AboutDoctor Settlement Expertise 27 years of front line plaintiff`s trial lawyer experience in PERSONAL INJURY INSURANCE CLAIMS. Along with other attorneys and insurance adjusters, we have created a website to help injured people settle their own personal injury claims. With the help from feedback from hundreds of satisfied members, www.settlementcentral.com has become THE AUTHORITY for Internet personal injury insurance claim settlements. I am humbled and honored if people can benefit from my experience and current volunteer work in helping injured people. I hope I can explain things in a manner that is useful for the questioner. If not, do not hesitate to e-mail me and I will take a second shot at it! Best Wishes for your physical and financial recovery.
Experience
Life Experience: 27 years of front line plaintiff's trial lawyer experience
Organizations: American Trial Lawyers Association (AAJ)
Washington State Trial Lawyers Association
Awards and Honors:
I am humbled and honored everytime I am selected to help injured people. And when people give feedback that they have benefited from my experience and current volunteer efforts, then that is a double honor and award for me.
Question my son settled an auto accident case for much less than demanded and now his insurer (Kaiser group policy) has served him with a demand for arbitration. He doesn't think they should get anything because they took 2 years to get the billing figured out, forcing him to file a pro-per lawsuit, and then he ended up settling for $20K. His Kaiser doctor wrote a very negative report. The Kaiser medical submitted was $12K, loss of earnings $7K, chiropractic $3.4K. The Kaiser medical they allowed was about half of what was submitted.
Can he just ignore the demand for arbitration? What happens if he does?
Answer Hi Christine,
I am Morgan Jacobsen, a personal injury attorney at www.SettlementCentral.Com
I will answer your question inasmuch as Dr. Settlement has had an unfortunate hospitalization and emergency surgery, and he will not be back for a couple of weeks.
NO, DO NOT IGNORE THE DEMAND FOR ARBITRATION. If they get an award, it can be converted into a judgment in a court of record, and then they can garnish his wages and bank accounts and attach his assets. Furthermore, even if he has no assets at this time, the judgment will stay on the books for ten years in most states, and they can execute on it at any time. He can be called into court on what we call supplementary proceedings and be made to list his assets at any time.
He would have to go through bankruptcy in order to discharge the judgment.
It is much better to FIGHT SUBROGATION. Here is a page that discusses the idea of making a defense against their subrogation claims. Read up on subrogation http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0459.htm and see if your state allows for the Washington and California (and other “blue” states) rules wherein the insured has to be “made whole” before the insurer can get any subrogation money.
PART of that defense includes a ratio to reduce the subrogation claim IF THE ACCIDENT DID NOT CAUSE THE TREATMENT, or if the insurance award from the tortfeasor only recognized a percentage of the treatment as being a reasonable and necessary result of the accident trauma.
In this case, it sounds like your son may have BOTH of those defenses. Use his doctor’s letter to show that the accident did not cause the treatment. And also reduce the subrogation in ratio to the amount the insurer said was legitimate.
I hope my comments have been of some help, and if so, that you will leave some feedback for Dr. Settlement. I know that when he returns he will appreciate it.
Best wishes from Dr. Settlement and me,
Ms. Morgan Jacobsen, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
Personal Injury Expert
www.SettlementCentral.Com
