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Asked 9 months ago - Spring Hill, TN
FlagShe was a passenger in both accidents. 1st accident they were rearended, had chest contusion from airbag and neck sprain. 2 days later she was riding with another friend and her friend driving slammed into the back of a truck. Front of car smashed, windshield shattered and airbags deployed. My daughter was burned on her leg from the air bag and had upper back sprain, neck sprain and shoulder sprain, taken by ambulance to the hospital. Follow up visit to doctor ordered physical therapy 3 x a week for 3 weeks, plus muscle relaxers and inflammotories daily. She has now been released, the burn is still not healed and doctor states it could take 1-2 yrs for coloring to come back but shouldn't have major scarring. She is 16 yrs old, missed 15 cheer practices, 3 football games, pep rallies
The value of your daughter's injuries will be dictated by the values of similar cases in your local area. A lot of people want to settle their case without an attorney. Sometimes that makes sense. However, a few years back an internal insurance company memo showed that some companies pay about 10 cents on the dollar for a non-represented claimant. I'm in New York, and a scar of any kind on a 16 year old girl would have far greater value than the numbers you have presented. Tennessee might have different values. One of the top trial lawyers in the USA is in Nashville. I highly recommend a visit to http://www.seriousinjury.com . I'll bet they'd talk to you for free. Good luck.
First, I hope your daughter gets better soon. Second, your daughter has a very complicated matter that needs to be examined by a competent lawyer. The insurance companies will point fingers at each other saying your daughters problems come from the different accidents. The doctors have to understand what is happening with the two accidents so they can testify as to which accident caused which injuries. I would suggest getting a lawyer as soon as possible to protect her rights. Take all of your notes with you. Do not send any more information to the insurance companies until your lawyer tells you to. Good luck.
Not only am I a lawyer, but I'm a former insurance adjuster. One of my concerns in your case is that often folks who try to DIY their injury cases miss bills. Why? Well, just because you go to XYZ hospital, then get a bill from XYZ hospital, folks assume that that is all they will see. They don't think about the radiologist who later reads the x-rays. They don't think about the ER doctor being a sub contractor and having his own billing service. So that's my first concern for you.
My second concern is that you are not dealing with just one accident. There could be a lot going on between the two (2) accidents in which you could get effectively "caught in the cross fire". Its bad enough having to deal with one (1) accident on your own, much less two (2).
My third concern is that in Tenn. there is a really short statute of limitations for getting these cases resolved or filing suit. Your daughter being under 18 can somewhat extend that period of time, in some respects, but this is not a case you want to "DIY".
Feel free to give me a call Monday if you want to discuss the case more.
Almost guaranteed that the adjuster is giving a low settlement offer, however, you have a complex case since it involves two accidents. These are extremely difficult cases from the standpoint that you must be careful on settling one before the other. Once settled, you don't get a second chance and the other adjuster will dispute your claims by blaming it on the other accident.
I'm happy to discuss this further with you if you like. Certainly not a DIY case.
While it is difficult to evaluate a claim without all information, I can generally answer that I truly believe adjusters will always lowball unrepresented plaintiffs. Having two incidents back to back results in some level of complication in evaluating the claim. That being said, you should not resolve this claim without consulting with a qualified personal injury attorney. If a lawyer evaluates the claim and determines the offer to be appropriate, he or she would likely not take the case and simply tell you to settle. I doubt you will find that to be the case here.
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