UM/UIM stands for Under/Uninsured Motorist; BI stands for Bodily Injury, you elect UIM coverage through your own insurance; the other parties’ insurance is BI, coverage available for bodily injury to you caused by another driver.

After a motor vehicle accident people are deeply shocked, often times injured, and quite unsure what to do next.

After the shock wears off and your initial injuries have been addressed, you may be thinking about your auto insurance and why you have that UM/UIM policy that the law requires you to have. This is typically called “25/50” because this is the minimum our state of Colorado requires you to have on your car. The $25,000 covers injuries that you cause to another person. The $50,000 covers injuries that you caused in an accident where more than one person is injured.

Conversely, when your injuries are caused by another person, and they are cited and held accountable for the accident, their insurance (BI or Bodily Injury) may only have the minimum of $25,000 to compensate you, or they may not have any insurance at all.

Optional insurance coverages you can choose for yourself are UIM (Under/Uninsured Motorist) and Med Pay (Medical Payments). This insurance is very important and covers you if the other side is either uninsured or under insured. Insurance companies are happy to oblige you if you say you don’t want these extra coverages (they may even suggest you don’t need these additional coverages), due to the additional cost added to your premium, and the cost to them when you make a claim.

Most people are unprepared for the high cost of an Emergency Department visit after a motor vehicle accident. Additionally, the average person is also emotionally and financially unprepared for the cost and time needed for ongoing treatment for their injuries.

So, in a situation where another person has caused an accident where you are injured, you will need to be prepared to seek treatment and pay for that treatment, preferably through your health insurance. When you settle your injury claim after you have reached MMI (Maximum Medical Improvement), as determined by your doctor, your attorney will seek the most compensation available to you. That compensation comes from the Bodily Injury insurance coverage from the person who caused the accident.

If you have chosen to elect Med Pay on your own insurance, you have at least $5,000 to cover the initial medical treatment for your injuries. This med pay coverage is optional, but is important to have to work in conjunction with your health insurance coverage.

Should your treatment exceed $25,000 or whatever coverage that the person who injured you has; and you’ve chosen to elect UIM coverage, then your own UIM coverage may kick in to account for the underinsurance held by the tort feasor, or the person who was at fault for your injuries.

You can’t determine who runs into you, but you can protect yourself with UM/UIM, in case the other side is underinsured or uninsured.

Please think twice (or more) when choosing your insurance coverage. It may not cost very much to elect more coverage than the minimum the state requires. You may also benefit greatly by having Med Pay and Under/Uninsured Motorist coverage. Your insurance carrier may tell you that it is unlikely you will need Med Pay and UIM, therefore saving you money! In the case of even a minor accident caused by another, your choosing to have Med Pay and UIM may be the difference between a financial catastrophe and a comfortable recovery.

If you have suffered injuries as the result of an accident, through no fault of your own, please call Harding & Associates to get a better picture of your rights. We can be reached at 800-878-7888 or 303-762-9500. There is never a charge for an initial consultation with a skilled, experienced personal injury attorney who can evaluate your case and assist in developing a strategy to fight to obtain the compensation to which you are entitled.

Source: Blog

You went out shopping today. You looked at spring flowers and looked forward to the new garden you’re about to put in. You have so many ideas! You’re on your way home feeling pretty good. Then WHAM. You get hit from behind by a distracted driver. After the shock of a motor vehicle accident and the damage to your car, you then have to consider that you’ve been injured and may well be injured for months, or years. After you’ve reached MMI (Maximum Medical Improvement), as determined by your doctor, it is time to settle your claim (but remember, no matter how long your treatment you need to settle before the statute of limitations). You have already discussed this accident and the impact it has had on your life. The impact was nearly catastrophic! Your injuries impacted your home life, your professional life, and your social life. It may have affected your emotional well-being. You’ve even calculated that your compensation should be – this much, and you expect that others will certainly agree. That is until you start dealing with the insurance adjustor. How can the insurance company possibly imagine that you will agree that the paltry sum they are offering can compensate you? This is impossible you think, aren’t insurance adjusters human, after all? Well, not exactly. While the adjustors are human, adjustors use software to determine what your injuries and inconvenience are worth. No robot can imagine your not being able to pick up your youngest child for six months, or the fractured relationships you now have at your work place because of your time away for appointments, or the added responsibilities your husband took on while you were recovering, and the strain on your marriage. There are several software products that insurance companies use. While they are not exactly the same, they serve the same purpose. That is to reduce your pain and suffering to a numeric score. This score is equated with a dollar amount. These software packages have been programmed to evaluate claims in a way for the insurance company to justify paying the absolute least amount possible. The robot doesn’t take into account your inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, stress, loss of consortium, and pain and suffering. Your attorney is able to negotiate why your injuries are worth more than an adjuster’s first, second or third offer. You may even wind up in trial where a jury can understand those human emotions that a robot cannot. These software programs even know who your attorney is, and his or her willingness to go to trial. They also know if you don’t have an attorney at all. If you have suffered injuries as the result of an accident, through no fault of your own, please call Harding & Associates to get a better picture of your rights. We can be reached at 800-878-7888 or 303-762-9500. There is never a charge for an initial consultation with a skilled, experienced personal injury attorney who can evaluate your case and assist in developing a strategy to fight to obtain the compensation to which you are entitled. Source: Blog

Despite the frequency with which jury trials are portrayed on television and in movies, when a person ends up called to serve on a jury, that individual is likely to encounter a number of seemingly foreign concepts. For example, in some situations a judge may advise a jury at the start of a personal injury trial that the defendant in the case “has accepted liability.”

When a jury is told that a defendant in a personal injury case accepts liability, which means that the jurors no longer need to determine whether or not the defendant in the case is at fault for causing the accident. Rather, the jury is left with the task of determining the extent of damages or injuries the plaintiff sustained as the result of that defendant’s admitted negligence.

A juror may ponder why a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit is willing to concede that he or she was at fault in a particular situation. In most cases, it is because the defendant’s attorney does not want the jury to hear about the specific circumstances surrounding the accident. When a defendant accepts fault in a personal injury case, the facts and circumstances surrounding the accident in question generally are no longer relevant. A judge will not permit the presentation to the jury of evidence relating to the circumstances of the accident itself.

Examples of cases in which a defendant takes this position include situations in which the defendant was intoxicated at the time that he or she caused a car accident, which resulted in another person sustaining injuries. A defendant may use this tactic if he or she was involved in the commission of a crime at the time of the accident (for example, eluding police in an automobile).

If you have suffered injuries as the result of an accident, through no fault of your own, please call Harding & Associates to get a better picture of your rights. We can be reached at 800-878-7888 or 303-762-9500. There is never a charge for an initial consultation with a skilled, experienced personal injury attorney who can evaluate your case and assist in developing a strategy to fight to obtain the compensation to which you are entitled.

Source: Blog