Will my personal injury suit settle for big money?

[fitche]

In Sept. I was rear ended by a big rig. At the time my injuries seemed slight, but since my shoulder continued hurting after months of physical therapy, my doctor had an MRI done with showed significant damage and suggested surgery to repair it. I had that done in January and am still in therapy. I still have pain, and when I read my doctor's reports yesterday, he stated that the surgery would not help my shoulder and suggested to me that I settle my lawsuit "open" because I will continue to have problems all my life. I am a cabinet maker by trade and my arms and shoulders are essential to my work. My doctor bills total over $60,000 at this time. My lawyer friend (not my personal injury lawyer) told me I could expect between $100,000 and $200,000 settlement but that was before the news that my injury is not repairable.

Can anybody with legal and medical experience tell me what to expect? I have retained a big name law firm at the time of the accident but haven't talked with my lawyer yet regarding this as I am still collecting the bills for him and am not finished with my treatment.

Thanks.

[napayshni65]

In Sept. I was rear ended by a big rig. At the time my injuries seemed slight, but since my shoulder continued hurting after months of physical therapy, my doctor had an MRI done with showed significant damage and suggested surgery to repair it. I had that done in January and am still in therapy. I still have pain, and when I read my doctor's reports yesterday, he stated that the surgery would not help my shoulder and suggested to me that I settle my lawsuit "open" because I will continue to have problems all my life. I am a cabinet maker by trade and my arms and shoulders are essential to my work. My doctor bills total over $60,000 at this time. My lawyer friend (not my personal injury lawyer) told me I could expect between $100,000 and $200,000 settlement but that was before the news that my injury is not repairable.

Can anybody with legal and medical experience tell me what to expect? I have retained a big name law firm at the time of the accident but haven't talked with my lawyer yet regarding this as I am still collecting the bills for him and am not finished with my treatment.

Thanks.

Guaranteed you will be in for a long drawn out fight. Their lawyers will want you to go for every possible test, ad nauseum, and they still will not be satisfied that this is not as bad as your saying it is, or that it was not related to the accident. That will take years unless your lawyer can put a stop to it somehow. Then, any and all insurance companies that have paid anything for your medical care will have to, during the testing and information gathering, be notified and they will file an attachment to your award. Any hospitals and/or doctors who you still owe money to will also file a claim against your judgment. What that means is that they will get all monies they paid on your behalf before your lawyer takes their cut and you get paid a dime. For example if you settle on $100/K, and your insurance paid $60/K in medical bills on your behalf they will get $60/K off the top. Then your attorney will take their cut say 25% of the $100/K which is $25/K so you'd end up with $15/K in the end. They will try to get you to settle for ridiculous amounts, which you should decline. Your attorney will advise you as to how strong of a case you have. If you have a rock solid claim and it seems more likely that you might win the sympathy of a jury, they will recommend you not accept any low ball offers. However, there is always a danger that the jury, we are dealing with dumb gullible humans here, will find for the defendant and you'll get nothing. There are so many variables and games to be played out in a suit like this. Just take it one step at a time and talk it over with your lawyer. If they are good, they will not lead you the wrong way.