[Fish007STi]

I was hit by a drunk on new years, you can see my previous few posts for pics. Well, its been a month and I have my STi back now. The alignment is a little off but other than that im happy with it. Progressive wants to compensate me for my injurys, pain & suffering etc. I'm Military so I didnt have to pay any medical bills so thats not included. My question is, How much should I be asking for?

My girlfriend and I were pretty much unharmed (thanks subaru for designing an awesome B-pillar). I was taken to the hospital because i had trouble breathing at the time. Turned out to be just bruised ribs, plus I had some glass in my face which caused a few small cuts. None of which needed stitches. So for the pain and suffering, and making my life miserable for the last month how much should I be compensated. Of course I want the most I can get, but i have no idea how much to ask for. Oh yeah, and btw it was a hit and run. The police are still tracking the guy down, so I have no idea if he has insurance or not.

[BAD STI]

Talk to a lawyer and milk it for as much as you can. Think of it this way your car will never be the same again... You need to make that ****er pay for that.... Oh and almost as important is the fact that he almost killed you and your girl.

[olderthanold]

depends if u took out a SUM (supplemental uninsured motorist) that usually pays for hit and run upto your coverage limit. 25k+ per person per incident. see what they would settle for and if thats not enough ask for more and speak to a lawyer

[Fish007STi]

Thanks for the heads up on the SUM. I had no idea about that. I know that progressive IS going ahead with the claim as an uninsured motorist claim, until the guy is actually caught. I DO have uninsured motorist coverage. So does this mean I automatically qualify for a 25k check?

edit: just check my progressive policy coverage. I have $100,000 limit per person / $300,000 per accident (bodily injury) and up to $100,000 property damage. now........ how much should I be asking for? hmmmmm........

[swr999]

Just one word: LAWYER.
Seriously (well, I was serious), don't agree to anything until you see a lawyer. You want a good lawyer on your team.
I'm sure Progressive has some good ones on theirs.
It's nice to be nice, but you should get some good professional legal advice. Good luck!

[Popsmear]

Also, dont post about how much you were or were not hurt on a web forum.

[waynlewis]

^^ Lawyer up, it's your best bet!!!

[Kilya]

Yeah lawyer up! They normally don't charge you anything up front but do take a nice chunk of what you do get.

So unless progressive is offering you a buttload at the start get some legal advice.

[STI Sibb]

Just a practical note here:

Before you turn in anything, wait a month or 2 since the time of the incident to make sure there are no health issues with you or your girlfriend which are related to the crash. You may be covered with military care, but is she covered too? You don't want to finalize the claim until you are sure you and your gf are in good health. Joint problems when you are young do not get better with age. I have a cousin that banged his knee in a wreck. 3 years later, he may need knee replacement. He certainly did not consider knee replacement within the first few weeks of the accident.

As for pain and suffering, that's a judgement call. I would seek legal counsel to determine what is an acceptable amount and how to figure it up. I would not shoot for the moon and hope to score big in other words just out of principle.

Btw, if lawyers get involved, you can expect a long process that could extend up to 3 years before you see any payment. Also, expect a good amount of that money to go to the lawyer.

[swr999]

Originally Posted by STI Sibb

...Btw, if lawyers get involved, you can expect a long process that could extend up to 3 years before you see any payment. Also, expect a good amount of that money to go to the lawyer.

I went through something similar some years back. Based on my experience I think you might expect the process (lawyer arrives at a settlement with ins co) to take 4-5 months. The lawyer doesn't want things to drag out excessively either. I think the lawyer took 30% off the top of my settlement. I think that's pretty standard. YMMV... I believe a lawyer can work out a better deal for you than you could alone, even considering his take.