Car Accident Compensation For Personal Injuries
If you were involved in a car accident and got injured as a result of it, then you can receive car accident compensation for personal injuries. This compensation can be for lost wages due to injury, medical bills incurred as well as related expenses. This compensation will be paid out to you either by your car insurance company or by the other driver’s car insurer – it will depend on who was at fault.
Car Accident Coverage for Personal Injuries
Before you apply for car accident compensation, you should understand the kinds of insurance coverages that cover personal injury. The one that will be applicable to you will depend on the type of auto insurance you have as well as what kind of an accident you were in.
- Bodily Injury Insurance: This coverage is for when you are at fault in an accident because of which someone else got hurt. This coverage will compensate the injured party’s medical bills or funeral costs. This insurance will not cover your injuries.
- No-Fault Protection: This type of insurance will pay for your medical bills, lost wages due to injury and even funeral expense. This compensation pays your bills no matter whose fault it was.
- Medical Payments Coverage: This type of insurance coverage pays for medical costs, regardless of fault. Cost covered include dental care needed due to the accident, injuries sustained by the passengers in your car, injuries you sustained as a pedestrian/cyclist if a car hit you, funeral expenses.
- Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist Coverage: This kind of car accident compensation kicks in if you have been the victim of a hit-and-run accident or the other driver has little or no insurance.
- Uninsured Motorist coverage is compensation awarded to you when the other driver who was at fault has no insurance.
- Under-insured Motorist coverage is compensation awarded to you with the other driver who was at fault has insurance but it isn’t enough to cover the costs incurred by your medical expenses. In this case, your insurer will cover the gap between what the at-fault driver’s insurer paid and the total cost of medical treatment.
How much car accident compensation can I claim?
The amount of compensation you can claim ca vary hugely, depending on the kind of car accident you were involved in. The best thing you can do is to talk to a personal injury attorney who can assess your case and tell you how much you can claim.
Factors Affecting Car Accident Compensation for Personal Injury
A claims adjuster will be assigned to you by your insurance company after your submit your claim for compensation. The following are the things that the adjuster will review before proposing a settlement amount:
- The police report about the accident
- How long did it take you to get medical attention (the sooner, the better)
- Did you have pre-existing medical conditions that you claim became worse after the accident? (ensure you have sufficient proof)
- DUI/DWI or other charges related to the car accident
- What you said to witnesses after the accident
- Witness accounts
- Photographs of the accident
- Proof of the wages you lost due to the accident
- What are the personal injury compensation limits that are in your insurance policy?
If the driver who was at fault (not you) was particularly careless because of which the accident took place, then you can also receive punitive damages as a part of your car accident compensation. This fine is imposed by the courts as punishment to the defendant.
