Many victims of car accidents have wondered if health insurance can cover the kind of accident they’ve suffered. Typically, health insurance can compensate victims for their medical bills for such accidents. However, some restrictions or fine print may apply, so it’s crucial to learn all the basics of health insurance and what kind of coverage you can expect in case of a car accident. It turns out it’s not so easy to answer whether health insurance can cover car accident injuries. Hopefully, the following article will shed some light on the matter.
Auto Insurance Companies Come First
In case of a car accident, the auto insurance company is the first to take priority for all sorts of claims. That’s because both parties must have some kind of car insurance. Liability coverage types vary significantly from state to state. Still, there’s something they all share in common: bills that cover car accident injuries typically don’t exceed the at-fault driver’s policy limit. So, if you’ve sustained injuries in a car accident, you should expect liability insurance to step in first before you can make any other claims.
Learn How to Submit a Claim
In case you have working car insurance coverage, you can start a claim to receive compensation for your injuries. Remember that claims aren’t automatically approved. Moreover, even if your claim is approved, you might not receive full reimbursement for your medical expenses.
If you’re planning to file a claim, you should supply your healthcare provider with relative auto insurance information and your health insurance details. Then, you should provide your car insurance provider with the relevant information. They’ll inform you of what kind of additional paperwork you’ll need to submit.
How Is the Reimbursement Paid Off?
Typically, the auto insurance company can act in one of several ways, depending on what type of coverage you have.
#1: Reimbursement for medical payments
MedPay is an optional type of auto insurance coverage. It pays for medical bills and several other kinds of expenses. With MedPay, it doesn’t matter whether you’re the at-fault party or the victim. Remember that this type of optional auto insurance coverage might not be available throughout the US.
#2: PIP coverage
Personal injury protection, better known as PIP coverage, is used for reimbursements on medical expenses, as well as lost wages resulting from a car crash. Again, the coverage doesn’t look into which is the at-fault party.
#3: UM coverage
Uninsured motorist coverage allows victims of car accidents to cover their medical expenses when the at-fault party doesn’t have sufficient liability coverage for their expenditures.
Whatever kind of coverage you have, it’s crucial that you contact your insurer as soon as possible in case of a car accident. If the whole thing seems too challenging to handle alone, now you can find all the legal assistance you need at LegalChiefs.
Auto Accident FAQ
Your first and foremost action following an accident is to stay calm, check if you or anyone else involved has been injured, and call the police. Get the name and contact information of all parties involved in the accident as well as any witnesses of the event. To document the damage, take pictures of the accident scene, the vehicles, and your injuries. It’s important not to admit liability until you hire an attorney because they will conduct a thorough investigation to establish the driver at fault.
Right after a car accident, you may feel fine, but injuries can surface days, weeks, and even months later. That’s why it’s good to see a doctor even if you don’t believe you were injured in the accident. Your doctor can recognize issues or injuries that won’t immediately become apparent to you and alert you to warning signs of injuries that may arise due to the accident. If you fail to treat your injuries within a certain period of time, you may forfeit your right to get reimbursement for future medical costs. The general rule is not to settle auto accident claims without having been examined by a medical professional.
In most cases, you won’t have to go to court. The majority of auto accident claims are resolved outside of court after negotiating the terms with the insurer. Most insurance companies generally try to settle claims as quickly as possible and for as little money as possible, so it’s wise to have an attorney negotiate on your behalf.
In addition to taking pictures of the accident scene and taking the contact information of the involved parties and witnesses, your detailed explanation of how the accident happened is also necessary to file a claim. Law enforcement reports of the accident will also serve as crucial evidence in your claim.
Many factors determine the driver at fault in an auto accident case. Do not accept any part of the blame until the investigation has concluded. Even if the investigation finds that you are partially at fault, you may still be entitled to receive compensation.
There are cases when the victim also shares part of the blame for an accident. If, for example, you were driving five to ten mph over the speed limit when the accident happened, this would have limited your reaction time, and you could likely be considered a negligent driver even if you weren’t the one to cause the crash. Different states have different ways of settling auto accident claims where more than one driver is at fault. So it’s best to check the specific laws in your state (or the state where the accident took place) or discuss the matter with your auto accident injury lawyer.
It happens surprisingly often that people get into an auto accident where the driver at fault doesn’t have insurance. In these situations, it’s wise to have an auto insurance policy that comes with Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage. That way, if you get into an accident and the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance, you will still be able to file your claim under the UM coverage you have with your own insurance company. Your insurer will then process the claim following the same process as it would for an opposing insurer. The only difference is that the claim will be against your UM coverage and not against another driver.
Likewise, if you were involved in a hit-and-run accident where the responsible driver fled the scene before you could take their information, you can again seek compensation from your UM coverage.
Suppose you suffered injuries after an auto accident that was caused by another driver’s negligence. In that case, there are two main types of damages that you may seek compensation for: compensatory (a.k.a. monetary) and punitive damages.
Compensatory damages are the most common type of damages in a personal injury claim, and they often include:
● Current and future medical bills
● Property damage
● Emotional duress
● Lost wages
● Loss of enjoyment of life
● Loss of future earnings potential
On the other hand, punitive damages are much rarer, but they can occur in situations where the vehicle manufacturer is to blame.
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