Is Geico a good company to work for?

Best course of action to take with Ins. company ?

• This may take awhile, so get a cup of tea. :) On June 14, 2009 my mother and father were hit head on by a negligent driver. CHP ruled that the other driver was at fault. There were a total of four people injured. My mother, referred to as Jane, was injured seriously and remained in a coma for 46 days in ICU. Jane then spent a total of 9 months in hospital care. Jane's medical bills were abt. $1M. Jane could not afford these bills and was eligible for State insurance (Medi-Cal aka Medicaid). Jane suffered a broken neck, broken (L) femur, shattered (R) ankle and (R) calcaneus, all ribs were broken, diaphragm ruptured, and suffered a stroke leaving per partially paralyzed on her left side. In addition to these physical injuries Jane has also suffered many mental setbacks. Due to the stroke Jane's mental status has been reduced greatly. While she can still function she has a hard time understanding and coping with things. The at fault's insurance (Geico) has offered to pay the total policy limits of $100,000.00 to all four of the people that were injured in the accident. Each of the four injured people must sign a release waiving all future claims against the person who caused the accident. If all four people do not sign, the insurance company has not protected its insured and therefore will not pay out the money. Jane's insurance company (AAA) has offered to pay Jane $100,000.00 less the amount received from Geico. This would mean, $25k from Geico, $75K from AAA. For a total of $100k. Minus medical liens and atty fees. Bringing Jane's total ins. settlement to about $40k. Jane can no longer work, use the restroom unattended, fix her own meals, shower herself, or anything of that nature. IMO, $40k does not cover the damage done to Jane. Should Jane not settle and instead sue Geico/The person who caused the accident for XXX amount of dollars for pain/suffering, mental distress/anguish, and money to care for Jane for X number of years ????

• Answer:

  You can't sue Geico. Geico was not driving the car. Geico was not negligent. You can sue the at fault driver. HOWEVER, a law suit against the at fault driver is only worth doing IF the at fault driver has assets. If the at fault driver is a multimillionaire, then its probably worth suing rather than taking the insurance money. If the at fault driver is just an average Joe and does not have any assets - don't waste your time with a law suit. Take the insurance money. People get real fixated on filing a law suit and getting a judgment. The problem - if the person does not have any assets to take then you won't see a dime. What's worse, they can then turn around, claim bankruptcy and your judgment just went out the window. Then you still get stuck paying your lawyer his fee. The insurance companies have offered their policy limits. That means they can't pay anymore. There is no more to pay. If the at fault driver has no assets, you can get a judgment for a gazillion dollars, but if they don't have a gazillion dollars to pay the judgment - you won't ever see a penny. If you have an attorney, your attorney can do an asset check. If you don't have an attorney, go down to the records room at the court house for the county where the at fault driver lives. See if they own any property that is not mortgaged. Its public record. If all they have is mortgaged property, then there really is not anything to take. Once you settle up, if she can not work, then she needs to apply for disability.