Almost every auto accident involves two parts: property damage and bodily injury. In part one, we focused on property damage and what to do about your car following a collision. This second and final part will discuss the bodily injury liability portion of an auto accident claim.
Bodily Injury Liability is the broad term used to describe any injuries a person receives due to an auto collision.
When the collision is entirely someone else’s fault, you’ll want to know what to do about your injuries. Who pays for your medical bills? What damages are you entitled to from the at-fault driver and/or their insurance company?
What do I need to do after a collision?
After being involved in a collision that’s not your fault, your job is to seek medical treatment. Period. As soon as possible. Injury severity following an accident isn’t easy to diagnose on your own.
Many of our clients tell us they felt fine after a car collision, only to discover a few days later they’re sore, fatigued, disoriented, bruised, banged up, hurting, and generally not well.
At the scene, if you’re the least bit confused, in pain, aching, anxious, or disoriented, call for an ambulance to take you to the closest Emergency Room. If you’re able, have someone you trust to take you there.
You’ll want to follow the advice of the ER doctors. You’ll also want to follow up with your PCP or other healthcare providers of your choice. Many providers focus on and specialize in treating people who’ve been involved in auto accidents – seek them out or ask how to get in to see them. It’s your health, and it’s the most important.
When you hire Cave Law, our job is to manage your case while you get the treatment you need. We take the burden off – we deal with the insurance companies, medical billing companies, health insurance, police reports, medical records, everything – allowing you to focus on your medical treatment and health.
What does bodily injury liability cover?
You’ve gone to the ER, you’ve seen your PCP, you’ve been referred for a course of treatment, maybe you’re even starting to feel like you’re on your way to improvement…then the medical bills start coming in the mail.
This is when the stress of being in an accident gets cranked up. This is why you hired Cave Law in the first place – because we’ll help you deal.
The good news is, there are multiple ways to deal with these bills that just seem to keep coming. We’ll highlight three of them below:
- Medical payments coverage (MPC). In Colorado, it’s the law that everyone must carry at least the minimum of medical payment coverage on their own auto policy ($5,000.00) unless you waive it in writing. We’ll help you determine whether you have MPC and assist in opening the claim.
- Health insurance. Suppose you carried health insurance at the time of the collision. In that case, you can use it to pay for your accident-related medical bills. Unlike MPC, though, you’ll be responsible for paying any co-pays or meeting deductibles. There’s also subrogation to consider, but we’ll cover subrogation in a different post.
- The at-fault driver. Many of our clients are surprised to learn that the other driver’s insurance company doesn’t pay for their medical bills as they go. Sure, eventually, we’ll get the at-fault driver’s insurance company to pay for your medical bills but think of it more as a reimbursement at the end of the case.
Have you been involved in a car accident? At Cave Law, we have a team of experienced personal injury attorneys who are ready to help. We value our clients and handle each case with utmost care and professionalism. Ensure you reach out today to speak to a specialized Denver car accident lawyer with years of experience in the field.
