Auto Insurance Claims: Bodily Injury Claim, lawyer, attorney

Question
I was a passenger in an automobile and the driver (not the owner/insured of the vehicle) pulled out in front of another vehicle. The driver of the vehicle I was a passenger in received the citation. The owner of the vehicle I was a passenger in has $1,000 medical pay insurance and $50,000 per person bodily injury and $100,000 per accident bodily injury. Her insurance company said they would cover me for bodily injury, medical pay, lost wages and pain & suffering. I had to have two surgeries already with possibly a third in a few months (broken/shattered collarbone). My medical bills alone will be very close to the $50,000 bodily injury limit the owner of the vehicle has. I feel I am entitled to pain & suffering as well as lost wages in addition to having my medical bills paid. I contacted my own insurance company who said said my own medpay will kick in once I have exhausted the owner of the vehicles medpay. Other than suing the driver of the car I was in, or the owner of the car I was in, is there any other way I can collect damages (ie lost wages, pain and suffering, the rest of my medical bills)? Neither of these people have any assets at all, so suing them would be a moot point. I am wondering if the owner of the vehicle has under insured insurance if that will cover me since she technically is under insured. Or do I have to file a claim with my insurance for under insured? If I do file a claim for under insured with my insurance company, will my rate/premium be affected? On a different note, the police report says that the driver of the other vehicle was "intoxicated" but does not specify if they were over the legal limit. I'm not sure if I can collect from this driver or not.

Also, the owner of the vehicle I was a passenger in wants a medical release form signed which gives them access to ALL medical files for me including before the accident. I am leery of signing such a document as it really has no bearing on what happened. I am afraid they will try to use pre-existing conditions against me (osteopenia) in my settlement. Do I have to sign this form? Or can I create my own form specifying medical records only after the accident?

Answer
Good question.  Sorry to hear you're in this predicament.  Here's what I would do.

(1) From the sound of it you should get the entire $50k from the host vehicle (the car you were a passenger in).  This is from the OWNER'S insurance policy.  You may have to sue the owner to get the full tender of the policy.  I would NOT settle for less than the full $50k as it may affect your ability to go after any other coverage that's available.

(2) Then you can look to the driver of the host vehicle and see if he/she has a policy.  If so you can look to that policy for coverage.  Once again, you'll probably have to sue to get these benefits.

(3) If you have your own auto insurance (or very rarely - a high end home policy) you can check to see if you have under-insurance coverage.  If you do and it exceeds the other coverages you can look to this policy for coverage.  Please note that the under-insurance of the host vehicle or the driver's policy (if any) probably only covers members of the host's/driver's family so that won't typically apply.

(4) Finally, you should absolutely sue the other vehicle that was involved in the accident.  Depending on what state you're in - if they are found even 1% responsible - they could be liable for the entire amount.  The "intoxication" comment on the police report will really help you.  This could double or triple the amount of coverage that's available to you.

As far as the medical release is concerned, they are only entitled to medical records that pertain to the parts of your body that you are claiming are injured in THIS accident - this is not a fishing expedition into your past.  The releases need to be worded very carefully.

And finally... you have a very complicated situation.  A competent attorney should be able to do wonders for your case and could double or triple the value.  I would suggest that you do not try to navigate these waters alone and find a knowledgeable lawyer.

Best regards,

Ernest Ferraro