Hit broadside by a cage

[daddyfriedrich]

Son in law got broadsided last night. Tibia and fibula broken, heel damaged and dislocated. Surgery went well today, looking at six weeks minumum crutch time, yada yada. Anyone here know what might be accomplished through a lawsuit against the driver?

 

[noobinacan]

sorry to hear man...prayers sent for pain relief and speedy recovery.

 

[Highyellow1]

No info on the lawsuit but good luck with recovery.

 

[benw]

Lawyer up. Your insurance company will respond much quicker with all your medical needs. This is going to be a long recovery. It took a year for me to start feeling normal and two years later another surgery. Find a lawyer from a referral, not the phone book. Lost wages and pain and suffering are not going to be offered without a lawyer.

 

[Jay305]

benw;221087 wrote: Lawyer up. Your insurance company will respond much quicker with all your medical needs. This is going to be a long recovery. It took a year for me to start feeling normal and two years later another surgery. Find a lawyer from a referral, not the phone book. Lost wages and pain and suffering are not going to be offered without a lawyer.

Good advice, this will be a long recovery so just concentrate on recovery and rehab. Get a good orthopedic doctor and yes set up a meeting with a personal injury lawyer. I was able to negotiate a 16% commission on my settlement but that was over a year after my accident,surgery and rehab was all wrapped up. Fortunately the parties involved had $100K of insurance per incident.

 

[benw]

Not trying to hijack this post but a wake up call to max your insurance. The insured driver may have 100K. Flight to shock trauma 11-15K. 1 week shock trauma w/surgery 50-100K. 3 months rehab hospital 45K. Home rehab 3K.
Go for 300K insurance and add a homeowners umbrella policy. That way when you max out the insured cager mistake you can fall back on your insurance. Then the insurance company will go after the insured assets.
Falling off at the track is much less expensive than all the 'hard-stuff' you meet on the street.
Here's to a speedy recovery brother. He's going to need the ice-machine pump and the oxycodene.

 

[HokieRider]

Big Daddy, sorry to hear it man. I'll be around on the weekend if you guys need anything.

 

[rk97]

daddyfriedrich;221081 wrote: Son in law got broadsided last night. Tibia and fibula broken, heel damaged and dislocated. Surgery went well today, looking at six weeks minumum crutch time, yada yada. Anyone here know what might be accomplished through a lawsuit against the driver?

What do you WANT to accomplish? Attorneys work for YOU and must abide by your decisions. There's an inherent conflict of interest when your insurance company is the one paying "your" attorney, and although laws vary by state, the victim is the "primary" client. Don't let the insurance company tell you otherwise.


If the driver was ruled at fault and cited by police for a traffic violation, then the driver's insurance company (assuming he or she is insured) should be relatively happy to settle for medical expenses, or at the policy limit.

I would consult a personal injury lawyer and look into compensation for the damage to the bike, and any lost income from time off work for his injuries. I think your son-in-law is legitimately entitled to both. (on top of having 100% of his medical expenses covered)

You can certainly sue for more, and if you find an attorney who wants to work on a contingent fee basis, they'll find 10 other things to sue for, including pain and suffering, loss of consortium with family/friends, and all sorts of other "bs" claims to scare and intimidate the driver and his or her insurance co. Depending on how far you take it, your son-in-law may or may not be entitled to all that (minus the 30% the attorney will want if you settle, or 40% if it goes to trial).


The reality is that juries have started to get pretty fed-up with what they view as excessive damage claims, and (at least in Ohio) the insurance company's offer often exceeds what juries are willing to award for damages. That doesn't mean you don't still want an attorney on your side to protect your rights.

You can check the docket in your area to see what juries are awarding in similar accidents. Compare that to what the insurance company comes back with (your attorney should be smart enough to do this for you...), and you can determine whether or not it's worth fighting for X months and $x,xxx to potentially be awarded less money.


(the above information should not be construed as "legal advice," or the practice of law. I am not a licensed attorney. That is why the first thing you should do is consult someone who IS.)

 

[rk97]

p.s. - your son in law will be getting a lot of mail from PI lawyers over the next couple weeks. Do your own research. Like someone else said, if you can find a referral, great. If not, you can consult your local bar association for attorneys with good reputations in the community.

 

[cooker1]

1-800 on- a-bike attorneys who handle motorcycle injuries !

 

[dbakerpa]

Make sure you lawyer up. The heel will be a lifetime problem.

 

[rk97]

I strongly suspect that's basically a directory that PI attorneys pay to be listed in. They may ride, which is cool, but don't assume they are more qualified simply because they deal with motorcycles a lot. The injuries and loss of wages are the big money issues. The fact that a bike was involved is less important.

...but I may look into working for those guys some day. Help some friends if I'm lucky (and they're not).

 

[barry38]

Get a lawyer. Dont' talk to anyone until you do. I was hit by a car on my bicycle 3 years ago. Over $80k in medical, lost wages, property damage. Woman who hit me was uninsured. My lawyer made sure I didn't get screwed in the process.

 

[PJZOCC624]

Man, sorry to hear this. Prayers and good vibes sent for a speedy recovery!

As others have said, definitely get a lawyer, and don't negotiate or even talk with their insurance company on anything. Good luck, bud.

 

[JerryC]

Sorry to hear that, prayers sent!

 

[tdhughes]

We have a mutual friend that may offer you guidance if you ask him - if he is not already involved. I would trust his guidance and especially his info on damage awards more than any other resource that might be available.