Wreck (was hit) Help me understand insurance, injury claims, policy limits, etc

[willpower101]

Driver pulled out in front of me.
State mins in tn are 25/50/15
that's 25 bodily injury per person, 50 per accident, and 15 property damage.

I have no idea what the driver's policy is, but was told that if it's minimums, then I won't be able to seek a dime more than 25k - even including pain & suffering - without going to court.

However, I saw some laws in some states where the claim can roll over into property.

My problem is that my medical bills are easily going to go over!
5k ambulance ride + 5k hospital + 15k wrist surgery (tentative) or casting + whatever I need done to my knee.

I would really like a settlement, but I'm afraid I'm just going to be SOL

so here are some questions for people who have been hit before:

Q1. What happens when my bills go over the BI limits of the other driver?

Q1.5. Can I access the 50k per accident limit?

Q2. How and when can I or a lawyer "negotiate down" my medical bills?

Q3. Should I let my personal Health Insurance go ahead and cover all my bills? or should I leave the bills outstanding until a settlement?

Q4. How do I find out the other person's insurance limits? I called them and the refused to give the limits to me. Is that legal? Do I really have to pay to retain a lawyer to get these?

(I ask because, if I'm close to going over, I want to shop around a bit to keep my medical bills lower)

And any other relevant info you all might have for me.
(Dude lives in a $500 a month apartment based on his address, so I'm not enthusiastic about him having assets)

[singram]

Dude, time to lawyer-up, the SOONER the better. Internet opinions are useless. Grab the Yellow pages and start calling. Pretty much all firms offer free consultation, and are paid in accordance to settlement. In otherwords, you dont win, they get dick.

I got t-boned 4 months ago in my work cage. I contacted a lawyer ASAP. All medical has been paid, my time off work pay/pain and suffering check should be arriving in the next couple weeks.

[Rhetorik]

Don't ask the internet. Get a lawyer. And heal up.

[binx_19]

isnt this why people have insurance agents?

[singram]

Originally Posted by binx_19

isnt this why people have insurance agents?

I assume you've never been in an accident involving personal loss?

[Markk9]

Insurance agent is going to help the company at your expense.

[Josh D]

Even with a lawyer its still a mess. I was hit and severely injured (only survived thanks to a Shoei) back in 04' and still had a collections agency calling me/sending statements up until a couple years ago. All the medical bills should have been paid in the settlement.

Overall the medical bills were just a small part of the hassle.

The lawyers got pretty much the same amount as I did. Considering the situation I would have felt guilty charging that much if I was them

[porky786]

Sorry to hear of the misfortune, this gives a Look at reality. I would use your own Health insurance, to make sure you get fixed, thats the most important thing. Waiting on some other persons insurance for such, is not in you best interest to fix your injuries.

Its true, if they are at minimum liabilty, thats it unless you sue, and any judgement is not worth the paper its written on if they have no money.

[phail]

He's an idiot if he actually carries such low limits on his policy. Mine is 2mil..

50k won't cover much in the event of a bad crash. I'm surprised the state minimums aren't higher

[dattaway]

Originally Posted by phail

He's an idiot if he actually carries such low limits on his policy. Mine is 2mil..

50k won't cover much in the event of a bad crash. I'm surprised the state minimums aren't higher

What insurance doesn't cover, everything I own and future earnings would.

[steingar]

$5K for an ambulance ride for a wrist injury? Was the ambulance a helicopter?

[binx_19]

Originally Posted by singram

I assume you've never been in an accident involving personal loss?

been there called my insurance rep and business for me continued as usual, a week late they cut me a check for my damages, and my health insurance covered my sprained shoulder.

[max384]

Originally Posted by willpower101

Driver pulled out in front of me.
State mins in tn are 25/50/15
that's 25 bodily injury per person, 50 per accident, and 15 property damage.

I have no idea what the driver's policy is, but was told that if it's minimums, then I won't be able to seek a dime more than 25k - even including pain & suffering - without going to court.

However, I saw some laws in some states where the claim can roll over into property.

My problem is that my medical bills are easily going to go over!
5k ambulance ride + 5k hospital + 15k wrist surgery (tentative) or casting + whatever I need done to my knee.

I would really like a settlement, but I'm afraid I'm just going to be SOL

so here are some questions for people who have been hit before:

Q1. What happens when my bills go over the BI limits of the other driver?

Q1.5. Can I access the 50k per accident limit?

Q2. How and when can I or a lawyer "negotiate down" my medical bills?

Q3. Should I let my personal Health Insurance go ahead and cover all my bills? or should I leave the bills outstanding until a settlement?

Q4. How do I find out the other person's insurance limits? I called them and the refused to give the limits to me. Is that legal? Do I really have to pay to retain a lawyer to get these?

(I ask because, if I'm close to going over, I want to shop around a bit to keep my medical bills lower)

And any other relevant info you all might have for me.
(Dude lives in a $500 a month apartment based on his address, so I'm not enthusiastic about him having assets)

If I were you, I'd let my health insurance cover your injuries and then let the other person's car insurance cover any deductibles/copays for your insurance. If you get a lawyer and sue to get money from their insurance company that your health insurance will already cover, you're playing a losing game because you've got to still pay the blood-sucking lawyer.

However, I'm not a scumbag lawyer, so don't take what I say as professional legal advice.

[oic0]

Do you have uninsured/underinsured coverage on your own policy? If so your insurance company will pay the difference then their lawyers will handle it.

[dattaway]

Originally Posted by max384

If I were you, I'd let my health insurance cover your injuries and then let the other person's car insurance cover any deductibles/copays for your insurance. If you get a lawyer and sue to get money from their insurance company that your health insurance will already cover, you're playing a losing game because you've got to still pay the blood-sucking lawyer.

However, I'm not a scumbag lawyer, so don't take what I say as professional legal advice.

Most people don't know your own health insurance company will demand to collect settlement monies through subrogation. Your own lawyer might not even tell you this.