Accident - question on children

[visualk]

Hello,

I've been involved in a car accident, rear ended got a bad case of whip lash and back pain. I have 3rd party insurance. I read up on many of the threads discussing this and so far I know the following:

1. I must contact the other party's insurance
2. I must claim accident benefits through my own insurance
3. I can go with the other party approved body shop or choose my own (but then deal with delay and possible extra costs)
4. I'm aware of betterment charges
5. For soft tissue I may as well forgo a lawyer and claim the maximum for soft tissue

Now what I don't know is what I can claim for my children being in the car. They are 4 and 7 and as far as I know it is their seats, is there anything apart from that I can claim for?

*edited I removed sue because I don't really want to pursue that course of action - note: at this time they don't appear to be injured but we have a check up with the doc to confirm

Thanks

[ExtraSlow]

Other know a lot more than me on this topic, but my understanding is that aside from hard costs relating to physio/massage/rehab to recover from injuries, people are eligible for lost income due to an inability to work.
That obviously doesn't apply to kids.

Not sure there's a "pain and suffering" amount.

One thing you definetly can and should claim is for brand new car seats.

[cycosis]

Are they injured? if not, why would you sue?

[ganesh]

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Are they injured? if not, why would you sue?

Exactly.
The key word OP used in his post is Sue

[skandalouz_08]

Sorry to hijack but what is the maximum you can claim for soft tissue? And is there a maximum you can claim for lost wages?

[visualk]

Not sure what the current cap is.

A question for the insurance guru out there, when the other party's insurance has received the estimate for repairs do you have to go through with it? If you wanted the cash value could you do that or what are my options here? One thing the body shop mentioned was that there might be additional damage beneath the bumper but it wouldn't be known until we went with the repairs. So I guess this would be something we would not know at this time if we were able to "cash out" for repairs.

Your thoughts on how I should proceed?

[G-ZUS]

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Not sure what the current cap is.

A question for the insurance guru out there, when the other party's insurance has received the estimate for repairs do you have to go through with it? If you wanted the cash value could you do that or what are my options here? One thing the body shop mentioned was that there might be additional damage beneath the bumper but it wouldn't be known until we went with the repairs. So I guess this would be something we would not know at this time if we were able to "cash out" for repairs.

Your thoughts on how I should proceed?

Been through that before, just took the pay out. it's usually cost to fix - 20%. whats the value of the car vs damage estimate? pics?

[ExtraSlow]

If it's anything but the lightest, easiest to fix damage I'd let the insurance take care of the repair. They find broken shit underneath and you don't want that to be your problem.

[Misterman]

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Hello,

I've been involved in a car accident, rear ended got a bad case of whip lash and back pain. I have 3rd party insurance. I read up on many of the threads discussing this and so far I know the following:

1. I must contact the other party's insurance
2. I must claim accident benefits through my own insurance
3. I can go with the other party approved body shop or choose my own (but then deal with delay and possible extra costs)
4. I'm aware of betterment charges
5. For soft tissue I may as well forgo a lawyer and claim the maximum for soft tissue

Now what I don't know is what I can claim for my children being in the car. They are 4 and 7 and as far as I know it is their seats, is there anything apart from that I can claim for?

*edited I removed sue because I don't really want to pursue that course of action - note: at this time they don't appear to be injured but we have a check up with the doc to confirm

Thanks

1. No, that's what your insurance is for. Get a police report and send it to your insurance(Which they would've informed you of already when you reported the accident to them).

2. Sounds about right. But personally I'd be keeping very good track of everything medical, and talking to a lawyer. One that only charges percentage what is awarded. Especially if there is kids involved that might have future issues from this.

3. You can go wherever you choose for repairs. It'll be quicker and easier if you go through your companies preferred repair facility though.

5. Personal choice. Almost guaranteed a lawyer will get you more though. Plus it's a big headache dealing with insurance companies trying to wait you out with lowballs for 4 years until you cave and accept.

Injured is a matter of perspective. If you have headaches and lethargy, that's injury. And there is no way to confirm either of those things. You don't need to "Sue" per se. A lawyer will deal with it all behind the scenes and get you a settlement outside of court.

EDIT- Probably all useless info now as I'm sure OP has done something by now.