Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
Medical vs Bodily Injury?
Last October my grand-daughters and I were in a single car accident. One was driving my car on a learners permit the other g-daughter and myself were passengers. The driver lost control; the car rolls & is totaled. Driver is ok, but her sister is ejected & suffers severe facial lacerations. Health insurance paid doctor/hospital bills. Auto collision coverage replaced vehicle and included 50/100K liability plus 5K medical.
When the claims rep started talking about closing the case out I mention that un-reimbursed medical expenses would be unknown for awhile as the doctors wanted the scar tissue to heal for two years before being corrected. Insurance then requested pictures and doctors records. Upon receipt they immediately sent her a check equal to the medical limit (5K).
I'm sure a plastic surgeon can not correct her facial scars for 5K and I suspect her new health plan will treat this as elective or pre-existing condition as she recently changed health plans & providers.
With one year elasping soon what are her options for
insuring future corrective scar treatment. Does she have a bodily injury claim under liability or does she have to sue someone?
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Medical vs Bodily Injury?
Your grand daughter has a claim against you as the owner of the vehicle and your other grand daughter as the driver. However your insurance has an obligation to investigate your GD claim and fairly settle the claim without exposing you to a lawsuit. There are exceptions. Was your GD a member of your household? Was she an excluded driver on your policy if she did live with you? She does need to file immediatly (before 1 year) or she loses her claim. A serious facial scar on a young girl should be worth a good deal of money. You need to contact someone immediatly. You may call me at 800-955-9504 or email me at [email protected]
Re: Medical vs Bodily Injury?
Your grand-daughter has a right to at least the $50,000 limit of the bodily injury part of the insurance. There may also be other avenues of compensation that you may be unaware of. I have specialized in personal injury cases for over a decade. If you still need help filing a lawsuit immediately to protect your grand-daughter's rights please feel free to contact my office for a free no obligation consultation. My toll free number is 877-546-9918. You can also email me at [email protected]. I hope I can help if someone hasn't already. Please also feel free to check out my website on lawguru. It can give you an idea of what kind of lawoffice I run.
Re: Medical vs Bodily Injury?
You need an attorney immediatly!! You are entitled to much more than medical treatment. If you are located in Southern California call me for a free telephone consultation at 818-342-8020. If you do not act immediatly, you will lose your right to collect what you are entitled to!!
Re: Medical vs Bodily Injury?
Your questions raise several legal issues, involving liability and insurance coverage. It will be necessary for someone to actually review the facts and the insurance policy in order to provide you a specific answer. However, generally passengers may sue the driver even if they are family members. This may affect whether there is liability coverage but it should not affect the medical payment limit which is different in that it is not based on fault but just that the injury arose out of the use or operation of the described auto. I would be pleased to provide you a free in person consultation which should help answer some of the remaining questions. You may contact me directly at [email protected].
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