third party

[grandad]

g/day just wondering if any one on here has had a third party pay out. the resond i ask is i was hit by a car and had my leg crushed and no longer able to work fulltime any more. i am now on centerlink disable pension, insurence is paying all my bill and stuff but wondering how long they will do it for before they offer me a pay out. cheers

[able]

im not to sure of the time scale but i do have a cautionary tale to tell.

i had a friend who waited some time for the payout some years ago and when they finally did pay him centerlink wanted every cent back. i shit you not!

i do remember that he had a severely crushed ankle and he was off the crutches and driving again when they finally payed him.

it was some years ago now and im not sure of his examples relativity but keep it in mind.

[Warren]

I think it will depend on what state your in.

In vic I think they have moved away from lump sum payouts for more of a pay for what you need as you go type thing.

Best to talk to someone legal in your state.

Warren

[Bedfordcrazy]

Hi Grandad, for those that know my situation, back in 2001 my courier van was hit head  on at 180ks, that speed came from the coroner and accident investigation, not me. I lost both legs an 1 eye, I lost my business, and went from $200-000 a year business to bankruptcy, because some junky stole a car. Anyhow while I was in a coma my wife signed me up for centrelink, and yes everything that the insurance and centrelink gave me and paid for had to be paid back when I got a payout. My advice is do not spend because everthing they pay for will need to be paid back.  I thought thats why I paid insurance, but no. I ended up paying back over quarter of a million dollars, but in my case it was extreme, I died on the highway twice, before I reached the ambulance, and I was only 5mins from the PA Hospital. You will have to pay back every last cent, they do not miss a thing.And here is something they will not tell you, they WILL NOT award you anymore then what the last person with simular injuries was awarded. No judge or mediator wants to set a precident. In my case because I lost 95% of my blood by the time i landed on the table, they could not put me to sleep, just paralise me, what that means is, while they were operating on me, I felt them open me up, but because i was paralised I could not move or scream, I felt everything, to this day I am tormented with nightmares, but the insurance company felt I was not entitled to anymore then someone that lost half a leg and felt no pain. It all comes down to the almighty dollar, and the fact, the stolen car was a government car, and they covered their arses with all the political clout they had. You will never win grandad, so go for the best deal you can for you, and if you have a lawer, just remember their fee comes out b4 you get your cheque, if you go to court, look at $100-000-00 for a couple of days in court. What you are about to go through is a mine field, and you will be the last to know what is happening, the lawers, insurance everyone is in bed with each other. If you have a specific Q you  can email me and i will see if i can help, my case dragged on for 4yrs till i settled.
Regards
      George.

[grandad]

thanks george i was a diesl fitter in the mines when i got hit same gone from 150,00 to centerlink payments ,insurence have made some interiorm payments to me to pay bills like car and stuff so i pay back centerlink every time they make a payment so i am covered they. i was t boned on my bike bloke didnt stop at a stop sighn he wasnt pissed or anything and admited that he was in the wrong. i have lost most of the use of my right leg lost use of midle finger on right hand right shoulder shatered fracked skull plus interal trouble. docs have now said that all that can be done now and lern to live with what i have got witch i am now coping ok but as you would know gets me down now and again. yes i have a good laywer. was just wondering how long arfter all the doc reports are done do they start to looking at a setelmet cheers

[Merlin]

I have been through the ringer with this one they drag it out for as long as poss so when it comes time to settle you are just fed up and will take the first offer just to get it over with (mine took 7 years) also the tax man takes 10% of the GROSS payout for medicare until you prove what they paid for in regards to the claim and they know how to drag arse when it comes to a refund !!!!DOGS also be carefull doing anything active in plain sight they watch you (I found a remote pencil camera near my place so they dont even have to be there to watch you ) sneaky bastards .even if you are doing something innocent they manipulate it to thier advantage                            Cheers and happy thoughts Neil

[Bedfordcrazy]

Hey Grandad, Merlin, you will find that they will not settle till your condition stabilises, then they will start the settlement war. Believe it or not, I lost both legs on the table, right up to the signatures went onto the settlement I had to prove i was not faking my injuries, i said to their lawer, how the ********************************************************************do i fake loosing my legs, you**************so on so on, they were going to find a way of getting out of paying the max. I worked as a PI for 30yrs so i new all the tricks they play with cameras and surveilance, i did plenty over the yrs. At the end of the day guys, look to get as much as you can, and then find an honest financial planner to manage that money, because here is something you may not know, the day you get your payout, they will ban you from getting any assistance for a period of time, so if you squander your payout, you could find you have nothing. I can not get any gov assistance for twenty years, so i have to be self funded long after im dead.  Im lucky i have a good planner.
Regards
         George............

[Bas NZ]

Shit guys, sounds like you are talking about New Zealand, same probs over here, remember these guys are in it to make money not lose it, so guess it says it all. George sounds like you have been to Hell and back, it's funny that when we are put in such a place that sounds impossable we get though it.

[Bedfordcrazy]

Hey Bas nz, you could say i have been to hell and back, but I guess I just dont know how to lie down and die. For someone that was fit and healthy and out doorsy, to now be confined to a whelchair for life, its a hard pill to swallow. But you know every day there is a problem to solve, on how can i do this and that, and i'll tell  you this, I am doing more from a chair these days then half the able bodied people I know. last year I had to make a decision on whether I should get rid of the beddy, and once I solved the problem of how do I get from a wheelchair to the drivers seat of a beddy, well the decision was made, and now all going well I should have my van on the road again this year, with yours truly driving. Hey I might not be rich, or working anymore, but I have my wife, and grand kids and my bedford, life is how I mould it now, and screw the greedy insurance companies. They won but they lost, cause I'm still here.
Regards
               George......................

[grandad]

not working is the one of the hardest parts work all my life now just sitting around with no money and little to do drives me crazy. so it just sit here a play the waiting game with the insurance company