I am the OP of this thread from over a year and a half ago, but not sure why it was restarted. Still working on that settlement (with a lawyer), haha! Multiple injuries caused by the accident.

Get a lawyer and your aches/pains will show in about a day or so. If you don't want to go thru a lawyer, go thru your insurance so you don't have to deal with headaches/hassle

If the other driver was already cited and found at fault, many people choose to go through their own insurance first just to make the process smoother. Your company can handle the claim faster and then recover the money from the other insurer later. The main thing right now is to focus on your health and make sure you document everything related to the accident and injuries.

Use their insurance and go through a lawyer if you’re injured.

Two accidents in the past couple of years, both the other guy's fault. Went through our insurance company and didn't have to pay deductible.

The other guy's insurance is going to pay in any case; your insurer will collect from them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing about getting an attorney. If you are competent to gather all of your bills and submit them you will save yourself a lot of money by not. You will pay an attorney 33-40% of your recovery. And for an accident where fault is undisputed and injuries are minor, there isn’t much to recover. Plus attorneys drag things out.

Signed, an attorney

1. personal injuries will not touch cases where liability is disputed unless there is a death or massive medical bills, so that's a non-issue.
2. lawyers will get pain and suffering damages that are generally big enough to cover their fees.
3. once treatment is finished, lawyers will settle as fast practical. They know what a case is worth and so do the insurers, neither side opens with that number. You may be able to get a faster settlement on your own, but only by leaving money on the table.

Signed, some who has done personal injury work

Then why are you forgetting about UIM coverage when talking about a $30k insurance cap.
PP here. I’ve done tons of PI work - more than 30 years. OP will get her property damage and medicals there is no lost time. There will be minimal pain and suffering. There won’t be much more, if any more with an attorney. The insurance limits could be as low as $30k which won’t cover the cost of a new vehicle. The thought of giving 1/3 to an attorney in these circumstances is absurd.

As for shifting the effort of gathering documents to the attorney, it doesn’t work that way.

In this case the biggest chunk of recovery is the property damage and you don’t want to be giving that away to someone who will spend almost no time on your case.

Anonymous wrote:This is the OP.

To be clear, I did report it to my insurance who took my statement. They were the ones that gave me the option, but their recommendation was to go through the other insurance since there was clear liability.

Since then, the other person's insurance has contacted me, has stated that they are fully liable, has set up to have my car moved to a repair shop (they let me choose so I chose the dealership I bought it at as I trust them), and has set up my rental. TBH, they've been nothing but great. Hopefully, it continues to be this easy.

Glad to hear clarification. I think they are being a bit lazy but glad the at fault company is stepping up to ensure your goodwill.

If things get complicated ascfarcas hour medical checkups let your insurance get involved.
We have State Farm. Have been rear ended, sides wiped twice, and t boned once. Different cars over 30 years. The other was at fault and they never raised our rate. Kept accident free discount even after last t boning that was pretty bad.
THEY ARE NOT THE CHEAPEST BUT ARE GOOD.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- you don’t need an attorney. You’re entitled to payment for your property and Lao any bodily injury/lost wages. Keep records.

PP is spot on

And she is entitled to a settlement, which is standard for these cases, which she will not get w/o a lawyer. And the lawyer will do all of the paperwork for her. A win win.

False. You can get a settlement without an attorney.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing about getting an attorney. If you are competent to gather all of your bills and submit them you will save yourself a lot of money by not. You will pay an attorney 33-40% of your recovery. And for an accident where fault is undisputed and injuries are minor, there isn’t much to recover. Plus attorneys drag things out.

Signed, an attorney

1. personal injuries will not touch cases where liability is disputed unless there is a death or massive medical bills, so that's a non-issue.
2. lawyers will get pain and suffering damages that are generally big enough to cover their fees.
3. once treatment is finished, lawyers will settle as fast practical. They know what a case is worth and so do the insurers, neither side opens with that number. You may be able to get a faster settlement on your own, but only by leaving money on the table.

Signed, some who has done personal injury work

PP here. I’ve done tons of PI work - more than 30 years. OP will get her property damage and medicals there is no lost time. There will be minimal pain and suffering. There won’t be much more, if any more with an attorney. The insurance limits could be as low as $30k which won’t cover the cost of a new vehicle. The thought of giving 1/3 to an attorney in these circumstances is absurd.

As for shifting the effort of gathering documents to the attorney, it doesn’t work that way.

In this case the biggest chunk of recovery is the property damage and you don’t want to be giving that away to someone who will spend almost no time on your case.

I am not a lawyer, and I negotiated a perfectly acceptable (to me) settlement when I was in an accident.

I had legitimate medical issues with legitimate bills from legitimate doctors. I got my car fixed (they were going to total), I got my medical bills reimbursed, I got my lost wages reimbursed, and I got a “pain and suffering” payment that was pretty generous. And the whole thing was over within six weeks.

A few years later, I had jury duty. It was a woman who was involved in a low-speed fender bender and apparently had worse medical issues than I had when I was t-boned at 50 mph, missed six weeks of work, and had PTSD. The jury gave her nothing.

Example: insurance offers you $10,000 to settle and sign a release when you’re handling it yourself with the at-fault driver’s insurance. Or, you work with a lawyer on a contingency fee basis (1/3 of recovery) and the lawyer gets you $30,000+. Sure you owe a legal fee but you get a much more robust and fair resolution. Do you like leaving money on the table? I guarantee the insurance carrier is not offering you full value on your own.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- you don’t need an attorney. You’re entitled to payment for your property and Lao any bodily injury/lost wages. Keep records.

PP is spot on

And she is entitled to a settlement, which is standard for these cases, which she will not get w/o a lawyer. And the lawyer will do all of the paperwork for her. A win win.

BS. I've been doing this for 25 years. She will get a settlement and not have to give a cut to the attorney, especially if the meds/lost wages/pain and suffering are low.

You have been doing what, working as a lawyer, then yes you know how to manage this yourself. The rest of us should get a lawyer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- you don’t need an attorney. You’re entitled to payment for your property and Lao any bodily injury/lost wages. Keep records.

PP is spot on

And she is entitled to a settlement, which is standard for these cases, which she will not get w/o a lawyer. And the lawyer will do all of the paperwork for her. A win win.

BS. I've been doing this for 25 years. She will get a settlement and not have to give a cut to the attorney, especially if the meds/lost wages/pain and suffering are low.

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the thing about getting an attorney. If you are competent to gather all of your bills and submit them you will save yourself a lot of money by not. You will pay an attorney 33-40% of your recovery. And for an accident where fault is undisputed and injuries are minor, there isn’t much to recover. Plus attorneys drag things out.

Signed, an attorney

1. personal injuries will not touch cases where liability is disputed unless there is a death or massive medical bills, so that's a non-issue.
2. lawyers will get pain and suffering damages that are generally big enough to cover their fees.
3. once treatment is finished, lawyers will settle as fast practical. They know what a case is worth and so do the insurers, neither side opens with that number. You may be able to get a faster settlement on your own, but only by leaving money on the table.

Signed, some who has done personal injury work