The Source Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Question: Car Accident, Bills, and No Living Will A few days ago, my aunt was in a serious car accident. Since she has 9 bone fractures, she is unable to work to pay bills. While she is in the hospital, her father and son live at her home. Since she lives pay check to pay check, there will eventually be no paychecks coming in. She does not have a legal attorney or living will. What can be done to protect her home, so the two who are living there can stay there? Is there anything that can be done, which will hold back the bills for a certain amount of time? So, that my aunt can recover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimartin Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 I am not a lawyer and any legal advice should only be received from a knowledgeable person from the state or states involved. Questions: Who was at fault in the accident? If the other person was at fault she needs to file a claim against their insurance ASAP (Unless it is a Non-Fault State and then call the claim into your aunts company.) Does she have auto insurance? If so see if she has Personal Injury coverage? Personal Injury coverage varies state by state, but it may provide coverage in some form for loss wages. If the other person was at fault or did not have insurance or if you live in a Non-Fault state there may be coverage under Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist on her policy or another coverage listed on the policy. In some state you can reject this coverage to save on the insurance premium, but I would verify if she has the coverage or not. You can call your state department of insurance should you run into any problems or if you have any question or concerns about the policy or the adjustor. Depending on who was at fault and the insurance companies response would determine to me when it time to seek addition legal help. Then I would seek assistance from someone your family trust in recommending an attorney. Check the credit card to see if she has disability coverage with any of them. Same goes for her employer if she has benefits she may have disability coverage there. Good luck. EDIT: Another thing that I would personally do since you said she does not have a living will. By saying that I take it no one has power of attorney. Am I correct? Then if she is under the influence of pain killers I would make sure someone is with her (that is knowledgeable and trustworthy) when she meets with the insurance adjustor. Do not let her sign anything if she is not 100% aware of what she is signing. The insurance company/ies will want to settle the claim as quickly as possible and will offer money for pain and suffering to get the claim settled fast. She is injured and the full extent may not be fully realized yet. Until the full extent is realized there is no way to ascertain the amount she is legally entitled to. I’ve been around this business since I was 9 years old and even I have signed a form releasing an insurance company from any future liability without really understanding the extent of the injury. I ended up having knee surgery and having to pay for it out of my own pocket because they offered a then 18 year old $500.00 for pain and suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Source Posted July 4, 2007 Author Share Posted July 4, 2007 She fell asleep at the wheel, and hit a tree at full speed. I am mostly looking for suggestion, and you have done a great job. I was hoping to stumble upon possible ideas. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I would contact also the social work department in the hospital ASAP and talk to them about it. They deal specifically with situations like this, and if she's uninsured and unable to work due to injuries, they can fast-track Medicaid (or Medicare if she's that age) processing and sometimes SSI/Disability. When my good friend ended up on life support for several days from fungal meningitis and was off work and had no health insurance, they got him taken care of pretty quickly with Medicaid. If you file disability, expect the gov't to reject it out of hand the first time through. A lot of people end up needing lawyers to get this since there's been a lot of abuse in the past (and still is to some extent). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totenkopf Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Is there anyway that family members can make a contibution, at least in the short term? Something being better than nothing, of course. Best 'o luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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