Bodily Injury Claims

Today, we’re going to be talking about bodily injury claims. A bodily injury claim is a request for compensation for injuries you sustain in a car accident. These claims can cover medical bills and other expenses like lost wages. If you’re at-fault for the accident, then you can only file a bodily injury claim with your own personal injury protection or medical payments insurance. Some states require you to have these types of coverage, but if you don’t, then you’ll need to use your health insurance or pay out of pocket for your medical bills. If another driver is at-fault, you can file a claim with their bodily injury liability insurance. This will cover your medical bills up to the limits of the driver’s policy. 

In instances where the driver is uninsured or doesn’t have enough liability insurance to cover your expenses, you can use uninsured motorist coverage, if you have it. If you live in a no-fault state, bodily injury claims work a bit different. The 12 no-fault states require drivers to use their own car insurance to pay for their medical bills after an accident, regardless of who is at fault. As a result, these states typically require you to have personal injury protection or medical payments coverage. 

In these states, you can still sue the at-fault driver, but only if your injuries are severe or you’ve incurred a substantial financial loss. Bodily injury claims can get complicated, so here are a few tips to make the process easier. 

First, get treated immediately. Even if you feel fine after an accident, you may have injuries that aren’t immediately obvious. This way, you can know early on if you need to file a claim. You should also document all effects of your injuries so that your claim reflects all costs related to your injuries, including lost wages. 

Finally, watch out for unnecessary medical bills. Insurance adjusters know general medical standards for treating accident-related injuries, and they'll only authorize payments for treatments they deem necessary. So if you’re not in an emergency situation, make sure that you are asking questions and that you understand the reasoning for your treatment plan. Because of the complexity of bodily injury claims, you should consider adding extra coverage to your policy so that you’re better protected. It may also be a good idea to shop around for a better deal on a policy if you think the added coverage will make your insurance too expensive. I hope you enjoyed this session on everything you need to know about bodily injury claims. So always be sure to contact a professional before making any financial decisions.