If you are unlucky enough to be in a car accident, that might not be the end of your bad luck. Virginia doesn’t not require drivers to carry liability insurance if they pay a $500 uninsured motorist fee; they are legally allowed to drive in Virginia.
Drivers who do choose to carry liability insurance are only required to purchase $25,000 in coverage. But $25,000 isn’t a great deal of money if you are seriously injured in an accident, sometimes one emergency room visit alone can total this amount, not to mention the ongoing treatment you may need and payment for missing work and your pain and suffering.
Sometimes it can be very difficult to obtain financial recovery when a person is seriously injured by an uninsured motorist or someone with limited insurance coverage.
In this circumstance, some people faced with this situation may wonder if making a claim is even worth it. After taking out attorneys’ fees, case expenses, and paying medical bills, there may not be much money left.
However, a good personal injury attorney can assist with an injured person’s case even when it appears that insurance coverage is limited.
The first thing an attorney will do is identify every available source of insurance coverage. Many times people are unaware of the specifics of their coverage. Unnoticed provisions in an insurance policy, such as medical expense benefits coverage or personal injury protection coverage, can increase the money available for payment.
Then, if upon looking at your insurance and the other driver’s insurance and the total amount available for recovery is not great, personal injury attorneys can also try to work with an injured person’s treating medical providers to reduce claim-related medical debt. A good legal team will request and compile all of the medical bills (no matter how much there is, anything relevant is included), calculate how much was paid by any health insurance providers and then determine any amounts still outstanding. Then the attorney will contact medical providers and offer a settlement of the total bill. The amount they offer is dependent on the particular circumstances of the case: how much is owed, how old the bill is, and other factors.
Have you been in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver? At Kalfus & Nachman PC, we’ve helped thousands of clients by providing them with competent legal support. We are dedicated to fighting for full compensation for victims and we never back down from problematic or complex cases. No matter what you are up against, our attorneys can evaluate the circumstances of your car accident injury and provide a custom plan of action to meet your specific needs.