Handling Car Accident Insurance Issues

Here’s the last part about what to do if you are injured in a car accident.  Today we’ll talk about how to navigate the insurance and liability issues.

Note:  this is not legal advice; just practical information regarding car insurance that can be found online.  Consult with an experienced personal injury attorney for expert advice.

In the best case scenarios, both parties involved in the car accident are able to handle matters regarding medical care and bills through their insurance companies alone.  The insurance companies cooperate, pay the bills, and the case is closed.

But what happens if:

• The other person says it was your fault, but you believe it was their fault
• You are not the owner of the car you were in/ the other driver isn’t the owner of the car he was in
• The other driver is uninsured
• Your injuries are beyond a strain/sprain
• Your car is totaled
• Because of the accident, you have to miss some work and/or lose income
• Your medical coverage under your car insurance is not enough to pay your medical bills
• You were driving your company car
• Your insurance refuses to pay for certain damages

These are just some examples where you may want to consider hiring a personal injury attorney.  If you hire one to represent you, all communications regarding the accident need to go through your attorney.  He/she will basically consult with you, determine your monetary damages, and try to get an out of court settlement for you either from the at-fault insurance company (3rd Party) or your insurance company, depending on the nature of the claim.  If you require medical care, the attorney may wait until you are discharged and all medical bills are received before presenting the insurance company with the final claim.  In a best case scenario, the case is settled out of court and the insurance pays out the whole amount, or something close to it.  It gets more complicated when there are significant disagreements, and the insurance company decides to settle in court.  Then the attorney may need to deposition you, your doctors, and other witnesses.  This will incur more costs and will generally take longer for your case to settle.

In general, the car insurance industry gauges your case based on the dollar amount of your car damage.  As a rule of thumb, anything over $10,000 in car damage (or totaled car) is a case that most PI attorneys are willing to accept.  However, it is not set in stone.  Cases less than $5,000 in car damage and medical bills can probably be handled out of of court, or at least in a small claims court without an attorney.

I should add here that sometimes the 3rd party car insurance (at-fault party’s insurance) may offer you a lump-sum settlement before you have a chance to hire an attorney, and it may look attractive to you.  Be wary about this, because accepting it closes out your case with them.  If you develop health problems later, or your car breaks down later because of an undetected problem, you are on your own.

I recommend that you print out the last three blog posts and keep for reference, in case you have the misfortune of being involved in a car accident.

Dan Perez Dc
San Francisco Chiropractors