FML, DEPRESSED. Got rear ended.
08-09-2012, 01:55 PM
#26
Insurance companies have all the money in the world. They do not take anything personally. They process claims like clockwork.
Property damage can be negotiated by the vehicle owner and generally a lawyer is not needed. But, there are times when disputes arise over what the insurer is willing to pay for repair or replacement and then an attorney can usually do better than an unrepresented vehicle owner.
08-09-2012, 01:55 PM
#27
MBWorld Fanatic!
^^ I agree, in Canada we don't have to go through a lawyer to settle claim with insurance. If u have an insurance broker, use him to ur advantage. My broker has gotten me new aftermarket wheels even though i didn't declared it.
My minivan got hit while parked, and they totaled it.. But my broker made sure the insurance company gave ms fair value.. I ended up getting more than what I paid for the van.
Good luck to u Canadian fellow & speedy recovery to ur gf.
My minivan got hit while parked, and they totaled it.. But my broker made sure the insurance company gave ms fair value.. I ended up getting more than what I paid for the van.
Good luck to u Canadian fellow & speedy recovery to ur gf.
08-09-2012, 02:05 PM
#28
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This is incorrect. This is also baseless.
Insurance companies have all the money in the world. They do not take anything personally. They process claims like clockwork.
Property damage can be negotiated by the vehicle owner and generally a lawyer is not needed. But, there are times when disputes arise over what the insurer is willing to pay for repair or replacement and then an attorney can usually do better than an unrepresented vehicle owner.
Insurance companies have all the money in the world. They do not take anything personally. They process claims like clockwork.
Property damage can be negotiated by the vehicle owner and generally a lawyer is not needed. But, there are times when disputes arise over what the insurer is willing to pay for repair or replacement and then an attorney can usually do better than an unrepresented vehicle owner.
It sounds like you just repeated what I said- that "property claims can be negotiated by the vehicle owner and a lawyer is generally not needed". I recommended ATTEMPTING to do this first before hiring an attorney that will take 1/3rd of the settlement (at least in the US).
I was not recommending pursuing a injury claim without an attorney, only property.
08-09-2012, 02:21 PM
#29
I work with insurance companies literally all day, every day, and am very well versed in all their techniques for screwing people.
It sounds like you just repeated what I said- that "property claims can be negotiated by the vehicle owner and a lawyer is generally not needed". I recommended ATTEMPTING to do this first before hiring an attorney that will take 1/3rd of the settlement (at least in the US).
I was not recommending pursuing a injury claim without an attorney, only property.
It sounds like you just repeated what I said- that "property claims can be negotiated by the vehicle owner and a lawyer is generally not needed". I recommended ATTEMPTING to do this first before hiring an attorney that will take 1/3rd of the settlement (at least in the US).
I was not recommending pursuing a injury claim without an attorney, only property.
Typically, accident victims will have handled their property damage claims before retaining an attorney. Even if the attorney has been retained before the property damage claim has been resolved, the attorney will usually not have to do any work on behalf of their client to resolve property damage.
If the lawyer does work for the client to get them the reasonable value for their totalled car and the client was not able to do so on their own, then yes, the attorney will be entitled to the contingency fee agreed to in the attorney/client contract.
The client and attorney can both agree to a mutually acceptable fee structure for recovery of property damage. It doesn't have to be 1/3 and frankley, unless the property damage dispute makes its way to trial, the lawyer should not charge 1/3 for property damage recovery, although many lawyers would charge that amount.
08-09-2012, 02:31 PM
#30
Definitely good luck with the final outcome Merc, and particularly with the valuation the insurer(s) put on the car. I have a couple of friends locally (in the U.S.) who have been less than pleased with their insurers in recent total loss cases because those companies contract to an outside agency to analyze recent sales data and provide a valuation. FWIW the thought was the "market" figures were +/- 10% lower than the cars in question were worth and knowing the cars I agreed with that sentiment. I don't know what the negotiability in cases like this is, but I'd prepare my own set of data as well as documentation of the condition of the car. I know my BMW dealer would gladly provide me with a letter attesting to the generally superb condition my cars are kept in if I were to be in a similar situation.
08-09-2012, 02:34 PM
#31
Definitely good luck with the final outcome Merc, and particularly with the valuation the insurer(s) put on the car. I have a couple of friends locally (in the U.S.) who have been less than pleased with their insurers in recent total loss cases because those companies contract to an outside agency to analyze recent sales data and provide a valuation. FWIW the thought was the "market" figures were +/- 10% lower than the cars in question were worth and knowing the cars I agreed with that sentiment. I don't know what the negotiability in cases like this is, but I'd prepare my own set of data as well as documentation of the condition of the car. I know my BMW dealer would gladly provide me with a letter attesting to the generally superb condition my cars are kept in if I were to be in a similar situation.
08-09-2012, 03:35 PM
#32
MBWorld Fanatic!
damn, hope your wife is okay. Hopefully you can get **** settled without much problems. Like you said, now you don't have to deal with the noisy lifters or the headbolt issues.
08-09-2012, 03:41 PM
#33
MBWorld Fanatic!
It sounds like you just repeated what I said- that "property claims can be negotiated by the vehicle owner and a lawyer is generally not needed". I recommended ATTEMPTING to do this first before hiring an attorney that will take 1/3rd of the settlement (at least in the US).
I was not recommending pursuing a injury claim without an attorney, only property.
I was not recommending pursuing a injury claim without an attorney, only property.
Also, since when does a PI attorney take 1/3 settlement on property damage? They do that in NY?
Last edited by Sincity; 08-09-2012 at 03:49 PM.
