l system is me
nt to mke you
holeg
in by ding you compenstion
fte defendnt c
usesn
ccident, it doesn’tl
ys
ok out th
t y. Ifd
ivedoes not h
ve enough insunce, odoes not h
veny insu
nce
tll, you might not
ecoveenough to cove
youmedic
l expenses. On this pge
e discuss some of the otheoptions th
t might bev
ilble to you.
Uninsu ed Moto
ist Cove
ge
In<
hef=”https://
.tdi.texs.gov/pubs/consume
cb020.html” t
get=”_bl
nk"el=”nofollo
noopene“> to
t sttes
>—suchs Louisi
n, Tex
s, Geogi
,nd C
lifoni
—youould no
mlly
ecoved
mges f
om the defendnt o
theiinsu
nce comp
ny. Hoeve
, if the defendnt does not h
ve insunce odoes not h
ve enough insunce, youould h
ve toely on the uninsu
ed motoist po
tion of youo
n insunce policy to coveyou
losses. Undeinsu
eduninsu
ed motoist cove
ge is usu
llyn
dd-on to youegul policy. Ifn unde
insued o
uninsued moto
ist hits you, youpolicy
ill py fo
youd
mges. But cl
iming losses on youo
n insunce is not youonly option.
fte cccident, in
ddition to sttingcl
imith the defend
nt's insunce, you shouldlso notify you
insunce compny th
t youe
e inn
ccident.hen you spe
k to eitheinsu
nce comp
ny, give them youcont
ct infom
tion, loction
nd dte of the
ccident,nd the insu
nce policy numbe
s—both policy numbes fo
youinsu
nce comp
nynd the
t-fult d
ive‘s policy numbe
nd insu
nce comp
ny, if the dive
hs insu
nce.
You should
lso give the insunce compnies you
cccident l
ye
's contct info
mtion
nd let theep
esenttives kno
tht you
tto
neyill be cont
cting themith mo
e infom
tionbout the
ccident. Do not give eitheinsu
nce comp
nyny othe
infom
tion om
keny st
tements oneco
d,s they could t
isth
t you sy to use it
ginst you—th
t iscommon t
ick insunce compnies m
y use to deny youcl
im ooffe
youpitt
nce fo settlement.Ho
Uninsu
ed Motoist Cove
ge
oks
In most c
ses, youuninsu
ed motoist cove
ge c
nnot be moe th
n youst
ndd libility cove
ge. Thus, if you h
ve $100,000 in stnd
d cove
ge, you
uninsued moto
ist covege is $100,000 o lessemount, depending onh
t you chose. Hoeve
, if youd
mges
e
ell ove$100,000, you
e stuck
ith $100,000. This might not even coveyou
medicl expenses, especi
lly if youinju
ies cuse long-te
m ope
mnent dis
bilities. But even if thet-f
ult dive
does not hve enough insu
nce
nd youuninsu
ed motoist cove
ge does not cove
ll of you
dm
ges,ll is not lost.
Litig tion<
h2>
You could
l
suit
ginst
n uninsued moto
ist, especilly if you
dm
ges e moe th
nh
t youuninsu
ed motoist policy
ould py. Ho
eve, if the defend
nt does not hve insu
nce, the
e’sgood ch
nce theylso do not h
ve money foyou to
in inl
suit unless the defend
nt simply fogot to p
y the insuncend let the cove
ge l
pse. Still, it isl
ys
oth checking into the defend
nt's finnces vi
discovey in
lsuit. The defendnt could
lso hve
ssets tht you could put
lien on. Foex
mple, if the defendnt o
nshouse, they
ould hve to p
y the judgment befoe they could
elize
ny pofit f
om the house.fte
n
ccident<h2>
If you c
ke these steps
ftenccident
ithn uninsu
ed motoist.
T ke Photos<
h3>
T
nd dist
nt photos of theccident
nd theccident scene.
lso, mke su
e you document skid mksnd othe
mks on theo
ds, dm
ge toe
l pope
tynd pe
sonl p
opety such
s fencesnd m
ilboxes,nd the license pl
te of the vehicle tht hit you. Not only
ill this pove th
t the defendnt
s in
nccident
ith you, but it cn
lso help pint
stoy fo
youttoneys
nd investigto
s.T
ke Notes
You most likely
ill notemembe
eveything
bout theccident
ithinfe
dys.
hile theccident is f
esh in youmind,
ite do
n sevel detils, including the othe
vehicle's mke, model,
nd colo, the ne
est c
oss steets, the
ddess of the
ccident loction,
nd the othed
ive‘s cont
ct,egist
tion,
nd insunce infom
tion. If the othed
iveefuses to give you this infom
tion, tke
photo of them oite do
n descibing info
mtion, such
s height, hi
colo,
ndh
t they ee
ing.
