Ask MetaFilter | Community Weblog: "Eventually my lawyer (who happens to be a relative--convenient, yes) said 'look, pay him $100K or we're going to court.'

They paid.

I didn't want to go to court--I'm in Texas, where sideswiping a cyclist is considered meritorious conduct, and I might not have had a sympathetic jury. My lawyer took 30%. My insurance company subrogated my claim (that is, they wound up being $0 out of pocket). I still wound up with a good chunk of change. To put this in context, I had a broken hip that put me at risk for avascular necrosis, which would be Bad--so I wanted to make sure my settlement took care of that risk, since I'd be in for a world of hurt (and bills, and reduced mobility) if I needed a hip replacement 5 years down the road.
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