QuestionQUESTION: Hello my husband was involved in a accident where he suffered back and neck injuries.He was hit while sitting at a red light.The person who hit him only have $50.000 worth of insurance which my husbands medical bills are more than that and the doctors are saying he is going to have to have surgery and he will need medical attention for the rest of his life.Can we go after his insurance company for compensation? And also can we sue our own insurance for the bodily injury insurance? They are telling our lawyer that they will only pay a small amount but that is why we pay a higher deductible for this reason.The insurance company is saying that we are not entitled to that money only the other driver is entitled to the money.
ANSWER: Dear Phyllis,
I will answer your questions in the order you asked them.
#1. “Can we go after his insurance company for compensation?”
Answer: NO, you do not sue the tortfeasor’s company, you sue the tortfeasor. If he has a lot of insurance, then fine, the company will pay. But if he has a smaller policy wherein the general damages will not even be covered, then NO, you do not have a claim directly versus his insurance company.
There is a remedy if the tortfeasor has some assets: you can sue him directly and take both the insurance policy AND sufficient assets of his so as to satisfy any judgment you are awarded.
#2. “And also can we sue our own insurance for the bodily injury insurance?”
Answer: Yes, if your husband’s claim is more than the tortfeasor’s policy limits, then you can make a claim for the excess against your own Underinsured Motorist coverage (UIM). You will have a limit on the claim, determined by your UIM limits, less the limits of the tortfeasor. Hence, if you carry $100,000 in UIM limits, and the tortfeasor has $50,000, then the amount available for you under your own policy is the total value of your claim ABOVE $50K, and UP TO, BUT NOT EXCEEDING $100K.
Liability Insurance Policy Limits Settlements in Personal Injury Insurance Injury Claims: Car Accident Injuries http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0451.htm
#3. “They are telling our lawyer that they will only pay a small amount but that is why we pay a higher deductible for this reason.”
Answer: I am not sure what this is about. It sounds like they have valued your husband’s claim at slightly higher than the policy limits of the tortfeasor. As noted above, you get from your UIM only that amount by which the value of your claim exceeds the tortfeasor’s limits. In the above example, perhaps they valued your husband’s claim at $62,000 in total Therefore, you would receive only $12,000 of your UIM coverage since you already got the first $50K from the tortfeasor.
#4. “The insurance company is saying that we are not entitled to that money only the other driver is entitled to the money.”
Answer: I am not too sure what you are talking about in the last sentence wherein you mention that some insurance company “is saying that we are not entitled to that money only the other driver is entitled to the money.” Unfortunately, you did not explain which company this could be. I will guess anyway. It sounds like you might not have purchased any UIM coverage. That would be a shame, because there is always a greater risk of loss by the hand of another than by your own accident. If that is the case, then your own company is saying that the BI (bodily injury) coverage you have is for liability only. In other words when YOU cause an accident then that money, as they say, is meant for the other driver.
For an explanation of insurance terms and a smart way to buy auto insurance http://www.settlementcentral.com/page8006.htm
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
Http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
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QUESTION: sorry i did not explain the last question. i am going to try again. our lawyer is saying that our insurance company which is usaa is telling him that they can only give us $25.000 for my husbands injuries. so we asked why do we have $300k for bodily injury and we have anther $250k for some other kind of bodily injury if we cant use it, so the lawyer said that only the other motorist is entailed to that not us. but my husband think that the $25k is the uim they are trying to give us. so what do he do about long term health issues ? and we were told that all he have to do is file bankruptcy and we still won't get anything.
AnswerHello again, Phyllis,
Please check with your insurance company by phone, or with your lawyer, to find out how much your UIM coverage is. From what you wrote to me, it sounds like your bodily injury LIABILITY coverage is the big figure of $300K.
I have no idea what the $250K is, so ask the attorney and get back to me.
It sounds like you only bought $25K of UIM coverage. Does that sound right?
Please go back and read the pages I sent you on how to buy insurance. The page I sent has a second page linked to it near the bottom and there you can get a good idea of the different coverages.
As for the medical bills and what to do, that is why we advise people to insure as high as possible for UIM. You can see if the tortfeasor has any assets and go after him.
As for the attorney, I would challenge ANY ATTORNEY FEE HIGHER THAN $1,000. If in fact your medicals exceed the policy limits, then the attorney should have put in his contract that he would not charge any fee, or max of $1,000 if the tortfeasor had limits of $50K or less.
Same for your UIM. If you only have $25K available, and the medical bills are over $50K, then there should be no fee, or combined fee of $1,000.
Why do I say this? Because a blind dog with a note in its mouth could settle both the $50K and the $25K limits if the medical expenses alone exceed $50K.
I want you to do a better job of knowing what the provisions of your policy stand for. Get a good explanation. Then get a good handle on the total amount of the medical expenses. Next get an idea of the types of injuries your husband suffered and what his prognosis is. Finally, get out the attorney's fee agreement and tell me what it says about reducing the fee if the tortfeasor's limits are low.
With all of that, then write me back. At the least we will show you how to cut down the attorney fees. It would be almost stealing to charge your husband a contingency fee on a case where no attorney at all is needed.
DO NOT TELL THE ATTORNEY WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Do not let him know you are thinking of terminating his contract and/or asking the state bar association to arbitrate the fees he is claiming. Let me see all of the information above first.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
Http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
