Expert: Claims Guy - 9/13/2009

Question
Residing in California.  My husband was riding motorcycle when he was hit by a car who ignored a red light (I call this person a "defendant" for now).  Police report stated that the defendant was at fault and gave him a ticket for ignoring red light, but the defendant contested at the court, which the court found the defendant guilty.  There were witnesses who also stated that the defendant was at fault.  My husband injured his hand and had to have surgery.  He had 2 jobs at the time but had to give up one for this injury.  

Unfortunately, my husband's motorcycle was not insured at the time of the accident (the whole policy was paid in full until 2 months later but we added a new car in the policy prior to the accident and inadvertently missed one payment which resulted the whole policy to be cancelled a few days prior to the accident).

We consulted to several attorneys and was told that we could only recover the actual damage, which is approximately $30,000.  We are about to prepare a demand letter listing all damaged cost.  In such case, how big is the chance that the defendant's insurance company refuse to pay and go to litigation?  Will they try to negotiate the damaged cost?  Also want to know if we can include damages for losing job.

Thank you for your time and answer.  

Answer
I'm not clear on what you mean when you say you were told you can only recover actual damages.  Unless there is something in California law I am unaware of, you are entitled to:

-medical bills
-lost wages while he was medically unable to work
-money for pain and suffering, inconvenience, etc.

Depending on his injury, he might be entitled to more.  Did he fully recover?  Does he still have problems?  If this forced him to change his occupation, that could be worth a huge amount of money.  If he will need future medical care, you are entitled to that as well.  he might get something for losing the jobl; that is  questionable depending on the details of what happened.

Are you confident you received  competent legal advice?  If not, see a good lawyer.

As far as the insurance company, they will evaluate the value of the claim and set a range of value.  They will then make you an offer on the lower end of the range.  This will not be their top offer.  You can negotiate with them for more.  It usually takes some back and forth, about 3 offers each, before claims settle.  Each one is different - there is no guarantee what they will do.

If you and they cannot come to a settlement agreement, you will need to file suit and go to court.  The jury will decide.