How To File A Bodily Injury Claim For A Car Accident
Every year, more than 3 million Americans get injured after facing severe car accidents per the reports collected from Driver’s Knowledge. The number of car accidents in the United States each year is nearly 6 million.
Serious car crashes can have an adverse impact on the victims’ lives. Due to the physical and mental injuries, it becomes challenging for the injured victim to follow the bodily injury claim process.
Steps to file a bodily injury claim process
Some laws permit accident victims to receive compensation for their losses. You can begin the process to obtain reimbursement by filing a bodily injury claim. The claim must be filed against the insurance company of the driver who is at fault.
For this injury claim, you may be able to get medical treatment costs, lost income, and other losses covered. However, the many laws that surround injury claims can be challenging to understand. Therefore, legal guidance is a great help in these serious situations.
For this type of claim, you need to follow some essential steps that will make the overall process easier:
- Seek medical attention
- Gather all documents
- Find legal guidance
- File the claim
Seek medical attention: After facing an auto crash, it is always advisable to seek medical attention. Your health is the most important asset and must be given priority. It’s imperative that you preserve all medical records and documents for every appointment or treatment. This will help to later serve as a record for the injuries that you have sustained. You can present these documents as evidence for your bodily injury insurance.
Gather all documents: You must have all relevant documents including your medical expenses, insurance policy details, police report, and other relevant information for your claim. Some documents should also include the date of your injury, the length of your medical treatment, and x-rays or other test records.
Take legal guidance: This becomes an essential step for an injury victim, as experienced lawyers will have the knowledge to guide each individual situation. An experienced attorney will help you file an injury claim and take care of the complex legal issues that entail.
File the claim: Each state has its own laws. Some states have no-fault laws, while others do not. To file the claim itself, it’s important to have thorough information about the insurance policy of the injured party as well as the at-fault driver’s insurance.
Drivers may have personal injury protection (PIP) insurance policies, MedPay, underinsured motorist coverage, or comprehensive collision coverage, all of which will have varying rules for an insurance claim. If a driver didn’t have insurance, an uninsured motorist bodily injury will have its own respective rules and potential outcomes. Therefore, it is essential to discuss your case with an experienced attorney who can provide you with information about the laws that prevail for your specific state and situation.
You may be wondering if a bodily injury settlement is similar to or the same as filing a personal injury claim. However, the two are different in key ways.
Difference between personal injury, property damage liability, and bodily injury claims
People often mistakenly think that personal injury and bodily injury claims are the same thing. However, there are important differences between the two.
Personal injury comes under civil law, which permits the injured parties to pursue reimbursement for the damages caused due to an accident. Personal injury protection is available in no-fault insurance states and covers your expenses no matter the type of injury or who is at fault. Bodily injury coverage, however, can pay for medical treatment and other expenses for injured individuals for an accident in which you are the party at fault.
Property damage liability covers the expenses of the property that the at-fault party has damaged, such as a vehicle. Property insurance is a type that will be beneficial if someone’s car damages your car or property.
What is bodily injury liability?
Bodily injury liability coverage is a type of coverage that helps injured victims get compensation for the damages caused to them. Some examples of damages include:
- Medical Costs: Medical treatment expenses cover all past, present, and future medical treatment. It may include doctor’s visits, transportation costs, medications, emergency rooms, or physical therapy.
- Lost wages: If the injured victim has faced a severe auto accident and cannot go to work, this can result in lost income that should be included in the compensation.
- Legal Fees: Bodily injury coverage liability will cover the costs of legal fees and other expenses such as court fees.
Bodily injury liability insurance also covers expenses such as pain and suffering. However, this varies widely depending on the state laws prevailing. There is also a coverage limit for injury claims.
How much bodily injury liability do I need?
Research from financial experts show that for bodily injury liability coverage, an injured person gets up to $100,000 and if there are multiple injured victims the coverage limit is nearly $300,000.
It’s easy to see how quickly medical expenses pile up if you have to undergo a lot of medical treatments. For example, if we analyze the reports of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the expense for a broken leg is nearly $7,500. If an injured victim stays in the hospital for 3 days for any reason, expenses can reach $30,000.
| State | Required bodily injury liability coverage (one person, one accident / all persons, one accident) |
|---|---|
| AL | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| AK | $50,000 / $100,000 |
| AZ | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| AR | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| CA | $15,000 / $30,000 |
| CO | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| CT | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| DE | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| DC | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| FL | $10,000 / $10,000 |
| GA | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| HI | $20,000 / $40,000 |
| ID | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| IL | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| IN | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| IA | $20,000 / $40,000 |
| KS | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| KY | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| LA | $15,000 / $30,000 |
| ME | $50,000 / $100,000 |
| MD | $30,000 / $60,000 |
| MA | $20,000 / $40,000 |
| MI | $50,000 / $100,000 |
| MN | $30,000 / $60,000 |
| MS | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| MO | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| MT | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| NE | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| NV | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| NH | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| NJ | $15,000 / $30,000 |
| NM | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| NY | 25,000 / $50,000 |
| NC | $30,000 / $60,000 |
| ND | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| OH | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| OK | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| OR | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| PA | $15,000 / $30,000 |
| RI | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| SC | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| SD | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| TN | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| TX | $30,000 / $60,000 |
| UT | $25,000 / $65,000 |
| VT | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| VA | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| WA | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| WV | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| WI | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| WY | $25,000 / $50,000 |
As per the Insurance Information Institute, an individual can buy an umbrella policy, otherwise known as excess liability coverage. One of the advantages of a single umbrella policy is that there is an additional layer of liability coverage that will cover your home, auto, and renter policies.
If you or your loved ones have suffered from a car accident and want to pursue an injury claim, an experienced San Antonio car accident lawyer can ease the process for you. They know how to provide you with relevant guidance and get you through the claims process.