Legal Question in Personal Injury in Nevada

Re: Accident Settlement Help Please

Insurance companies are legally obligated to pay only the policy limits of a policy. For example if you purchased a 15/30 policy- that mean that the insurance company is obligated to pay any 1 person 15k or if there are multiple injured parties a maximum of 30K. This leaves you with 2 alternative methods to seek additional funds. The first is your "UIM" or un or underinsured motorist insurance. This means that once you max out the policy of the person who hit you, you have the right to have your insurance company pick up the difference. There are of 2 catches: It only kicks in once the original policy has been completely maxxed out and you would have would have had to purchase it at the time you bought your policy, It is relatively inexpensive- and worth the cost when you you have this type of accident. Also, you can only purchase it up your the maximum of your own policy limit.

For example if you have a 100/300 policy and your are injured in an accident in which the at fault driver has a 25/50 policy, his insurance company would tender the 25k. Once the policy is maxxed, you can demand the 100k from your insurance company under your UIM provision. I am sure your attorney would have checked for coverage immediately when you opened the case. You should look at your policy declaration page in effect the day you had the accident. The second way to collect would be a civil suit against the driver to recover money damages above the policy limit. Attorney's generally avoid doing this because 1) underinsured people rarely have assets and 2) assuming you obtain a judgment- it can be discharged in bankruptcy.

The problem you face is not uncommon because people generally don't like to buy insurance- and are underinured. You should evalute your homeowners policy to make it will adequately cover the value of replacing your house and contents in the event of a fire, your car insurance policy should be a minimum of 100/300 with the UIM policy to the limit. You should also have short and long term disability ( in case you were permanently disabled and unable to work) and you should have the largest life insurance policy you can qualify for- in the event you were killed- your family would be able to cover all of you medical expenses, bury you and pay-off your house. Ideally you would have all of your affairs in order- wills, trust etc along with a power of attorney and living will. All of these things are extremely important if the unthinkable happens- and it happens everyday. While I am no fan of insurance companies, I see on a daily basis the devating effects that people suffer when they are underinsured in the face of a catostrophic events.

I hope this answers your question. It's probably not what you want to hear, but its probably something more people need to hear.

Good Luck

Joseh A. Scalia