How do you determine a reasonable settlement for an injury?
Question Details:
I was in a car accident in 06/07. I sustained soft tissue injury I have 5000.00 in pt therapy bills as well as other medical bills. The company offered 15,000.00 in 12/09. Is this a reasonable amount?
Well, it is the phrase "as well as other medical bills" that presents the problem in answering your question. If, and only if, the $5K of PT were the only damages you suffered, then $15K is not a bad settlement. But, and this is a big but, if you have more bills, any lost wages claim, and/or any allegation of potential permanency, then the $15K may or may not be reasonable. Insurance companies are in the business of making money. That means they seek to take in more in premiums than they pay out in settlements/coverage. You also don't indicate if this $15K offer was obtained with the assistance of an attorney - I suspect it was. In which case, other factors come into consideration such as whether PIP is available to pay some bills and whether or not one or more of your medical providers is willing to take a reduction.
Please keep in mind that the amount of your medical bills / damages is not the only consideration. Since Maryland is a contributory negligence state several other factors come into play, including: 1) the respective fault of each driver, 2) linkage between the accident and your medial care and 3) likelihood of proving negligence and/or causation in a courtroom. It is difficult for any attorney to evaulate the reasonableness of a dollar amount without knowing the specific facts of your case. If you do have an attorney, you may want to discuss these factors with your counsel.
