If the Other Driver is at Fault Does it Matter if I Have No Insurance? Recently, I assisted a client in resolving a personal injury claim from a car accident in which the other driver was 100% at fault. My client did not have health insurance or car insurance. The at fault driver had car insurance.
At first glance, our client not having health or car insurance does not seem to be an issue. In reality, it played a substantial role in our client not receiving as much of the settlement proceeds as she should have.
First, health insurance pays for medical bills regardless of who is at fault. When you go to a hospital following an accident you receive medical treatment. The hospital is not interested in who caused the accident but expects that the person receiving the treatment is the person responsible for paying the hospital bill. If there is no health insurance the medical bills still need to be paid. Sometimes, there is a great deal of time that passes from when you receive medical treatment and a medical bill to receiving your settlement proceeds. Although there are things we can do to keep the “bill collectors from your door” there are no guarantees.
Had our client had car insurance with medical payments coverage, medical payments coverage would have paid all or most of the medical bills. In addition, in most cases you can negotiate on how much to pay back your insurance company from the settlement proceeds and most often it is less than 100% of what they paid. On the other hand, hospitals and doctors are less likely to negotiate the amount of their bills, especially if they have to wait for payment.
Although not an issue in this case, had our client been seriously injured and the injuries would have entitled him/her to damages in excess of the at fault party’s amount of liability coverage, our client could have had underinsured motorist coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage provides coverage when the at fault driver does not have adequate insurance to cover your damages. The same is true for uninsured motorist coverage which applies to situations when you are injured by a driver without any insurance.
In short, not having car insurance with medical payments coverage and not having health insurance resulted in our client having to pay back all of the medical expenses which substantially impacted how much money the client actually received from the settlement proceeds.
Insurance is expensive; however, there are many options. Automobile insurance is very competitive so I strongly suggest that you search to find the least expensive insurance coverage. Driving an automobile without insurance is a violation of the law. It is important to have car insurance with at least the minimum amounts of coverage.
With respect to health insurance, it goes without saying that it is not only expensive but it is important. Again, there are many options and I urge you to explore all of those options to see what is available. One never knows when an accident will occur making it difficult to predict when you will need these insurances.
If you or a loved one have been injured in an automobile accident, whether with or without insurance, please contact me for a no cost, no obligation consultation. As indicated, there are many options to explore to assist you in receiving the compensation you are entitled when injured in an accident caused by another. We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis which means you do not pay for our fees unless and until there is a recovery.
In the Madison area call (608) 824-8540, in the Baraboo area (608) 356-3961, statewide call (866) 455-2993, email at mark@kh-law.net or check out our website at https://khtlawyers.com for more information.
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