Regardless of the severity of the injuries sustained by an accident victim, the insurance company of both the victim and the defendant influence the outcome of the personal injury claim. This article examines the extent of that influence.
The significance of the insurance coverage:
What sort of coverage does the at-fault party have? Does that party carry insurance? If so, then does that insurance policy include liability coverage? If the defendant has paid for sufficient coverage, the adjuster has a wide range in which to bargain, regarding the victim’s compensation.
What is the level of coverage provided by the insurance company to the injured victim? If the victim had lots of coverage, then the victim’s attorney could send a message to the adjuster at the defendant’s insurance company. By filing a lawsuit, that attorney could tell the insurer, the insurance adjuster’s boss, that he would be taking a big risk, if the insurance company allowed the case to proceed to the trial stage.
The significance of health insurance coverage:
The health insurance covers the medical expenses. It does not cover other losses, such as the days when the injured claimant could not work. By the same token, it does not cover the losses that were linked to the victim’s/claimant’s pain and suffering. Before the introduction of uninsured motorist coverage, someone that got hit by an uninsured driver might find it hard to get compensated for any injuries. Today, though, someone that has purchased uninsured motorist coverage should be in better shape, if hit by an uninsured driver.
Personal Injury Lawyer in Kitchener knows that a policyholder that had purchased the uninsured motorist coverage, and then got hit by such a motorist, could expect the submitted claim to receive a treatment that differed from the usual first party treatment. Instead, the policyholder’s insurance company would treat the submitted claim in the same way that it would an accident involving a 3rd party.
Consequently, the policyholder could seek compensation for pain and suffering, if the driver or any passengers sustained an injury, after feeling the impact of the collision. The policyholder’s insurance company covers that particular damage, because it has received payments for the uninsured motorist coverage. In the past, insurance companies did not receive such payments. As a result, an insurance company was slow to release funds to a policyholder that got hit by an uninsured driver. Moreover, the policyholder’s limited access to funds discouraged any speculation about late-appearing symptoms, if a driver or passenger had no apparent injuries.
True, the hit driver had the right to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. Still, not all drivers took advantage of that opportunity, and that could put any young passengers at risk of developing a serious medical condition.