Medical bills are higher than the policy limits

Recently, we were asked about instances where the medical bill surpasses the offer or even the policy limits that applied to the person responsible for the accident. There are ways that a plaintiff can get above policy limits but it involves litigation.

The term full coverage generally means that the insurance policy has both liability coverage and coverage for damage to your vehicle. The term full coverage does not mean that everything is covered no matter what happens.

You should carry as much liability coverage as you can comfortably afford because damage claims today are sometimes settled for millions.

According to the insurance industry, State minimums don't come close to covering the cost of a serious accident. You should carry bodily-injury coverage of at least $100,000 per person, and $300,000 per accident, and property-damage coverage of $50,000, or a minimum of $300,000 on a single-limit policy.

If you have any questions, please contact us for a free initial consultation with one of our lawyers. Or visit our website.

Insurance Coverage Matters

For the most part, before an attorney gets started in filing a claim, the availability and the total amount of insurance coverage will be a major factor in deciding whether the claim can go forward. Typical insurance issues people with serious injuries face are: 1) no insurance coverage (Uninsured motorists), 2) insufficient insurance coverage (underinsured Driver), or 3) Denial of claims, Bad Faith/Tough/Difficult Insurance Companies.

Our law firm The Baez Law Firm, P.C. specializes in providing our clients with the best representation through Texas in relation to car accidents. Our firm will handle your claim from beginning to end. Now, a further explanation of policies are in order.

1) Uninsured Driver. In many cases the driver who is legally responsible for the accident has absolutely no insurance of any kind. In these circumstances it is usually extremely difficult for a person who is injured in the crash to get anything close to appropriate compensation. If the injuries are catastrophic or fatal an attorney will hire an investigator to look for other parties responsible- other insurance "umbrella" policies, related homeowners owners or family members, companies etc but they often come up empty and the the injured person has no way to recover any damages. Because there are so many uninsured drivers you should always buy "uninsured motorist coverage" under your own auto insurance policy.

2) Underinsured Driver. In the event of a very serious injury or death the majority of drivers will have inadequate insurance coverage, usually the minimum required by state law often only around $20,000. This often means that the worst drivers carry the least insurance because they cannot afford the high premiums resulting from their poor driving records. You should always purchase underinsured motorist coverage if it is offered, so in the event you are injured by a another driver without proper insurance you can collect against your own insurance company.

3) Insurance Denial of Claims and Bad Faith. In order to save money insurance companies will often stretch and use imaginative arguments to deny claims. Sometimes these claims denials or defenses are so beyond being reasonable that they amount to what is called legal bad faith- when an insurance company improper fights a legitimate claims or denies one. In most cases these matters are handled through litigation in the courts.

If you have been injured in an accident, contact our law firm for a free initial consultation with one of our attorneys.

Statute of Limitations in Personal Injury Cases

After being in a car accident an injured person should hire an attorney and begin the legal process as soon as possible. Waiting will usually weaken a potential claim through loss of evidence, loss of fresh memories and disorganized paperwork and medical records and the inability of the attorney to direct the process. Waiting too long may result in the case being completely barred by the statute of limitations of the state where the accident took place.

Surviving a car accident

Even the best defensive driving classes and split-second decisions may not prevent you from becoming the victim of a life-threatening auto accident, but like the Mercedes Benz commercial says " you need to be ready in case it happens." According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the annual number of fatal collisions hovers around 40 thousand. As a driver, you should continually educate yourself and exhibit attentiveness and self-control on the roadways so you're more prepared to survive an auto accident.

We have collected information helpful for you, the driver, in order to survive a car collision, if it ever happens.

Step 1: Ready yourself mentally before you get on the road. Since you'll generally have little time to contemplate a course of action when faced with an oncoming collision, it is important to remain focused at all times. Turn off your cell phone, put away your hairbrush and turn down your radio. Be mindfully present when you're driving--not distracted.

Step2: Have your mechanic test and service your restraint and safety systems on an annual basis. Airbags and seat belts save countless lives each year, but only if they are in proper working order. If you purchase a used car, have the integrity of the safety systems evaluated before you begin to drive the car regularly.

Step3: Service your brakes, tires, transmission and suspension systems according to dealer recommendations, and sooner if you suspect a problem. Your car will only react as well as its systems are maintained. Driving with worn brake pads and bald tires may cause an accident to become serious, or even fatal.

Step4: Remain upright, gripping the steering wheel tightly at 10 and 2 o'clock and bracing yourself for a collision. Do not allow your body to go limp, as you need increased muscle tone and rigidity to protect your organs, spinal discs and skeletal system. It is better to suffer from sore muscles than a ruptured spleen or spinal fracture following an accident.

Step5: Get out of the vehicle and move away from the area if you can walk on your own. If you begin to smell smoke or see flames, run away from the car immediately to avoid an explosion. Your ability to survive may depend on your speed in extricating yourself from the vehicle and the accident scene.

