Q: The woman who hit my car won't contact her insurance company so they won't pay for my medical or repair.

A: I do not practice in Illinois, and more information would be helpful here. However, as a general matter, if you have retained an attorney and they have contacted the other side’s carrier, that should enable moving forward with a property damage claim regardless of driver contacting her insurance.

Tim Akpinar

A: They don't have to pay if she does not cooperate. there must be some misunderstanding. It makes no sense for your attorney to instruct that you repair the car with your own money. Remember, personal injury attorneys are generally not concerned about property damage beyond whether there is sufficient property damage to support the claimed injury. The property damage claim is settled separately and you do not pay your attorney any fee on the property damage claim. Never accept money for a property damage claim where the other driver is at fault. Instead, tell the shop where the car is being repaired that you will not authorize payment until the car is repaired to your satisfaction.

As noted above, it is not feasible to bring a lawsuit for property damage with an attorney. for example, if there is $10,000 of damage to your car and your attorney charges a one-third, contingency fee, the most you could recover after fees and costs be a little more than $6000.

In the last 20 years, most group health insurance plans have a provision which requires that you exhaust any med pay on your auto policy before they will pay medical bills. All money paid by YOUR auto insurance, your health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid MUST be repaid at 2/3 of what they paid. You can never double-recover.