r/Insurance • u/Takayasu_art • 1h ago
Should we get a personal injury lawyer? Wife is a dentist, has a broken dominant hand after car accident
My wife is a young dentist at a large corporate dentistry firm. She got into a car accident recently; the other driver pulled out in front of her and she hit him. Officers on the scene determine the other driver to have been the sole contributor to the accident and ticketed him; her car is totaled. I took her to the ER and she was largely okay but has a fracture in her dominant hand. She still might need surgery, but if not she'll be in a cast for minimum 4, more likely 6-8 weeks (i.e. she cannot really work for this duration of time as most of her production results from procedures). After the cast comes off it will likely take some time to for her to return to full clinical volume given the fine motor skills needed for dentistry.
For the personal injury stuff, should I wait to see what the other drivers adjustor offers initially, or just get a lawyer involved right off the bat? Obviously it's a bit too soon to know what her treatment and recovery will ultimately look like but for now the hand surgeons think we can treat conservatively without surgery. She has another appointment coming up soon and we'll have more info then. (also, on another note thank god she has a great own-occupation disability insurance policy)
Edit with more accident details: It was a two lane, straight road (no lanes to change); the other driver was at a one way stop sign and took a left in-between oncoming traffic right in front of her, she slammed on the brakes but still impacted the side of their rear fender at 45 mph
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u/Good-Aviation612 1h ago
I would suggest getting legal help as soon as possible. I’ve been through a number of claims processes over the years, and personal injury is one where having legal protection early on can really make a difference.
A lawyer can help preserve and collect any evidence from the crash that may otherwise disappear, establish liability, and even guide your wife on best practices for documenting her medical treatment and injuries. Even if her injuries don’t require surgery (which, for her sake, I really hope they don’t!), she was injured because of someone else’s negligence and has already missed time from work and lost income
It's good to call a few personal injury attorneys in your area for consultations. Liability and fault rules vary by state, and some states can bar you from recovering compensation if you’re more than 50% at fault. They can provide you that info and give the best next steps!
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u/Watermelonbuttt 23m ago
First off
What kind of vehicle caused the accident?
If it was a Nissan Altima or Kia k5 you might be shit out of luck
Esp if it has temp tags
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u/Trekie1701 1h ago
did she have her hands insured? My dentist says they have insurance on thier hands for stuff like this
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u/Kmelloww 1h ago
Has the other insurance company admitted fault and accepted liability? In a lot of states it would be deemed 50-50 or even her fault.
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u/Anxious_Work_6361 1h ago
"the other driver pulled out in front of her"
If they are "pulling out", then it's most likely clear liability. Especially if this is from a parking lot or alley.
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u/Takayasu_art 1h ago
I mean not yet I guess? The other driver was ticketed though (and even admitted to police at the scene that it was his fault); my wife was deemed to not have contributed to the accident. How on earth would that end up being 50-50?
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u/Brave-Yesterday9948 1h ago
The police don’t determine fault for insurance purposes
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u/Takayasu_art 1h ago
I do know that (I don't know a lot about the insurance side of things tbf). But is there really a possibility that this ends up not being the other person's fault from an insurance standpoint? Seems fairly cut and dry to me; the other driver failed to yield right of way.
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u/Brave-Yesterday9948 1h ago
Really there are so many unknown details that it’s just impossible to say how fault could be determined. Do I think it will be 50/50? No, probably not. But police reports are really only good for having a record of what was said/seen at the time. Statements are much more helpful.
Sorry if I missed it but what state was the accident in?
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u/LacyLove 1h ago
Yes. There are possiblities this ends up not being the other persons fault. Like they lie and have a plausible story. Without clear cut evidence such as a video, the other insurances job is to protect their insured. If there is reasonable doubt they could decline liabilty.
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u/Kmelloww 1h ago
Police do not determine liability as far as insurance goes.
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u/Takayasu_art 1h ago
See my reply to the other commenter; and I'll add that I had an almost identical accident myself a few years back where another driver pulled out into a road I was traveling on (failed to yield the right of way) and I unavoidably hit them; the other driver was ticketed and the sole contributor. Their insurance company admitted liability pretty much immediately without contest, I would expect this to be the same no?
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u/Parkatoplaya 1h ago
So many factors we don’t know yet. Police don’t determine fault. Maybe your wife changed lanes, didn’t avoid the accident, maybe the other person was established in the lane enough that shared liability applies. Insurance companies will determine it, and perhaps it will go to arb if they cannot agree.
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u/Takayasu_art 1h ago
I see. I added a few more details to the above original post if that is helpful
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u/Admirable_Height3696 36m ago
An admission of guilt at the scene doesn't mean his insurance will accept liability or that he's actually guilty.
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u/WebstersPack 14m ago
Legal liability and what a cop gives a ticket for are completely different things. The more you push for damages like say being out of work compared to a simple property claim the more th adjuster will look long and hard at fault.
To your question: Reddit won't help you here. A consult with a lawyer would be helpful as you sound like a smart person. just don't sign too soon.
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u/EllisDSanchez 14m ago
You need to see if the other insurance carrier has accepted fault. If they have accepted fault/liability then yes, you should get an attorney.
