After a car crash, bills mount up rapidly. Your vehicle may be totaled or need major repairs, and your medical bills may be astronomical. If you have had serious injuries, you will have expenses for an ambulance, emergency room and hospitals, diagnostic tests, medications, and doctor and surgical bills. Then you may have recurring bills for future treatments and rehabilitation that could go on for years. Personal injury lawyers can help.
If your limited-tort insurance is not enough to pay your bills, or if you are in the midst of the claim process or litigation and have not yet received a settlement, you will have to find other ways to pay your costs. These are some options:
1. Health Insurance
If you have public, private, or employer-sponsored health insurance, most policies will pay your medical bills after your deductible and copayments. Some insurers will want to recover what they have paid for you out of your settlement check and may take out a lien on your settlement if the other driver or their insurance company is liable for the damages.
2. Outside Pre-Settlement Funding
The following are some ways to meet your costs after an accident or while waiting for a settlement:
- If auto and health insurance is not enough, you can apply for government assistance or ask for loans from family or friends.
- An attorney can provide a letter of protection for your doctors stating that the treatment you receive now will be paid for once you obtain your settlement.
- There are pre-settlement finance companies that provide loans to help with bills after an accident as a cash advance on your future settlement. However, these loans may carry interest rates as high as 50 percent to make up for the risk of not getting your settlement.
- Consult a car accident attorney to discuss your individual situation and options so that you can make choices that best suit your case.
While Pennsylvania law requires drivers to carry at least $5,000 worth of coverage that pays medical bills after an accident, regardless of who was at fault, this minimum doesn’t go far. According to AAA, the average cost of an injury crash in the United States in 2009 was more than $125,000, while the average cost of a fatal accident was closer to $6 million. Even if you have medical insurance, copayments and deductibles can add up quickly.
3. Lawsuit Against the At-Fault Driver
If your losses exceed all sources of car insurance, you can always file a lawsuit directly against the at-fault driver. If the driver didn’t have car insurance in the first place, it is likely that they have limited resources to cover the damages they owe, but an investigation might determine otherwise.
On the other hand, if the other driver did have insurance, they may have the resources to cover some or all of the shortfall between the insurance payout and your total losses. If they do, your attorney can take action against the following resources:
- Bank accounts
- Brokerage accounts
- Real estate
- Vehicles
- Wages.
This list is not exhaustive. Anything of value that can be liquidated can be seized to cover the debt of a lawsuit.
Keep in mind that pursuing a defendant’s assets is time-consuming and requires additional legal resources. If you are considering filing a lawsuit directly against an at-fault driver, be prepared to do a balancing test to determine whether the cost of doing so is worth the payoff.
You will need to weigh factors such as the total amount of damages not covered by insurance against the costs you will incur in pursuing the damages. Additionally, the defendant’s ability to pay comes into the decision. If a defendant can’t pay, they won’t pay. They might also file for bankruptcy. If they do so and are successful, they will no longer owe the damages from the lawsuit.
Start by Contacting an Attorney for Help
If you are dealing with a lawsuit against an at-fault driver, the settlement process can’t even begin until your medical treatment is finished. And the more complicated your case and the more serious your injuries, the longer it takes to settle, as the cost of the medical treatment will figure into your settlement.
So what do you do if your car insurance doesn’t cover the cost of your accident? If you or a loved one has been injured in a car crash, you should start by consulting an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. If another party’s negligence or responsibility was involved in the accident, you may be entitled to receive financial compensation to cover your medical expenses, lost wages, property loss, and pain and suffering.
However, your case must be handled correctly and competently, or you may never collect the compensation you are entitled to.
Pennsylvania Insurance Laws
All drivers must have valid car insurance in Pennsylvania. For residents of the state, that means purchasing:
- First-Party Medical Benefits Coverage: A minimum of $5,000 in coverage for first-party medical bills regardless of who is at fault.
- Bodily Injury Liability: Covers medical and rehab costs when you are found liable — the minimum is $15,000 per individual and $30,000 per accident.
- Property Damage Liability: A minimum of $5,000 for property damage liability.
Drivers must also choose between full tort and limited tort insurance. Limited tort has lower premiums than full tort and provides coverage for out-of-pocket medical expenses and other limited economic losses. However, limited tort does not allow car accident victims to claim non-economic losses without suffering a serious injury.
Full tort, on the other hand, provides victims access to the full range of personal injury benefits, including pain and suffering and other non-economic damages. Full tort also comes with the authority to seek punitive damages. Punitive damages are damages paid along with compensatory damages. They are reserved for conduct that is outrageous, meaning conduct with an evil motive or actions committed in reckless disregard of the rights of others.
Been in an Accident? A Car Accident Lawyer Can Help.
If you have been in a car accident, a car accident lawyer can help you get the compensation you need in a timely and efficient manner. Wapner Newman is ready to discuss your case and help you identify solutions to the insurance issues you are facing. Call (800) 529-6600 for a free consultation and review of your case today.