Legal Question in Personal Injury in Hawaii

Re: re: sustained back injuries due to auto accident

Once your friend settles her case, she will not receive any more money unless she had underinsured motorist coverage or the other party had some type of "umbrella" coverage. Therefore, it is important that your friend not settle her case until she is sure that she has recovered or almost fully recovered from her injuries and understands now much future treatment she may need, if any (and the costs of such future treatment). Keep in mind that her car insurance, the PIP carrier, should pay her medical expenses up to the limit which is normally $10,000.00. If she purchased a higher limit, then the PIP carrier should pay up to that limit. These PIP benefits should be paid even after she settles. However, a PIP carrier can "deny" paying any bill that it deems to be excessive, or for treatment that was not reasonable, necessary or appropriate. Hopefully, your friend has private health insurance like HMSA or Kaiser. This should provide her with a back-up source to pay any outstanding medical bills. She should check with her provider regarding this.

The bottom line is that your friend should make an informed decision when settling. She needs to know how much more treatment she will need and what that will cost. She also needs to know what insurance, if any, will pay those bills. She also needs to understand that once she settles, it is final. Finally, before settling, she needs to check if there is any other insurance that may apply to compensate her for her injuries.

Sincerely,

Robert D. Kawamura