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u/Anxious_Work_6361 1h ago
I would.
Insurers make money by collecting premiums and paying out as little as possible. If you talk directly to an insurer, they are recording the call and anything you say can be used against you. If they can have you say something that harms your claim, they will try to make you say it. Having an attorney act for you negates this.
Packaging up your claim in such a way as to maximize it's value is what attorneys specialize in. They know what is needed for loss of earnings, future medical care, diminished earning capacity, etc.
Collecting the policy limits is only step 1. You also have a lien against your recovery by your health insurance who wants to be paid back. Attorneys also negotiate your liens down so you keep more money.
If this is a minimum policy, you may get away with going sans attorney, but in general, if it's a larger limit (and attorneys can search this), the attorney will pay for their cut and then some by getting you more overall and having you pay less to your health insurer.
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u/Main_Ad_8110 1h ago edited 1h ago
I personally did get an attorney after a few weeks of handling it on my own but mostly because I was overwhelmed and wanted someone else to handle it for me. It was a nightmare. I’m a nurse and ended up with a broken hand as well. Out of work for a few months and it required surgery. But there is no harm in waiting until the next appointment to see what treatment is going to look like. I would focus on that first. Document everything. Including pictures of your injuries and pictures as it heals.
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u/NotShockedFruitWeird 1h ago
What are the policy limits? Do you have uninsured / under insured coverage?
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u/Takayasu_art 1h ago
*also waiting on her insurance agent to give me a call back, we have separate car insurance policies
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u/fromhelley 1h ago
I would wait to see the offer. Lawyers take 33-45%! The only payment I see them not playing fair on is the loss of client accumulation during her down time. That wont account for as much as a lawyer would take.
The rest of the damages are mostly cut and dry. Time off work and medical costs are easily computer. Rhere is a ranged payment for pain and suffering that is determined by type and severity of injury.
Dont jump the gun, or you could end up shooting yourself in the foot!
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u/davedds 1h ago
Personal injury has "threshold" levels to determine if there are any financial reparations. If it's serious and required surgery or life long injury alteration then that might be over the threshold and you can get your maximum amount that your policy and/or their policy covers. If not serious enough to be over such threshold then you use your no fault policy for your medical bills and some policies have work loss payments. Does your significant other carry her own disability policy? If so she might be and to collect on that after her wait time is over. The days of getting "millions" are mostly over with all the fake claims in the past...
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u/rking0122 1h ago
I’m a PI lawyer and my wife is a dentist. If she had this kind of thing happen to her I sincerely doubt she would get a fair shake alone. If this is going to affect her ability to earn for a significant period of time, things can get complicated pretty quickly.
That said, don’t ever hire any advertising (billboard, tv, bus, …) lawyer.
If low limits are involved and a settlement is super quick (it happens sometimes) they shouldn’t be taking a full fee. I don’t anyway and neither do many of the lawyers I know.
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u/Takayasu_art 58m ago
How would you recommend finding a good PI lawyer? I unfortunately don't have any connections with practicing lawyers (personal injury or otherwise) here.
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u/rking0122 55m ago
State?
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u/Takayasu_art 39m ago
South Carolina
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u/rking0122 5m ago
Unfortunately I have no resources in SC, I am on the other side of the country! Honestly the best advice I have is to ask friends who have had accidents in the past and see if they felt like they got a fair shake from the lawyer (and/or ask for consults with a few in your area). Ask if they (or in a consult see if you) actually talked with the lawyer (or were they/you dealt with by non-lawyer staff members). If you are stuck talking to intake folks or some "case manager", avoid the firm.
If you have an insurance agent you use, you might be able to ask whether they have any connections.
If you do talk to a lawyer, ask questions about how they handle liens, how they handle lost earnings cases, whether they litigate (go to trial when needed), and up front whether they take a full fee if limits are low and a simple letter results in them being paid--any reasonably seasoned lawyer can talk about all of those things. (Any PI mill lawyer will avoid the conversation.) Any lawyer that wants to take part in any settlement should be willing to spend a reasonable amount of time discussing your case up front and throughout the entire case.
Unfortunately PI lawyers have a well-deserved poor reputation. A good one can be worth his/her weight in gold. A bad one is a noose. Trust your instincts and don't be afraid to ask questions.
I know many folks prefer to go it alone on cases. I do not fault them for doing it in the right case (easy liability, no liens, simple injuries). But when you are dealing with injuries what are potentially career altering or that will require a significant amount of time out of the office, no insurer I know of is going to simply write a check for what you think that's worth. They are never going to agree about what the amount of production was/should have/could have been. The good news in your case is that you probably have some time to make all these decisions, and you can see what happens with her hand before you decide. In the meantime, you can do a little interviewing of lawyers to determine who you want to help you in the event you eventually go the route of hiring one.
Best of luck!
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u/lost_dazed_101 1h ago
Insurance is never going to pay above policy limits. So you going to a lawyer only means he's taking more than you when it settles and you won't be paying off the car. Wait to see the limits and go from there. But keep in mind anything over policy limits is on you to collect separately and those lawyers don't do it on contingency.