Christopher Skorina Personal Injury Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Many persons injured by other's negligence are unaware of the full extent of insurance coverages available to compensate for their injuries.   The typical auto accident case, for example, may give rise to four (or more) separate insurance coverages.  The injured party plainly has a claim against the liability policy of the negligent driver, but in addition may also have a claim for medical payments coverage, underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage, and in some cases a claim against an umbrella liabilty policy.    

The existence of insurance coverage is very important factor in determining if you can obtain compensation for your injuries.   If there is little or no available insurance coverage, your attorney must determine whether the negligent party or parties have sufficient assets to make pursuing the claim worthwhile.  If so, collecting from those assets typically requires trying the case through to a judgment and then initiating separate steps associated with judgment collection (recording liens, garnishing wages, etc.)

To understand how knowledge of insurance coverages can greatly improve the outcome of your case, let us consider a typical Orange County car accident victim, Hurting Harry.   Hurting Harry was rear-ended on the I-5 by Negligent Nellie.   Harry has neck and back injuries, a separated shoulder, and some cuts and bruises.  Harry already has incurred $15,000 in medical bills and lost time from work totaling another $5,000.

Nellie, however, has minimal auto liability insurance coverage ($15,000).  Harry's damages continue to mount as he continues to receive medical care and lose time from work.   The damages continue to mount and plainly $15,000 will not be sufficient.

A prudent and aggressive attorney will take care to note that Harry's own policy has under-insured motorist coverage with $50,000 coverage limits.  Under the law, because Harry has more underinsured coverage ($50,000) than the negligent party has liability coverage (Nellie has only $30,000), Harry can recover the difference or $20,000 from his own insurance provider. 

In addition, Nellie's policy has $5,000 in medical payments coverage available to Harry that is over and above the $30,000 in liability protection. 

And Nellie may have a personal liability umbrella policy that provides addiitional liability coverage.  Or perhaps Nellie was working for her employer, Mega-Conglomerate, Inc. at the time of the car crash.  If so, Mega-Conglomerate's insurance coverages may come into play.

The insurance coverage issues associated with a seemingly simple auto-collision can be quite complex and merit the time and attention of an experienced attorney. 

If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a car accident, industrial accident, or other traumatic event, please call us for a complimentary consultation and case review.  Mosher and Skorina, P.C., 877-779-5864. Visit our website at www.socallawonline.com to learn more about us.