What is the MAX for pain and suffering, coverd by insurance companies in CA?

What I'm trying find out is鈥︹€?what is the max, and what is fair, and what is likely, to get from a car accident?

IF you know someone that knows forward this to them please!!

I have over $10K in Medical and another 10K for missed work, plus I'm still not back to 80% moreover, am still in pain 90% of the day and night, 18 months later. So that is that worth??

If you asked me it鈥檚 millions, but I was told $35,000 was the max the insurance company will cover. Which is all the lawyer will really go after, right??

The insurance is offering to pay out 35K now, what do I do!! I could hire a lawyer, but would I get any more! I think not!! Moreover I would net less; after the lawyer takes their 30% and expenses, right??

What should I do and how to do it?

For those that need more info

I got it head-on on the FWY!!

My leg got crunched!! I can not stand nor walk for more 30 min without needing to sit down. Add in, it hurts for hours later! I spent 1000 hours away from work and in re-hap

Is it true that the MAX the insurance is only covering a driver to total of $35K or not??

The maximum the insurance company will pay is determined by the insured's contract with the company. California law limits recovery for noneconomic damages to $250,000, so yu cannot get more than that no matter what the contract's limits are. (Code of Civil Procedure section 667.7.)

However, if the insured is not going to be able to pay more than his insurance will cover, it does not make sense to try to sue for more than the insurance company will pay. All you will wind up with is the same amount (perhaps less due to attorney's costs) and an unenforceable judgment.

Before you can make any reasoned judgment on this, you have to know what the insured's policy limits are. Frankly, although I am no civil expert, since you already have $20,000 in economic damages, they are offerring only $15,000 in noneconomic damages. That sounds low to me. Even if a lawyer only got them up to $60,000, you would be ahead of the game. I'd talk to a lawyer.

ADD: In response to your addition, and to reiterate: Nobody here can tell you whether it is true that the maximum the insurance company will pay is $35,000, because that number is set by the contract between the insurance company and the insured. However, it is certainly POSSIBLE that the other driver was carrying the minimum permissible coverage, which would be about that.

Well, obviously, you think you deserve millions, but the insurance won't ever pay that much.

There's no real maximum that someone can quote you -- it's all supposed to be relative to your injuries and what it will take to put you back where you were before the incident took place.

You never specify what happened or why they owe you, either, so no one can advise you on how to proceed from here.

Can't you get free legal advice from someone?

The rule of thumb is that the case can settle for 3X the special damages. That would be $60K, and the insurance company is offering $35K so you're on track to settle out. (They never put their best offer on the table until the supervising judge tells them to pick a jury.)

If your pain has objective indicators, such as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, the case could be worth more, but you're going to need to go to trial.

Hire an attorney. Tell him that you already have a $35K offer, so his contingent fee should be computed on the amount he gets (net of all expenses) in excess of that number. You'll be glad you did.

The max the insurance company will pay is determined by the policy. You can sue the person that caused the accident for anything you expect you are due over and above that amount. If he does not have deep pockets, it would probably be a waste of time. I mean, if you sue someone that makes $30,000 a year and get $25 Million dollars, do you think you will ever get it? And now you owe a lawyer a couple of million.

Insurance companies do not want to go to court. They have set aside a certain amount they're willing to pay on this (called a "reserve"), and they're offering you a small percentage of that.

If you use a personal injury attorney, they will either take a percentage or you pay their expenses, but it's not both. In my experience, the usual amount paid is about three times the financial damages.