Skip to content
There one common emotion when receiving a car crash settlement: disappointment. Typically people receive a settlement check after a wreck, and they’re realizing that the check simply won’t cover their basic expenses that built up during their recovery. You may even receive the check while you’re still in the hospital or in physical therapy.
You should never expect a settlement to cover all of your bills or expenses, even if you have a top-notch Cincinnati car wreck attorney working on your claim.
What to Expect from Your Hospital Bills
Depending on what happened during your crash, you may have needed an ambulance. Ambulances can cost between $324 and $453 with Medicare, and it only goes up from there. Then you have emergency room costs, surgery, the hospital visits, and staying overnight, as well as any medications or IVs that you needed while you were there. Those aren’t even the big expenses. The most startling may be the five-minute x-ray session, an MRI, or a CT-scan. Tests can be substantially expensive and drive medical bills upward quickly.
Beyond that, you have follow-up appointments, appointments with specialists, and during this time, you may need to pay for special transportation if you can’t drive yourself around the city. You should expect that your hospital bills are only the beginning of your medical debt from this crash.
Property Damage and Understanding Your Deductible
Property damage for accidents is usually less than a few thousand, meaning that it’s not likely that you’ll max out the minimum on any policy even if you total your vehicle. Now, if you total a high-profile vehicle, you might max out the coverage available. However, many people don’t understand why they don’t get compensation for the value of their car and why they still have to pay out of pocket.
Not getting the full value for the vehicle is something that happens the moment you drive off the lot. Vehicles depreciate in value more quickly and at a steeper rate than any other asset you can acquire as an adult. It’s not like stocks or bonds that may do well or do poorly, your vehicle will depreciate, and it will do so quickly. The maximum amount that you could hope to see is the max “Blue Book” value off your vehicle. That value takes into consideration your mileage, and preexisting damage or repairs are done to the vehicle.
Then you have the car insurance deductible, which is the amount that you agreed to pay in the event of a wreck. Most deductibles range between $500 and $2,000. That is why sometimes people realize it’s not even worth it to go through the property claim if the damage is less than the deductible. However, you can arrange a policy that has no deductible or a deductible as low as $200.
Legal Fees and Counsel
Car accident attorneys in Ohio work on a system of contingency, meaning that they only charge a percentage of the amount that you’re able to recover. And if you recover nothing, then that is what they get paid, nothing. Now, these fees typically fit right between 15% and 40% depending on whether your case goes into court, or if you need extensive legal support such as crash recreation or financial experts, that percentage may go up.
Your contingency agreement would be drafted before they started working on your case, though, so this isn’t a surprising number at the end of your case.
Pain and Suffering – Is It A Real Thing?
Pain and suffering are very real, but it’s not always something that you can prove or recover. In fact, you may struggle with day to day life and not have any chance of recovering pain and suffering.
Additionally, if you were found to be at partial fault for the crash, then that percentage would come out of your compensation.
Do You Really Need A Car Crash Attorney to Help with Your Car Crash Settlement?
Although it seems like your crash has been expensive enough, hiring a Cincinnati, OH car wreck law firm could have an impact on your claim. Not only can they recover more than you might be able to on your own, but they can also negotiate on how to handle certain aspects of your claim. Ideally, your car crash settlement should cover all damages and any suffering in Cincinnati, but that’s not usually the case.
If, at any point in your claim, you realize that you need a legal professional to take over the handling of settlement negotiations, reach out for help to Young, Reverman & Mazzei.
