Legal pi question

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
219
I have a general question on a personal injury case that I’m in.
I wanna make up a hypothetical

If the policy limit is 500,000 total and I have medical bills of 70,000
Another has medical 300,000
How is the money divided up?

What I’m wondering about is pain and suffering for me?

Do the medical bills get paid in full first?
Who decides?

Thanks
 
Good question and I have no clue but wanted to say that states have different liability and insurance laws. So not sure if there is a general answer.
You should talk to an injury attorney in your state. Unless there is one in here but you don't say your state.
 
Silly me thought of the irrational number Pi first.

I'm not a lawyer, but speculate that the remaining monies might be awarded on a pro rata basis, with medical costs being considered a good proxy for pain and suffering.

But that is only speculation on my part; you need a legal advocate.

Good luck however it goes!
 
too generic a question for a good answer that has many variables.
Since you are in a lawsuit your lawyer should have good advice for you.
Legal advice here is worth what you paid for it.
 
Silly me thought of the irrational number Pi first.

I'm not a lawyer, but speculate that the remaining monies might be awarded on a pro rata basis, with medical costs being considered a good proxy for pain and suffering.

But that is only speculation on my part; you need a legal advocate.

Good luck however it goes!
It all depends on state law and the injuries. The adjuster will collect all the medical bills and address attorney demands depending on the severity of the impact. A demand from an attorney that has excessive or unecessay treatments usually goes to higher level BI adjusters. In some states its pro rata others are firstcome first serve. Also remember that the attorney gets 1/3 of the TOTAL settlement. Medical providers and medicare/aid will put lies on the settlement also. So lets say you are injured and get treated at the hospital. The attorney negotiates a 15K settlement. They get 5K right off the bat, lets say you have 8k in medical bills the lien gets satisfier the balance goes to you 2K. The more parties involve the more complex it gets. I cant give real world cases because I can lose my adjuster license, in the end the one who makes the most is the attorney. Im not a BI adjuster, but I have been deposed as an expert witness on impact severity, and have been a licensed adjuster/appraiser since 07.
 
Good question and I have no clue but wanted to say that states have different liability and insurance laws. So not sure if there is a general answer.
You should talk to an injury attorney in your state. Unless there is one in here but you don't say your state.
A few reasons (I’m just 40 days into this.(
After icu 4 days until internal bleeding stopped I went home and for 30 days I was torn up
Just going to the bathroom was exhausting
I thought after 30 days I would be back perfect. I’m not looking for anything but fair.
I started reading reviews of lawyers and saw quite a few bad reviews
“After the lawyer got his cut I didn’t even have enough to pay all my medical”
The insurance offered me a very very good pay out on the car, A lot more than I paid for it that saved me 3000 in fees.
I figured I would see if I got a good fair offer
I can still get a lawyer but if I’m capped at 20,000 why pay?
The last time I had a lawyer involved his “expenses got to be 20,000 off the top before his 33%
 
Last edited:
It all depends on state law and the injuries. The adjuster will collect all the medical bills and address attorney demands depending on the severity of the impact. A demand from an attorney that has excessive or unecessay treatments usually goes to higher level BI adjusters. In some states its pro rata others are firstcome first serve. Also remember that the attorney gets 1/3 of the TOTAL settlement. Medical providers and medicare/aid will put lies on the settlement also. So lets say you are injured and get treated at the hospital. The attorney negotiates a 15K settlement. They get 5K right off the bat, lets say you have 8k in medical bills the lien gets satisfier the balance goes to you 2K. The more parties involve the more complex it gets. I cant give real world cases because I can lose my adjuster license, in the end the one who makes the most is the attorney.
Thanks!
I get it and I hope you see my post above about expenses off the top that totaled another 15%
 
Asking a lawyer, at a free consultation, gives you an idea what is possible (probable), without an obligation to hire that lawyer and give him/her a cut, but at the same time, they should be telling you what they can do that earns their keep.

If the case is open and shut then you'd want to consider the insurance company settlement offer and make a counteroffer. Too many details missing, remaining unresolved.
 
Thanks!
I get it and I hope you see my post above about expenses off the top that totaled another 15%
With out knowing the state youre in the policy limits, if you have med pay or pip on you policy I cannot answer, I also cannot give you any legal advice. You may want to consult a real injury attorney (not one that advertises on late night tv or on billboards)
 
Ask for the sun, moon and stars, fight a long time, eventually settle for what you think is not worth it. About how those usually go??
 
No problem
Thanks
I’ve only started thinking this way since the fluid complication
 
It seemed like it was going to be a lot simpler but now I’m wondering maybe I should talk to some people
 
Silly me thought of the irrational number Pi first.

I'm not a lawyer, but speculate that the remaining monies might be awarded on a pro rata basis, with medical costs being considered a good proxy for pain and suffering.

But that is only speculation on my part; you need a legal advocate.

Good luck however it goes!
Yeah I thought 3.141592 as well.
 
Last edited:
My wife works in a PI firm. They get calls every day from people asking about their situation and one of their lawyers talks to potential new clients. Call around and discuss your case with a few lawyers that specialize in PI and see what they say.
 
What do you mean HOW is it divided up? What's to be divided? You get $70K. The other person gets $300K.
It may not be that simple. It seems possible that whoever files the suit first, their medical bills, plus pain and suffering, are awards against the defendant that the insurance company has to pay.

Whether that exceeds the insurance max or not, there is liability for that full amount and not a situation of, "let's wait and see what some future lawsuit" (by the other party) pans out to be and try to do some math. IMO, that's not how it works, if there is a judgement for X amount, and the insurance company pays it, that counts against the total and if a subsequent lawsuit by another party results in a judgement that exceeds the max payout amount remaining after the first suit, the 2nd party could be SOL because the defendant has insufficient assets to pay the remainder.

I suppose it's a way of saying the early bird gets the worm. Again I Could Be Wrong.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top