I want to talk about something that I've heard happening recently. And that's car insurance companies calling up people and offering quick settlements, immediately after the car wreck. In fact, I had someone call me just the other day and he asked me, "Hey, should I take it?" "Or should I hire a lawyer?" And it was a great question. It seems like the terms of these offers are, the insurance company will pay you maybe $1000 or $1,500 in cash, and then they'll pay up to $5,000 in your medical bills in addition to your medical payments coverage. Now what's unclear, is if they're going to pay the medical bills as they come in, or if you have to pay them first, and then get reimbursed. The latter's obviously bad because not a lot of people have 5,000 bucks laying around to pay for their medical bills. Also, a hospital bill could even exceed that $5,000, if you had a CT or two or any complicated treatment other than just the doctor examining you, and then sending you home. The question about whether you should take this or not is, you know, the correct lawyer answer is it depends. But I think there are times when you can take this offer and it'd be fine for you.
But then there's other times when you should reject the offer and hire a lawyer. I think when they first offer this to you, you should never accept it. Because, you don't know how badly you've been injured. So the problem is, let's say that you've been in a car wreck, and you're feeling a little sore the next day, and the car insurance company calls you up and offers you this deal, and you say, "Hey, that's pretty good." You know, 1500 bucks now, and they'll pay for my medical care. Well, that's not a bad deal if you're not actually that injured. Maybe you're a little sore for a couple of days, but then you're completely fine. Well, 1500 bucks isn't terrible, especially if you don't want to mess with it. And if you've had no medical treatment at all, then it's going to be hard to get a lawyer to take your case anyway. And if you just went to the hospital, and you're otherwise fine, $5,000 is going to cover that bill, probably.
Now, on the other hand, if it's the day after and you're feeling a little sore, then you don't feel better. And it's been another day and another day and you're still in pain. And then after medical treatment and an MRI, it turns out that you have a herniated disc. Well, treatment for that's going to far exceed $5,000. And the problem is if you took that initial offer, they're not going to pay you more money if it turns out that you're more injured. They're just gonna say, "Well, hey, you signed this release, we don't owe anything more to you." So, that's why you should never agree to it when they first offer it to you, because you don't know your own case. You don't know if you're really injured or not. Now, if it's been a couple of weeks, or a couple of months, and you're a hundred percent better, you didn't really go to any other doctors after the emergency room, and you have that hospital bill, and it's under $5,000, then, maybe you just want to take it. On the other hand, if you've had any other medical treatment, other than going to the hospital, if you were really hurt in any way, then this deal's probably bad for you. I mean, think about it. Why is the car insurance company calling you up, to immediately offer you this deal? Because they know they can make money on it. I would say, do not accept this deal when they first call.
Wait and make sure that you are not injured. And then if you're not injured, call them up, and make a counter offer. Try to get some more money. They're willing to negotiate with you. And then, you've got money in your pocket, you didn't have to hire a lawyer for it, and it's all behind you. And thankfully, and most importantly, you still have your good health But, if the other thing happens, if you're actually injured. If you need medical care. If you're worried that it may exceed $5,000. By no means, take this deal. Get the medical treatment you need—and there are a variety of ways that you can pay for it—and then either represent yourself, hire a lawyer, give me a call and I'll give you some advice for free. But take this deal, it's going to be bad for you.
If you're facing one of these deals, and you don't know what to do, give me a call, shoot me an email, I'm happy to talk you through it. Do not take the insurance company's deal unless you are a hundred percent sure that you're not injured. And if you're not a hundred percent sure, then you should call me or you should shoot me an email and we can talk about it.