You may be eligible for Social Security Disability.
Good luck.
Unfortunately, we see this all the time. If the other party only had a 25k policy, you can either settle for that policy, or you can try the case and obtain a judgment against the other party, which you can then enforce against the other party's assets and salary. That judgment can be wiped out though in Bankruptcy unless the other party was intoxicated at the time time of the accident.
If your attorney does not want to go to trial to get a possibly collectible judgment, you may have to switch attorneys.
Was the person who hit you on the job? The company could be sued if this is the case. Does the person have assets? If so, don't settle the case and don't sign the release, take it to court. Also, whenever anyone retains a personal injury lawyer, they should get one with a low contingency fee, less than 30% with no costs deducted from you, so you are left with the lion's share of the settlement, not your lawyer.
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