Last March I was in an accident that totaled both vehicles. A young woman driving her parents' SUV came out of a side street with a stop sign and hit me as I drove down a main road with no stop sign. She got out of her vehicle saying, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault." Her (parents') insurance company has admitted fault.
My young son was in the car with me and I had to go to the walk-in clinic to get my finger x-rayed, but we were both mostly okay, as was the woman who hit us.
We have long since replaced our van with the cash our insurance company gave us and now, finally, her (parents') car insurance company has sent me a settlement letter. They are offering to pay only $800 of the $1100 clinic bill and give me $600 cash.
Obviously, I want them to pay the whole medical bill (which my insurance company paid but needs to be reimbursed for). But in my research it looks like they are also lowballing the amount they're offering to give me. From what I'm reading, it's normally anywhere from 1.5 to 5 times the amount of any medical bills.
Does anyone know if this is correct? I'm mostly fine, my son still talks about it but seems fine, and replacing the van was a major PITA but not the end of the world in the scheme of things, so I'm not looking to take them to the cleaners. However, if it's usual for the injured party to get more money, I certainly would like it.
I've had a few people tell me I should get an attorney, but I'm not really sure that's necessary.