Does Health Insurance Cover Injuries from a Car Accident?

insurance personal injury lawyer

Health Insurance vs. Car Insurance

Almost every state in this country requires a motor vehicle driver to carry insurance, except for New Hampshire and Virginia. Whenever you need to go to the hospital, you expect to utilize the services you pay for to cover your care. But what happens when you seek medical treatment as a result of a car accident? Does your medical insurance still cover this bill, or do you turn to your car insurance for assistance?

Which Insurance Company Covers the Bills?

This question is really quite detailed, and many factors come into play. In most cases, whoever is at fault is responsible for the medical bills. If someone else hits you and is cited for the accident, it is their insurance that is responsible for paying your medical bills. Now, let us suppose that you are hit by someone who did not have insurance coverage.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists

For situations where the at-fault party has little to no coverage, carrying an insurance policy known as uninsured or underinsured motorists coverage can help alleviate the stress of mounting medical bills. This coverage can allow your motor vehicle insurance to cover the medical portion of whatever the at-fault drivers could not. This can be especially important if injuries have lasting or permanent effects.

Initial Medical Costs Are Not Always Final

When it comes to a car accident and medical costs, the initial costs of treatment may not be the final total on care. Oftentimes, people do not realize how severely injured they are until days or even weeks after the incident.

Furthermore, if you have had to take time off of work due to your injuries, or have a possibly disabling condition; you may be entitled to further compensation for those damages as well. A DC car accident lawyer can stand beside you and fight for a compensation package that may be able to better recuperate damages you’ve suffered.

Why You May Need an Attorney

An insurance company wants to settle the claim as quickly and as quietly as possible. They do not want to go to court, and do not want to pay a dime more than they have to. Your best interest is not their priority; their main focus is to protect their bottom line. An attorney may be able to help combat attempts to settle your claim with a low-ball offer, expedite the settlement award process, and offer peace of mind by professionally managing all of the complexities of your case.

A top attorney should be able to examine your potential case and determine the path to compensation. They may also be able to assist in determining who is responsible for the medical bills based on your unique situation. There are always loopholes and all sorts of red tape when it comes to an auto accident; which is why having a legal adviser can be so beneficial.

Do you need a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Please call Patterson Bray for a free consultation at 901-372-5003. We are personal injury lawyers in Memphis and Nashville and have extensive experience handling car accident cases. Tell us about your car accident case and let us help you. Sign up for email notifications of our blog post!

 

Thanks to our friends and contributors at Cohen & Cohen, P.C. for their additional insight into car accident and personal injury practice.

Why You Don’t Hear About Liability Insurance in a Jury Trial

memphis injury lawyer jury trial

Why You Don’t Hear About Liability Insurance in a Jury Trial

Did you know that during most Tennessee state court jury trials, you will never hear the word “insurance?”  That’s because 99% of the time, evidence of liability insurance is not admissible under the Tennessee Rules of Evidence.

Tennessee Rule of Evidence 411 provides that:

Evidence that a person was or was not insured against liability is not admissible upon issues of negligence or other wrongful conduct. This rule does not require the exclusion of evidence of insurance against liability when offered for another purpose, such as proof of agency, ownership, or control, or bias or prejudice of a witness.

Rationale

Rule 411 is based on the notion that disputes should be resolved based on the conduct of the people involved, not based on whether they have insurance.

Insurance Jury Instruction

Not everyone has insurance. Some people have some insurance, but not enough.  Sometimes a person will have purchased an insurance policy only to find out that it won’t apply to pay damages in certain kinds of lawsuits. Sometimes the Judge will issue a jury instruction in Tennessee to help guard against improper consideration of insurance.  When the instruction is used, the Judge tells the jury that:

[W]hether or not insurance exists has no bearing upon any issue in this case. You may not discuss insurance or speculate about insurance based on your general knowledge.  There are sound reasons for this rule. A party is no more or less likely to be negligent because a party does or does not have insurance. Injuries and damages, if any, are not increased or decreased because a party does or does not have insurance.

Tennessee Pattern Jury Instruction – Civil 1.05.

Insurance Information Is Still Useful

Just because we can’t use evidence of insurance in jury trials doesn’t mean we can’t make good use of the information.  Knowing whether parties are insured, and to what extent, helps us develop an efficient strategy for resolving a dispute, and it helps us give sound advice to our clients who are wondering if they should settle a claim or file a lawsuit.

Need help settling a claim with a liability insurance carrier?

We can help you. Patterson Bray has offices in Memphis and Nashville Tennessee. Call us at 901-372-5003 or email us here.

What is uninsured motorist coverage, and how much do I need?

What is uninsured motorist coverage, and how much do I need?

uninsured motorist coverage lawyer auto accidentUnder Tennessee law, a driver is required to maintain liability insurance to cover any damages that the driver might cause in a car wreck or related accident.  That way, innocent victims are protected. Unfortunately, though, the minimum legal limit required under Tennessee law for liability coverage is only $25,000 — which is extremely low.  A car wreck can easily exhaust $25,000 in coverage.  And, of course, many drivers choose to violate the law by not carrying any auto insurance at all.  We see it all the time here in Memphis. This is why you need uninsured motorist coverage or “UM” coverage.

What happens if I get hit by a driver with little or no liability insurance?

This is where your own uninsured motorist coverage or underinsured motorist coverage would kick in to protect you.

In insurance lingo, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is typically referred to as “UM coverage.”  UM coverage is included as part of your own liability policy, and it is usually the same amount as your liability coverage.  So, if you have $50,000 in liability coverage, then you also have $50,000 in UM coverage.  The UM component of your policy essentially makes up the difference for any deficiency in the liability coverage of the negligent driver.

But there’s a catch:  UM coverage is only available to the extent your own policy limit is greater than the policy limit of the negligent driver in the auto accident.

Examples of How Uninsured Motorist Coverage Works

Example 1:  Our client suffered spinal injuries and a broken pelvis in a car crash requiring significant surgeries and medical treatment.  The negligent driver only had $50,000 in insurance coverage, but fortunately, our client carried $250,000 coverage of her own.  We were therefore able to negotiate a total settlement of $250,000 (the first $50,000 from negligent party’s insurance company and the remaining $200,000 from our client’s own insurance company).  

Example 2:  Our client was partially paralyzed in a car crash. Unfortunately, the negligent driver only had $25,000 in liability insurance coverage, and the client only had $50,000 herself.  As a result, the client was only able to recover a total of $50,000 ($25,000 from negligent party’s insurance company plus an additional $25,000 from her own insurance company).  The negligent driver had no assets to pursue.

Review your insurance policy today and check your coverage.

The examples above highlight a very important LESSON.   While it may be tempting when buying your own insurance to choose the cheaper option of low liability limits, you must remember that you are not just choosing liability protection for others, or making a risk calculation about whether you think you are a safe driver who may never  cause an accident or need liability coverage.  Indeed, when choosing your coverage limits, you are — in effect — also choosing the insurance limits that will cover your own family if a potential UM coverage situation occurs where an uninsured driver negligently crashes into you or another member of your family.  In other words, low liability limits may seem like a bargain until someone with little or no insurance causes a catastrophic injury to you or someone in your family.  Often, the marginal price for an increase in coverage is quite minimal.  And well worth it!

If you need a car accident lawyer

If you’ve been in a car crash, even relatively minor injuries can be overwhelming. Medical treatment can be  expensive, and injuries often result in lost wages. We would be honored to review your case free of charge.  Please either submit an online request for a Free Case Review, or call to speak with one of our car accident lawyers at 901-372-5003.