What If The Faulty Driver Has Inadequate Insurance To Cover All My Damages?

Not every driver on the road has the same level of insurance, and sometimes, a driver who has caused an automobile accident may not have adequate insurance levels to cover the amount of damage caused. This is especially true in situations where the accident has multiple injured parties. Medical bills for serious injuries can add up very quickly, and if there is more than one injured party, even a reasonably large insurance policy can be exhausted in no time. In other situations, just a single serious injury may lead to expenses that quickly exceed the policy limits of the at-fault driver’s policy.

If you believe a faulty driver in a collision you were involved with does not have adequate coverage, you should act quickly to protect your rights and ensure you can be compensated for your damages. Your opportunity to be made whole following such an accident may be more difficult, but if you work with an experienced personal injury attorney, there are many steps that can be taken that may lead to a full recovery despite the inadequate coverage of the faulty driver.

The first thing your attorney will likely do is carefully review your insurance coverage. Most individuals carry a type of coverage referred to as “under-insured motorist” coverage. This type of coverage is designed to protect you in the situation where you have been injured by a driver whose insurance coverage is not adequate to compensate you for the damages you have incurred. Once the faulty driver’s insurance coverage is exhausted, your under-insurance coverage will kick in and cover the remaining damage up to the policy limit. However, the process of exhausting the faulty driver’s insurance and then proving that your damages exceed that amount can be tricky and is best handled by an experienced attorney.

Another step your attorney will take is to determine if the faulty driver is the only party at fault for the accident that caused your injuries. For example, if this was a multi-car accident, the driver that hit your car may not have been the original cause of the accident. Even if only two cars were involved in the accident, there is a possibility that a vehicle that avoided the collision was actually the cause of the accident. So, you must look beyond the immediate circumstances of the accident and look at the whole picture to see if there was another source of fault. If so, that other driver or other entity may have additional insurance coverage that would be triggered by their involvement in causing the accident and your injuries. If there is additional insurance coverage, your attorney can help you collect from those sources as well to ensure that you are made whole following your injuries.

Even if you initially believe the faulty driver does not have enough insurance coverage to cover the damages sustained by you or your loved one in an accident, you should not give up. Reach out to an experienced personal injury attorney to determine what other options might be available to you. There is a chance that there are other sources of insurance coverage, either your own or another party’s, that can help increase the amount of recovery you can get either through a settlement or litigation. However, the process of negotiation and settlement or, if ultimately necessary, litigation is very complex. Your best results will come from meeting with an experienced personal injury attorney early on in the process and working with them closely until your case is fully resolved. The sooner you meet with an attorney, the more likely the attorney will be able to collect the necessary information and evidence to protect your rights when a driver that causes your injuries is under-insured.