Step6: Bail out of your vehicle immediately if it is headed toward or floating in a body of water. Once an automobile sinks below the water's surface, the doors and windows become nearly impossible to open due to the intense water pressure. If your door is stuck shut, kick out a window to exit the vehicle.

Step7: Resist the urge to duck toward the steering wheel before a collision. Upon impact, your head may strike the wheel and render you unconscious. In addition, if your vehicle is equipped with airbags, you could sustain serious burns from the airbag explosive or other damage due to the airbag's facial impact.

Step8: Sit at least 10 inches away from the steering wheel if your vehicle is equipped with an airbag. If you're seated closer, the airbag could break your ribs, or cause lung damage or other serious internal conditions. If you are too short to reach the pedals without moving the seat forward, purchase pedal extenders.

Step9: Adjust your headrest so it sits just above your ears. If your headrest is too low, you could incur serious or fatal cervical damage when your head impacts the rest.

Step10: Wear your seatbelt properly. Do not put the chest harness behind your back, as wearing only your lap belt subjects the spine to serious trauma upon collision impact.

This steps will help you prevent an accident; however, if you are involved in one, then please contact our law firm for help. Visit our website: http://www.thebaezlawfirm.com or http://www.sanantoniopersonalinjurytriallawyers.com for a free case evaluation.

Insurance law and terminology for the state of Texas

In the state of Texas, the law mandates minimum automobile liability insurance coverage for automobiles registered in the state. This includes property damages and personal injury coverage, which we will now discuss. Depending on the terms of the individual policy, liability insurance typically covers the cost of property damage, including the cost of repair or replacement for any property damaged as the result of an accident (property damage). Liability insurance also pays medical bills and lost wages as a result of bodily injuries incurred in an accident (personal injury).

Texas law requires that each car registered in the state have a minimum of $20,000 in insurance coverage for one person injured in an accident, and a minimum of $40,000 for all persons injured in an accident. These are considered (policy limits). In addition, Texas requires a minimum $15,000 in coverage for property damage.

Conversely, Texas law does not mandates coverage of policies, when you are involved in an accident with an uninsured, underinsured, or hit-and-run driver. The rationale is that every car, according to the law, should have its own coverage, hence, why have it. Such coverage typically pays medical bills and lost wages for you and your passengers, in a case where you cannot collect these damages from the driver at fault for the accident, and we highly encourage each consumer to get it.

Insurance companies are allowed to offer Texas drivers a choice between purchasing auto insurance for the traditional fixed installment at an annual rate, and the more innovative cents-per-mile rate. On the other hand, under the traditional system a car owner purchases insurance at an annual rate irrespective of the frequency with which the owner uses the car, under the cent-per-mile system, an owner pays for coverage only for those miles driven. Consult with your insurance company to see what type they offer to you.

Texas designed this system to make compulsory insurance more affordable, thereby reducing the incidence of illegally uninsured motorist. A cents-per-mile rate works in this way: An insurance company assigns your car to one of its rate groups according to your zip code, car use and type, driver type, and other information about your household. Your car might be put into a group paying $500 a year.

When the insurance company determins that the average miles a year for cars in your group was 10,000, the alternative mile rate for your group would be 5.0 cents a mile. If you chose the mile rate instead of the annual rate, you might initially buy 2,500 miles for $100 (= 5.0¢/mi. x 2,500 mi.) plus a nominal expense fee. The insurer would add these miles to your car's current odometer reading to determine the mileage at which coverage would end. Before you drive all these miles, you would have to buy more miles to remain legally insured.

The insurer may wish to purchase additional insurance coverage beyond compulsory insurance. In many cases, the owner of an automobile, may be held personally liable for any damages in excess of the insurance coverage. Purchasing additional coverage could protect your personal assets in case of a suit.

The following are the basic terminology used by insurance companies used when dealing with aditional insurance coverage. Basic Reparations or Medical Payments Coverage, Collision Coverage, and Comprehensive Coverage. Basic Reparations Coverage covers bodily injury and medical expenses of an at-fault driver who does not have medical insurance. Collision coverage pays for damages incurred by the at-fault driver in accidents involving collision. Finally, Comprehensive Coverage pays for damage to a vehicle not caused by collision, including damages caused by theft, vandalism, flood, fire, and explosion.

If you have been injured as a result of an accident, please contact our firm so that we can explain to you your legal rights. We specialize in any type of accident, including but not limited to auto, truck, airplane, boat, motorcycle, car, bus, rollovers, roof crush injuries, death, brain injury, multiple trauma, broken bones, fatal injuries and more. Please call us (210) 979-9777 or visit our website http://www.thebaezlawfirm.com or http://www.sanantoniopersonalinjurytriallawyers.com so that we can set you up a free initial consultation with our attorneys. We are The Baez Law Firm, and "we care about your legal needs!"