08-09-2012, 04:03 PM
#34
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While I am sure most don't take cases that are not a slam dunk, there is always the chance that a case could be lost and the lawyer gets nothing, so they have to charge higher rates.
08-09-2012, 04:15 PM
#35
Typically, lawyers who work on contingency take a rather large chunk of change, to offset the possible losses from other cases.
While I am sure most don't take cases that are not a slam dunk, there is always the chance that a case could be lost and the lawyer gets nothing, so they have to charge higher rates.
While I am sure most don't take cases that are not a slam dunk, there is always the chance that a case could be lost and the lawyer gets nothing, so they have to charge higher rates.
Most cases are not a slam dunk. Why? Because personal injury clients and insurance companies never agree on damages and often negligence and causation are disputed... A good settlement is when the client thinks they got too little and the insurance company thinks they paid too much.
Lawyers don't charge one client more than another client because they want to make up money that they may lose on another case. PI Lawyers that work on contingency typically charge the going rate, sometimes offer discounted rates, and sometimes charge more than the going rate if the case is going to be very expensive to prosecute. The lawyer looks at the case in front of them to determine the contingency fee.
Most clients cannot afford to spend the money necessary to prove the fair value of their case, that's why the contingency fee is used in personal injury.
08-09-2012, 05:11 PM
#37
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Merc63 lives in Alberta, where personal injury claims are almost non existent unless there's broken bones/blood involved. There's a cap for soft tissue injuries, which in most cases the maximum $5k is paid out if you complain of neck pains even though it might cost you more in the long run. Silly, I know.
To get more than the cap amount, a lawyer will have to go to trial to prove that it doesn't qualify as a soft tissue injury. It's a complicated and drawn out process, which effectively killed off the entire injury lawyer industry in our province.
As for negotiating the settlement on the car, talk to your insurance. You're not at fault, but as long as you have comprehensive, your insurance company will act on your behalf and get you paid out quickly, and they'll sue the other driver/insurance for payment. An appraiser will go look at the car, and meet him there. Tell them the extras that's on the car, and they will usually set the apprasal value based on that. You can ask for some of the stuff back, and they'll appraise it based on OEM. They don't really care too much what the condition is, I've had friends remove turbo kits and suspension, and the car is left in a unstartable mess. Insurance never sees the car again after appraisers and generally don't really care.
To get more than the cap amount, a lawyer will have to go to trial to prove that it doesn't qualify as a soft tissue injury. It's a complicated and drawn out process, which effectively killed off the entire injury lawyer industry in our province.
As for negotiating the settlement on the car, talk to your insurance. You're not at fault, but as long as you have comprehensive, your insurance company will act on your behalf and get you paid out quickly, and they'll sue the other driver/insurance for payment. An appraiser will go look at the car, and meet him there. Tell them the extras that's on the car, and they will usually set the apprasal value based on that. You can ask for some of the stuff back, and they'll appraise it based on OEM. They don't really care too much what the condition is, I've had friends remove turbo kits and suspension, and the car is left in a unstartable mess. Insurance never sees the car again after appraisers and generally don't really care.
Last edited by rage2; 08-09-2012 at 05:13 PM.
08-09-2012, 05:29 PM
#38
Merc63 lives in Alberta, where personal injury claims are almost non existent unless there's broken bones/blood involved. There's a cap for soft tissue injuries, which in most cases the maximum $5k is paid out if you complain of neck pains even though it might cost you more in the long run. Silly, I know.
To get more than the cap amount, a lawyer will have to go to trial to prove that it doesn't qualify as a soft tissue injury. It's a complicated and drawn out process, which effectively killed off the entire injury lawyer industry in our province.
As for negotiating the settlement on the car, talk to your insurance. You're not at fault, but as long as you have comprehensive, your insurance company will act on your behalf and get you paid out quickly, and they'll sue the other driver/insurance for payment. An appraiser will go look at the car, and meet him there. Tell them the extras that's on the car, and they will usually set the apprasal value based on that. You can ask for some of the stuff back, and they'll appraise it based on OEM. They don't really care too much what the condition is, I've had friends remove turbo kits and suspension, and the car is left in a unstartable mess. Insurance never sees the car again after appraisers and generally don't really care.
To get more than the cap amount, a lawyer will have to go to trial to prove that it doesn't qualify as a soft tissue injury. It's a complicated and drawn out process, which effectively killed off the entire injury lawyer industry in our province.
As for negotiating the settlement on the car, talk to your insurance. You're not at fault, but as long as you have comprehensive, your insurance company will act on your behalf and get you paid out quickly, and they'll sue the other driver/insurance for payment. An appraiser will go look at the car, and meet him there. Tell them the extras that's on the car, and they will usually set the apprasal value based on that. You can ask for some of the stuff back, and they'll appraise it based on OEM. They don't really care too much what the condition is, I've had friends remove turbo kits and suspension, and the car is left in a unstartable mess. Insurance never sees the car again after appraisers and generally don't really care.
08-09-2012, 11:20 PM
#41
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glad you are all ok.. it sucks that this happened but on the bright side, everything damaged are material.. they can be replaced.. good luck with the claim.. when i wrecked my car 350z (grand touring all options) about 5 yrs ago, the insurance gave me the price based on the BASE 350z and took about 1-2 months for us to agree on a 'fair' price.. almost went to get a lawyer, but it all ended up good (but too long). didn't get any loaner, etc. your patience will be tested. prepare to talk to a lot of managers (plus delaying tactics, e.g. suddenly the adjuster went to a vacation, yadayadayada).. again, good luck and God Bless
