If you suffered injuries in a car accident, you may have outstanding medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and pain and suffering as a result of your injuries and losses. In some cases, you will have personal injury protection insurance on your own car insurance that will help reimburse you for your expenses and losses related to the accident.
Personal injury protection (PIP) is often required in many states. As a result, a victim of a car accident must first file a claim with their own insurance company in an attempt to secure compensation for their injuries and/or damages. If you suffered injuries related to a car accident, learn how a personal injury protection lawyer at Ben Crump Law, PLLC at (844) 730-0233 can protect your legal rights.
What You Should Know About Personal Injury Protection
Investopedia states that PIP insurance will often cover a victim’s accident-related expenses, even if the accident was another person’s fault. This means that instead of first turning to the negligent party’s insurance company for compensation, a victim will first have to file a claim with their own insurance company.
Your state might have its own specific level of required PIP insurance—or you may not even be required to purchase such a plan. Additionally, every person will make their own decision regarding how much insurance they want. In many cases, PIP insurance will cover:
- Medical expenses
- A portion of your lost wages
- Death benefits, if a loved one died in the accident
Understanding What a PIP Lawyer Does
Some insurance companies remain notoriously hesitant to pay out full and fair settlement amounts to victims of car accidents. This is true even if the victim of the car accident is their own customer. As a result, a victim typically finds themselves in a stressful situation where the medical providers are continually requesting reimbursement for their services, and the insurance company remains unwilling to pay for those services.
A lawyer will represent the victim of the car accident and attempt to ensure that the medical providers which rendered treatment receive appropriate payment. The following are some examples of what a PIP lawyer do as they attempt to obtain compensation for victims of car accidents:
- Send out demand letters to the insurance company to pay any unpaid, underpaid, or overdue bills of medical service
- If the demand letter to the insurance company remains ineffective, a PIP lawyer will initiate a lawsuit and begin the litigation process.
- The PIP lawyer will file a complaint in the county or small claims court, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case
- The PIP lawyer will then handle all pre-litigation work—including discovery, contacting all necessary expert witnesses, and conducting an independent investigation into the car accident
- If the case does not settle with the insurance company, the PIP lawyer can attend all litigation hearings and conduct depositions, order an independent medical examination of the victim, and represent the victim in court
- If no agreement regarding a settlement occurs, the PIP lawyer can then represent the victim in a jury trial of their peers
Challenges That Arise Regarding PIP Insurance
Many victims feel as if they can contact and negotiate with their own insurance company and receive compensation for their injuries and losses. Unfortunately, insurance companies are typically not interested in paying out full or fair settlement offers to anyone, including their own policyholders. As a result, victims who already suffer physical, emotional, and financial pain can be driven to feel overwhelmed, confused, and frustrated.
Some Insurers Do Not Operate in Good Faith
One tactic used by insurance companies includes recording conversations to take tiny parts out for use against their policyholder at a later time. Another includes requesting full medical records in an attempt to blame the current medical injuries on a pre-existing condition.
In some truly unscrupulous cases, an insurance company will say that they never received a victim’s PIP claim. The company then denies payment long enough that the claim falls outside deadlines for possible compensation.
Consider how a personal injury protection lawyer can negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf if you suffered injuries in a car accident. You do not have to chance potentially dealing with maneuvers such as these when you are injured and vulnerable.
When Victims Need Additional Compensation for Injuries and Losses
In some cases, PIP insurance does not completely cover the amount of losses and injuries suffered by a victim. The victim then has the legal right to pursue compensation for these additional amounts from the negligent party’s insurance company.
A personal injury protection lawyer can also help a victim of a car accident attempt to secure compensation for injuries and losses that are not completely covered by their own policy. Additionally, some types of expenses related to a car accident are not covered by PIP insurance.
The following are examples of types of expenses related to injuries and losses not often covered by PIP insurance. An accident victim may decide to pursue these from the negligent party (or the negligent party’s insurance).
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Emotional and/or psychiatric therapy
- Medical assistive devices
- Prescription medications
- Permanent and/or total disabilities
- Occupational therapy
- The full amount of lost wages
- Loss of future wages
This list is not exhaustive, you may face additional types of expenses related to your injuries and losses from your car accident. Ben Crump Law, PLLC can help you pursue a fair financial award and answer any questions that you may have.
Learn How a Personal Injury Protection Lawyer Can Help You
If you want to negotiate with your own insurance company and file a PIP claim after a serious accident, reconsider. A lawyer at Ben Crump Law, PLLC at (844) 730-0233 can negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf. They can ensure that your legal rights remain protected.
