Do we accept the insurance offer to cover medical bills and $2500.00 for pain and suffering but the Medical bills were about $8,000-10,000?

The case is worth much more than that. The insurance company is not concerned because you do not have a lawyer. Get a lawyer and sue the daylights out of them.

The value of Pain and suffering is a subjective thing. The bottom line is its amount is what a jury would render as a verdict for your daughter's pain and suffering if you were to go to trial on the case. You need to check what kind of jury verdicts are being rendered in your jurisdiction. A local attorney could give you an opinion on this figure. Each jurisdiction is comprised of different thinking folks. Some are liberal (they give big verdicts) other are very conservative (they are stingy). An insurance company will always, and I mean always, low ball this figure. What they initially determine is not necessarily the true value.

The offer sounds low, please feel free to contact my office or another attorney to discuss further.

Before accepting the insurance company's settlement offer, you should have the claim evaluated by an experienced personal injury attorney. Remember, once you settle with the insurance company, there is no going back for more later.

Based on the facts you have relayed, $2,500 is probably too low. You can usually get the amount of medical bills, or sometimes a multiple of 2 or three, depending on the circumstances, extent of injuries, treatments required, disability, lost wages, etc. Your daughter should hire a good personal injury attorney to make a claim against the other driver and file a lawsuit if necessary.

That is really a difficult, if not impossible question to answer. Each case is different and each set of injuries are different. My first impression is that the offer is too low and you should talk with a lawyer familiar with Alabama accident law. Good luck.

$2,500 is a bit low. But that is up to you whether to accept or ultimately take it to trial and possible judgment. Pain and suffering damages vary depending on the person's age, the actual severity of the injury and whether you're likely to have future pain and suffering. If there is a dispute about torn rotator cuff but excellent healing, no surgery and just physical therapy and a sling I've seen a jury award $30,000 in such a case with no future pain and suffering and in another $10,000.

In your particular case, your daughter may be able to recover more in damages because she was precluded from joining the national guard as a result of your injuries. The negligence of the other driver has barred your daughter from pursuing a particular career path and if not for the other party's negligence, your daughter would be doing just that. The military reserves the right to issue a Permanent Medical Disqualification to applicants that have had current and past injuries or medical conditions that could negatively affect their service. These disqualifications may only be disregarded if the applicant gets a waiver. If your daughter's injuries resulted in a PMD, and she is not at fault, there is a chance she can recover more. In addition, there is a chance more money in pain and suffering is appropriate.

Without reviewing medical reports, it's hard to say, but it is certainly true that in recent years insurance companies have been making extremely low settlement offers. If you accept the offer (or negotiate a better offer), don't feel that you must pay 100% of the medical bills. Most medical care providers will accept substantially less than the initial billing.

Evaluating personal injury damages is complex and an adequate job cannot be done based on an email statement of facts. Below are some things to consider. I am often asked by individuals who have been injured in an accident to give an opinion as to what would be a fair settlement in their case. Often, they give me a brief description of their injury, such as, I suffered two broken ribs, or I am now suffering back pain , or I hurt my leg and had to have surgery and give no further details. I cannot possibly give an opinion as to the value of their case without more information. I find myself repeating over and over some of the information set out below. The information below is an attempt to shed some light on what an accident injury victim should consider in determining a fair settlement. However, presenting damages to an insurance adjuster, and ultimately to a jury, is an advanced and complicated task. It not adequate to simply say I'm hurt , describe your injury, and then hold out your hand and ask for money. I have practiced law since 1985, and still attend seminars and read books on the subject of presenting personal injury damage claims to juries. The information below will not be enough to make you a personal injury attorney, but hopefully will enlighten you regarding some factors that should be considered on evaluating your claim. Maximum Medical Improvment First, one needs to understand the concept of Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). MMI is the point at which the condition of an injured person is stabilized. No further recovery or improvement is expected even with additional medical intervention. Basically, a condition is at maximum medical improvement if it is not believed that the condition will change or progress. In laymen's terms, this is often referred to a being released by the doctor . This term is most often used in the context of a worker's compensation claim. An inquired employee usually receives temporary benefits until reaching maximum medical improvement. However, it also has significance in general personal injury cases. Insurers for at fault drivers, manufacturers of unsafe products, owners and operators of unsafe premises, and doctors guilty of malpractice do not normally make incremental payments as medical bills and lost wages are incurred. Rather, these insurers normally settle claims with one payments, which represents the final settlement. For this reason, the accident victim must have evidence of all past and future damages to present to the adjuster. This means it is premature to begin evaluating your claim before you reach MMI because you do not yet know how much your medical bills will be, nor do you know how severe the injury will ultimately be - which is the main factor in damages for pain and suffering until after you have reached MMI. After you have reached MMI, four basic factors that should be considered in evaluating your case are 1) special damages, also known as tangible damages, 2) severity of the injury, 3) duration of the injury, and 4) insurance coverage. Special Damages Special damages which are also sometimes called tangible damages include the cost of medical treatment (medical bills) and lost wages. Special damages are somewhat objective and easily ascertainable. You simply add up your medical bills and determine what wages you would have earned had you not been out of work due to your injury. The insurance adjuster or opposing attorney may quibble over some of your numbers, claiming that you have been overcharged by your doctor, or that some medical procedures that you are including in damages were not caused by the accident. The adjuster or opposing attorney may argue that you missed more work than was required based on your injury. Nonetheless, both sides can at least agree that you were actually billed x number of dollars by medical provides, and that you would have earned x dollars had you been at work. A personal inju

Without counsel that is all they are going to offer but I would demand double the medical bills.

On first glance I would think not but would need the details to form an opinion of give firm advice.

It is impossible to provide a proper evaluation of your question based upon this limited amount of information. One rule of thumb is to remember that the insurance company is not telling you everything you need to know to make an appropriate settlement decision. There are many questions that remain unresolved here, such as (1) are there any medical liens. (2) Does your daughter need additional treatment. (3) Will your daughter be restricted in her future abilities to work.

That is a reasonable settlement; however, the time for healing should be considered.

If the medical bills were in the range 8 to 10 you ought to get more consideration for pain and suffering. Have you had the advice of counsel or re you relying on the insuran ce co the co will crook you every time if they can.

When an injury prevents a client from taking a job or pursuing a career path (i.e. not being able to join the army reserves in your daughter's case) we believe that is worth more compensation that someone else who was inconvenienced. I do not have all the facts of your daughter's case, so I can't tell you what is fair or not.