Quote:
Originally Posted by Bumbo
Just thinking out loud here, but isn’t what the insurance company will provide directly tied to how the individual was insured? What if the driver is poorly insured or with very low limits and not able to cover the OP’s claims for property and medical?
Can you even set a limit, or is that even being fair to yourself? I’m not speaking from a place of being vindictive or “get rich” mentality, but from a standpoint of just getting what is fair or due for you and your occupants.
Hypothetically if there was an injured occupant, like a passenger in the OP’s car got hurt, your insurance would essentially be on the hook to pair their medical. I’m sure your insurance company would do everything in their power to recoup costs from the at fault party.
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The whole concept of "who to sue" is really academic in most cases where the injuries are mostly soft tissue.
The majority of accidents are settled by the insurance companies well before it goes to court. We need to get away from those TV ads "the insurance company offered me $1.95 but the Atlanta Ambulance Chaser got me $600k" that are completely meaningless unless there was a death.
The goal of a settlement is to restore you to where you were before the accident - the car, the body and a little bit thrown in for pain and suffering. This all between you and the insurance company.
In MD, the minimum insurance is:
All Maryland vehicles MUST be insured at ALL times by a vehicle insurance company licensed in Maryland. Your vehicle insurance must cover, at a minimum:
$30,000 for bodily injury
$60,000 for 2 or more people
$15,000 property damage
Virginia requires the following minimum coverage:
Bodily injury/death of one person $25,000
Bodily injury/death of two or more persons $50,000
Property damage $20,000
Most motorists have $100/300k and, I suspect by the car (Wrangler Unlimited), there is a solid chance that he has at least the 100/300 and - quite possibly - has an umbrella policy.
But even at the state minimums, the damages here fall well within those numbers.
The cost of the car doesn't fall under the minimums, so that is taken care of. A rental car is taken care of as well, so the remaining costs are the medical bills, reimbursement for leave taken for medical appointments and pain and suffering.
This from a Baltimore law firm (bolding is mine):
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Verdicts in Maryland Personal Injury Lawsuits
In Maryland cases, the median compensation award in personal injury trials was $12,813. The median motor vehicle accident claim recovery at trial in Maryland was $11,925. That sounds awful. But, as we explain below, these numbers are very deceptive and particularly illustrative in estimating the compensation you might get in your case.
The good news for Maryland victims is that the plaintiff prevailed in 69% of the cases (as opposed to 55% nationally). Traffic collision cases had an even higher rate of victory: 83%
In contrast, plaintiffs prevailed in only 8% of medical malpractice cases in Maryland (bearing in mind that most meritorious cases often settle before trial), but the average jury award in medical malpractice cases was $808,772. The average payout in medical malpractice claims - whether a verdict or settlement - was $374,121.
Make no mistake. The big verdicts in personal injury cases are usually achieved by the best lawyers and those number inflate the average trial value of personal injury cases. Not many average lawyers are getting $10 million verdicts like we recently did. Most lawyers would not have even taken that case.
The study does not break down the jury verdicts by county. But
the larger jury awards in Maryland are in Baltimore and Prince George's County.
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As you can see, the verdicts fall well within those limits.
That said, there are actually some guidelines that the insurance companies use to calculate the loss - generally 1.5 to 5 times the actual economic losses (normally between 2 and 3 times the actual medical bills and lost wages). Here are a handful of court decisions in MD (from a different MD attorney site)
McGuigan v. State Farm (Maryland 2018) $72.5K: plaintiff was driving her vehicle accompanied by her minor son when she was rear-ended by a vehicle driven by the defendant. Plaintiff and her son both claimed unspecified, soft-tissue injuries as a result of the collision. Baltimore City jurors returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded them $72.5K.
Coleman v. Eichensehr (Maryland 2017) $5,000: adult female reportedly suffered cervical whiplash syndrome and other soft tissue injuries when the defendant, driving a truck, struck the rear of the plaintiff’s vehicle, pushing it to the right. The plaintiff contended the defendant failed to pay full time and attention to her driving and failed to maintain control of her vehicle. The defendant initially denied liability but later admitted she was negligent and only contested the plaintiff’s claimed injuries and damages. According to the defendant, she was driving her husband’s truck but was not familiar with how to operate it such that she mistakenly depressed the accelerator instead of the brake. The jury returned a plaintiff verdict for $5k.
Rashad v. Jones (Maryland 2016) $23,254: adult female plaintiff suffered whiplash syndrome, tension headaches, muscle spasms, and tingling in both hands and right leg when the northbound transit bus on which she was a passenger, traveling in right lane, was struck by northbound motorist, defendant who was in the left lane. Plaintiff contended that the Liberty Mutual insured defendant was negligent for failing to keep a proper lookout and maintain proper vehicle control. The defendant admitted liability but disputed damages. A Prince George’s County jury awarded $23,254.
Gray v. Combustioneer Corp. (Maryland 2007) $80,000: plaintiff was driving in the far left lane and approached a two-lane flow of merging vehicles. The plaintiff’s vehicle was allegedly struck by a vehicle owned by the defendants. The plaintiff claimed he sustained whiplash injury and post-concussive syndrome because of the collision. Plaintiff filed a lawsuit for negligently operating the van and causing his injuries. He stated he was unable to maintain his employment with Deloitte & Touche due to his injury. He sought compensation for medical expenses, loss of earning, and loss of services. The jury found that defendant was negligent and his negligence was a cause of injury to the plaintiff. The panel awarded a total of $80,000 to the plaintiff. I don’t know how much of the verdict was post-concussive and how much was whiplash. It is yet another problem trying to value cases by looking at similar cases.
Greens v. Edwards (Maryland 2005) $40,000: plaintiff was traveling north, approaching an intersection when the defendant was traveling south, but crossed into the northbound lane and struck plaintiff head-on. Plaintiff sought damages based on the unspecified injuries he sustained in the accident. The defendants answered, generally denying the allegations of the complaint, and argued contributory negligence, assumption of risk, an absence of causal connection, and failure to state a claim. In other words, everything the defense lawyer could possibly think of using a defense. Basically throwing spaghetti on a wall. The jury returned with a verdict for the plaintiff and awarded him $40,000.
Boynton v. Hofe (Maryland 2004) $34,680.00: plaintiff was operating his vehicle when the defendant reported executed a left turn and collided with the plaintiff. Plaintiff sued the defendant and claimed that she improperly executed her left turn, causing the accident and should be liable for damages he sustained. He claimed that the accident caused him to suffer pain to his neck, back, right arm and leg; pain, tenderness, and sprains to parts of the spine, muscle spasms; and whiplash. Defendant denied liability for the collision, using assumption of risk and contributory negligence as affirmative defenses. The jury awarded the plaintiff $34,680.
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I suspect the Coleman verdict was in Montgomery County (the wealthier the county, the lower the judgments). That said, the OPs case is undoubtedly worth far more than that.