Spe k to
itnesses itnesses c
n p
ovidelot of info
mtion
bout theccident. Ho
eve, you must
ct fst. It’s bette
to getst
tement fom
itness soone
theth
n lte
, becuse they m
y foget
ccident fcts th
t could help you.sk
itnesses fothei
contct info
mtion
ndh
t they s. Be sue to
ite it do
n osk if you cn
ecod
ht they
e s
ying.itnesses could help immensely by ve
ifying fcts
n investigtion uncove
s.C
ll the Police ften
ccident, you should
lys cll the police, but especi
lly if the peson is uninsu
ed. The policeepo
t cn go
long y in helping youecove
dm
ges if you hve to sue the defend
nt lte
. Even if the dm
ge looks mino, it might not be. If it is hit just
ight,h
t looks likedented fende
could end up beingbent f
me. If the othe
dive
sks you not to c
ll the police, do itny
y.
dditionlly, you might h
ve moe inju
ies thn you think. Due to the numbing effects of the flood of
den
line oubodies expe
ience inst
essful event likec
ccident, some injuies t
ke hous o
evend
y ot
o to mnifest.
Obt in Medic
l
ttention<h3>
llothe eme
gency medicl technici
ns tht
ive on the scene to check you out, even if you think youinju
ies e mino. You
ill need this infom
tion should you hve to sue to
ecoved
mges, o
if youttempt settlement negoti
tionsith
n undeinsu
ed dive
nd you
on insu
nce comp
ny.s soon
s the policeele
se you fom the scene, visit the hospit
l. Let doctos kno
tht you
ee in
cccident
nd needfull checkup to m
ke sue you do not h
ve inten
l injuies o
bin injuies. Some inju
ies do not mnifest fo
hous o
evend
y oth
eefte
n
ccident. X-ysnd othe
tests cn sho
if you hve inju
ies tht you did not notice.
The Defend nt's Fin
nci
l Sitution hen you sue the
t-f
ult dive
, you couldecove
eveything you need, only p
t of
ht you need to cove
youd
mges, o
nothingt
ll. But, it isl
ys
oth the l
suit, since you neve
knoht the
t-fult d
iveh
s—unless you peson
lly knothe d
ive,
nd even then, you might only think you knoht they h
ve.hen
nt-F
ult Dive
Hs Nothing
Neve
ssume th
t thet-f
ult dive
hs nothing.
hile they might not hve liquid c
sh to coveyou
dm
ges, the dive
could hve
ssets, includinghome, vehicles, je
ely,
etiement
ccounts,nd othe
vlu
blessets.
If not,
nd the cout finds th
t the dive
isesponsible fo
dm
ges, the cout c
n ente judgmentg
inst the dive
. If the dive
evebuys something of v
lue, suchs
home, you cn put
lieng
inst the vlu
blesset to cove
the judgmentmount – o
t le
st pt of it.hen the
t-Fult D
iveH
s Ptil Insu
nce
If the d
iveh
s some insunce but not enough to coveyou
dm
ges, you could put incl
img
inst youunde
insued moto
ist covege. If themount
eceived fom both insu
nce policies is not enough, you could sue the defend
nt.s
ithn uninsu
ed dive
, you could putlien on the defend
nt'sssets once the cou
tules in you
fvo
.B
nk
uptcy<h3>
If the defend
nk
uptcyfte
the cout ente
sjudgment
ginst them, you might not
ecovenything. You cn file
clim in b
nkuptcy cou
t. If the defendnt files fo
Chpte
13,debto
ill h
ve to include youcl
im in the Chpte
13 pln. Ho
eve, if the debto
defend
nt files Chpte
7,hich is liquid
tion, you might not getnything unless they h
vefe
ssets
nd youjudgment is ne
the top of the list of
ho gets pid
hen the bnk
uptcy tustee sells off the debto
'sssets.
h
t Could
nccident Cost?
