Originally Posted by
Fourpaw
So my wife had an accident about 2-2.5 years ago that totaled her car. She went to the chiropractor for 4-5 months for adjustments and we received monies that paid off the doctor and a small amount for the car.
The offender that hit her was a “commercial” operator for Porta-johns. They were deemed at fault. The insurance adjuster has been emailing us every few months over the last couple of years about issues getting docs from the chiropractor. They just emailed us the other day stating that they are giving up on obtaining the records and want to pay a small amount for “pain and suffering.” While I am happy about the free chunk of change, I did do my due diligence and see that it doesn’t match any algorithm for calculating pain and suffering.
So the real question is, Should we just take the unexpected money or try and haggle for something higher?
Thanks in advanced!
I'm in aviation claims, so not exactly the same. But usually the standard is use "3 times the medical bills" as a baseline for pain and suffering settlement.
Figure out what that number is, and ask for double that to give yourself negotiating room. They won't give you that but you may get more what they are offering. Of course, find out what they want to give you first, and if its a low ball, come back with your demand.
For example if you paid $10k for medicals, ask for $60k, due to all the pain and suffering. Don't be ashamed create a sob story, claims adjusters are professionals that do it for a living so they're used to the haggle.
Keep in mind there is a statute of limitations for settling a bodily injury claim. Check what it is for your state(google it). If you go past that, you're screwed because the claims guy can shut you down and you can't legally recover anymore.