I was in a car accident October 2010, I was heading south on a main street. The other driver was going east on a side street and turned going south. There were construction barricades dividing two south bound lanes, when the driver turned south he originally was in the eastern lane. While I was passing his car he swerved between two barricades into my lane and hit my right front fender and tire. Police were called and a report taken, the other driver received a ticket. I immediately went home and filed a claim with the owner's insurance company. I went to the hospital two days after the accident for stiffness and bruising, nothing major. After many months of back and forth phone calls, I was given an offer of settlement for $750 plus paid hospital bills. Hospital bill was only $300 including xrays, because of the long wait for settlement I paid out of pocket.
I am wondering if the settlement is fair, or if I should speak to an attorney. The other driver was not the owner of the vehicle and did not cooperate with the insurance company, supposedly the reason why I had to wait for an offer. Does it matter if the driver did not have a license?
Another question, their insurance company fixed my car, but while in the shop additional work was found to be needed. A request was sent to the insurance company and an inspector was sent out to talk with the mechanics, additional work was approved, the whole time took around a month. That month I was using a rental, I was told I would be reimbursed for the cost of the rental only, Insurance on the car was out of pocket. When the car finished with repairs, the rental was returned the same day, a claim was filed for the reimbursement. Received a check from the Insurance company only covering 2 weeks, they said that was all the time needed for the repairs and they will not pay for the additional time. Mechanics said it took the Insurance company a week to get back to them.
Is this right? Would they still be liable to pay for the additional 2 weeks?
I am wondering if the settlement is fair, or if I should speak to an attorney. The other driver was not the owner of the vehicle and did not cooperate with the insurance company, supposedly the reason why I had to wait for an offer. Does it matter if the driver did not have a license?
Another question, their insurance company fixed my car, but while in the shop additional work was found to be needed. A request was sent to the insurance company and an inspector was sent out to talk with the mechanics, additional work was approved, the whole time took around a month. That month I was using a rental, I was told I would be reimbursed for the cost of the rental only, Insurance on the car was out of pocket. When the car finished with repairs, the rental was returned the same day, a claim was filed for the reimbursement. Received a check from the Insurance company only covering 2 weeks, they said that was all the time needed for the repairs and they will not pay for the additional time. Mechanics said it took the Insurance company a week to get back to them.
Is this right? Would they still be liable to pay for the additional 2 weeks?