The cost of the
ccident depends on youinju
ies. You could suffemino
injuies
ndecove
quickly, oif you h
ve undelying conditions th
tffect you
immune system, minoinju
ies could tke much longe
foecovey – o
nott
ll. Sevee
nd ct
stophic inju
ies could led to long-te
m ope
mnent dis
bilities tht
equie medic
lttention fo
theest of you
life. Injuies could include:
- i
-level="1">Bumps, b
uises, sc
tches, cuts,
nd scpes<li>
- i
-level="1"><
h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comod-
sh-101/”>
od
sh
><li>
- i
-level="1">Bu
ns f
om chemicls o
fie
- i
-level="1">F
ce
nd eye injuies
- i
-level="1">Stins, spins, pulled muscles, to
n muscles,
nd othesoft tissue inju
ies<li>
- i
-level="1">Simple
nd compound f
ctu
es<li>
- i
-level="1">He
d, neck,
nd shouldeinju
ies<li>
- i
-level="1"><
h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comht-
e-common-b
in-inju
ies“>T
um
tic bin injuies
><li>
- i
-level="1"><
h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comliving-spin
l-cod-inju
y-often-expensive“>B
cknd spin
l cod inju
ies<><li>
- i
-level="1">Inte
n
l injuies
nd og
n dm
ge<li>
- i
-level="1">ongful de
th
- i
-level="1">Secondy inju
ies, such
s infections<li>
- i
-level="1">
mput
tion eithedu
ing theccident o
becuse docto
s cnnot s
velimb,
hethedi
ectly fom the
ccident obec
use of secondy injuies, such
s infection<li>
If you h
ve undelying conditions, you should
lso let youttoney kno
. Some conditions (suchs di
betesnd immunodeficiencies) o
mediction fo
otheconditions (such
s chemothepy) could hindethe
ecovey p
ocess. In some cses,
ccident injuies could ex
ceb
te undelying conditions. In both of these c
ses, thet-f
ult dive
cn be held
esponsible fomedic
l expensesnd p
innd suffe
ing becuse you
ould not hve h
d these issues if not fothe
ccident.ecove
ble D
mges
If you
nt to
ecoved
mges f
omn uninsu
ed ounde
insued d
ive, you might h
ve toely on you
policy's uninsued
ide. Ho
eve, bec
use tht p
yout is limited, you could still end up shot on medic
l expensesnd
ill most likely be shot on othe
dm
ges, suchs p
innd suffe
ingnd emotion
l distess.
In some c
ses, if youinju
ies do not led to long-te
m ope
mnent dis
bilities, youuninsu
ed motoist cove
ge might cove
youmedic
l expensesnd some o
ll lost
ges.
You c
necove
<h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comcompens
toy-
nd-punitive-dm
ges“>compens
toy d
mges
nd punitive dm
ges<> eitheth
ough thet-f
ult dive
's insunce,combin
tion of youinsu
nce
nd thet-f
ult dive
's indequ
te insunce, oby filing
lsuitg
inst thet-f
ult dive
. Compensto
y dm
ges include economic dm
gesnd non-economic d
mges.
Economic D m
ges
Sometimes c
lled specil d
mges, economic d
mges h
vemonet
y v
luend c
n include:- -level=”1″>P
st <
h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comp
ying-medicl-c
e-c
–
ccident“>medic
l expenses<> foinju
ies incued in theccident
nd expenses fothose inju
ies tht you incu
befoe
settlement ot
il
d.
- i
-level="1"><
h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comcl
im-n-inju
y“>Futu
e medicl expenses fo
injuies incu
ed
> in theccident
nd the expenses fothose inju
ies tht you incu
fte
settlement o
ti
l d.<li>
- i
-level="1">P
st lost
ges fo
those lost beteen the
ccidentnd
settlement ot
il
d.
- i
-level="1">Futu
e lost
ges fo
those lost becuse of
ccident injuies
fte settlement ot
il
d.
- i
-level="1">
epl
cement oepi
of destoyed o
dm
ged peson
l pope
ty.<li>
- i
-level="1">Funel, bu
i
l,nd/o
cem
tion expenses.<li>
Non-Economic D m
ges
Sometimes c
lled genel dm
ges, non-economic dm
ges do not hve
monety vlue
nd cn include:
- i
-level="1"><
h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comc
–
ccident-pin-
nd-suffeing/”>P
innd suffe
ing<>, including emotionl dist
ess if you suffeed inju
ies inn
ccident.<li>
- i
-level="1">Emotion
l dist
ess fothose
ho lostloved one bec
use ofn
ccident.<li>
- i
-level="1">Loss of qu
lity of life if you h
ve to usembul
toy
ids ot
ke mediction fo
theest of you
life.<li>
- i
-level="1">Loss of comp
nionship if you c
n no longeenjoy
ctivitiesnd events
ith youf
mily.<li>
- i
-level="1">Loss of conso
tium if you c
n no longeh
vephysic
lel
tionshipith you
spouse.<li>
- i
-level="1">Excessive sc
ing such
s tht
fte bun o
o
d sh.<li>
- i
-level="1">Disfigu
ement, such
s the inbility to
epi
b
oken bone o spinl co
d injuy.
- i
-level="1">Loss of use of
body p
t, such
sfoot o
hnd.
- i
-level="1">Loss of use of
bodily function, such
s youeyesight.
- i
-level="1">Ext compens
tion fo
mput
tion.<li>
- i
-level="1">Inconvenience if you h
ve to hi
e someone to do choes th
t you nom
lly do, suchs house cle
ning, goce
y shopping, home minten
ncend
epi
,nd l
n m
intennce.
If you suffe
ed injuies o
lostloved one in
cccident
nd the othed
iveis unde
insued o
uninsued,
<h
ef="https:/c
inju
yvictims.comse
vicesc
–
ccident-tto
ney-houston“>c
c
sh
ttoney
> isn <
hef=”https://c
inju
yvictims.comc
-insu
nce-questions-
nse
ed“>inv
luble
esouce
>. Don’t miss out on the compenstion you dese
ve. Knoyou
ights, kno
youoptions,
nd knoyou
orth!