I accidentily posted this before but as I stood behind a boom truck on a job site an old guy lost control and slammed into me shattering both my femurs. He only had a $100,000 in liability insurance yet everything he owned was in family trust. I ended up settling wth my employers underinsured motorist. I don't think that is right.
Mike M
I guess I didn't give enough detail, the guy that hit me had nothihg to do with the job, but all his assets were tied up in a trust. There for my employers under insured motorist policy applyied which is why contractors insurance is so high. I came out OK but it bothered me that the lawyer went for the easiest recourse.
Mike M
I wasn't injured by anyone on the job. But apparently in Washington State you can put everything in a family trust that makes the lawyers go after everyone else. My employer was well insured, but really had no liability and treated me well. Keptt me on medical for over a year knowing I couldn't come back. Then when thet settled the employers auto insurance payed back L&I and me though they weren't at fault . The underinsured driver was protected by his family trust.
Mike M
I'm confused. Who owned the truck? It that your employer? How is the operator involved? Does he own the truck or does he work for the owner of the truck? Did he hit you with the truck or the boom?
Mike M wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
I guess Washington State needs insurance reform ...
And why were you close enough that his "mistake" could break your legs?
Are you sure you have no fault in this?
Why do you think you deserve more than USD 100,000?
My employer owned the truck, and I was on the job. I was behind the truck to set the outriggers. I was the operator. An 84 year old man got confused between the brake and gas and pinned me between his car and the truck. I dented 1/4" diamond plate steel. He only had $100,000 in liability insurance, which only covered the first week of hospital expense. Because the man that hit me had everything in a living trust they went after my employers underinsured motorist insurance. Though it was a workmen's compensation claim the employers insurance got stuck with it because it was caused by a third party, and they couldn't get the assets of tha man that caused it. The state goes after the person at fault if they can, or if you hire your own attorney they put a lien on the judgement.
Mike M
Mike M
Or people need to carry adequate insurance. In this state a commercial contractor pretty much has to have 2-5 million in liability to get any contracts. They let people drive with a minimum of $25000 in liability in this state.
Mike M
Mike M wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
I really feel for you, Mike, honestly. But as I said, WA needs insurance reform. 25K liability isn't enough. For anyone. Why and how an 84 year-old man was in that truck, I can't understand. Your employer should have had better on the job safety, so yes, they should pay if 84 year-old Joe can't. IANAL, so I don't know how you could legally shield yourself from liability in a case like this by putting your possessions in a trust.
I was on a job installing a pole, with the truck, the 84 year old hit me with his car and pinned me to the truck.
Well it's kind of hard to operate a boom truck if your not right there, and I wasn't in the roadway, the 84 year old had prostate cancer & luekemia and lost control 60' away from me and crossed into a parking lot area where we were working. My medical bills were closer to $200,000, then there were lost wages for a year before being declared permantly disabled.
Mike M
and THAT is exactly why we have our money in Trusts.
"Mike Marlow" wrote in news:f2aa0$4f26fd47 $4b75eb81$ snipped-for-privacy@ALLTEL.NET:
Mike M and Mike Marlow, it is only now clear to me. Sorry for being dense. That is really sad for everyone involved. I guess the old man shouldn't have beend driving anymore in his condition, but I know how difficult it can be to give up driving when that's how you get around. Dad had that problem and only after he almost wiped out a bicyclist did he realize it was time.
Mike M, how are you doing now? If you care to elaborate, that is ...
Han I have far more to be happy about then to complain. Harborview Hospital in Seattle is one of the top trauma centers in the country. I also had a couple of the best surgeons so they saved my legs although I'm missing a chunk of one. It's amazing one they do now. I actually have titanium rods in both femurs & big old stainless screws holding the head on one. I was able to start physical therapy after one week. Used a walker by a month, and at 7 months could pretty much walk unassisted. Now I'm not able to do what I used to, but I consider myself lucky. Being on the job injury you still have a little income and the medical bills get paid. Think what this does to families that don't have their own coverage. I came out pretty well and even paid the state back for what I cost them. I get some pain in one leg but it's mostly from over doing things. Just expanded the shop by 360 sq. ft and looking forward to rearranging things. Just have to finish making up the electrical.
Mike M
In this case it appears the trust was misused, and the person was significantly under insured.
However trusts for the elderly are a good thing. Under our laws if a person is forced into a nursing home, the family can loose everything, even if the nursing home stay is only for a short time. Under this scenario after a given period the person will not have the financial ability to leave the nursing home since all of his assets will have been used to provide his care. He may then be forced to live the rest of his life in a nursing home. It happened to my grandmother who ended up spending over 20 years in a nursing home.
In Indiana, if you have an approved long term care insurance policy that covers a state approved length in the nursing home care, once you have expended the policy, Indiana will not force you to liquidate your asset to continue to stay in the nursing home.
While it seems like a lot of money, in Indiana, long term care is an insurance policy to protect the assets that you have accumulated, and provide your wife the funds she needs so she can live her remaining life in her own home.
I am glad to hear that things worked out. Remember as you complete your new shop you are about to undertake an electrifying task that could mess up the progress you have made.
Hard to keep a good man down!
My hats off to you ...
Thanks for the concern, I'm pretty comfortable around electricity as thats why I was putting up a pole. I've been in the trade since I was
16.
Thanks, but after 1 week in the hospital & 5 weeks in the nursing home I was awfully inspired to get home. Trust me if you ever stay in a nursing home you'll never feel sorry for yourself again unless you end up back there again.
Mike M
Mike M wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Congratulations! Both for healing so well, and for your largesse.
I broke both tibia and fibula just above the ankle in my right leg. I was lucky to be near a hospital in Holland with an excellent trauma surgeon (I was born Dutch, which made communication easy). With a couple of plates and a dozen or so screws, my leg is 99% now, a year and a half later. Insurance covered all but some $250 (but not the firstclass airplane fare for the return trip from Paris).
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