Understanding Insurance - Liability

When I first started practicing personal injury law, I was amazed at how difficult it was to deal with insurance. This is especially true with car accidents—which represent a majority of our cases. First off, there are numerous types of insurance: liability, underinsured motorist, personal injury protection. The first piece of the puzzle is the insurance policy for the person liable for the accident.

            Most of the car accidents we deal with have no real issues of liability. This means that everybody is in agreement as to who caused the crash. Typically, if an accident is severe enough that somebody is injured, the police will be called. Almost always, the police will make a determination of fault; I have yet to hear of police arrive at an accident and not issue somebody a ticket.

            For the most part, insurance companies will not dispute an officer’s finding of fault. This means that in engaging in settlement talks with insurance companies, the negotiations focus almost entirely on the issue of damages, and not liability. The type of insurance that is being utilized here is liability insurance. Liability insurance provides coverage in the event that you are responsible for an accident.  The insurer steps into your shoes and indemnifies you. In Washington State, drivers are required by law to carry at least $25,000 of liability insurance. While it depends on their assets, most drivers have either the minimum amount, or just over. This is known as the policy limit, and the insurance carrier is not obligated to pay out more than this amount.

            For the most part, the policy limit represents the maximum amount of money you can receive from the at-fault party, regardless of your actual damages.  For instance, my client in a previous case, “Dave,” was in a horrific head-on collision resulting from the other driver falling asleep and crossing the center line on a two-lane highway. Dave suffered massive lacerations across his face from the shattered glass of the windshield; he broke 7 ribs and his spleen ruptured as his body was thrown into the steering will; his thumb was shattered against the dashboard; and his thigh was filleted open, requiring extensive skin grafts. Dave’s hospital bills were enormous, as were his claims for lost wages and pain and suffering.  Liability was clear: the other driver was undisputedly at fault.

Unfortunately for Bill, the other driver was only carrying the minimum of liability insurance required by law. The insurance company offered up the full $25,000 in a blink of an eye, but that was all they could offer. The at-fault driver had no assets in his name—well, he had the truck that he had been driving, but the collision had turned it into a giant paperweight.

As you can see, liability insurance is often not sufficient to make an injured party whole. It’s also a reason to consider getting more than just the minimum coverage, especially if you have assets to protect.

Welcome to the Seattle Personal Injury Attorney Blog!

Welcome the Seattle Personal Injury Blog, the official blog of the Law Offices of Gehrke & Wegener.  Through this blog, we hope to tell you a little more about us, as well as to discuss the current issues in personal injury law.

If you or anyone you know has ever been injured in an accident, you know how complicated it can be to get compensated for your injuries and property loss. Deadlines and difficult decisions abound. If you try and file a lawsuit too early, you won’t be able to accurately know the extent of your injuries or your damages; wait too long, however, and your claim may be barred by the statute to limitations.

After filing a lawsuit, the road is even more perilous. The back log in the courts means it can take months before you even receive a court date.  Civil litigation is also filled with firm deadlines, motions, depositions and hearings.  All of these take time and money—lots of time and money. Even if you win at trial, the defendants can appeal the judgment, and you can be forced to continue to wait for years to get the money that you deserve.

Often, with the help of a skilled and aggressive personal injury attorney, you can obtain the money and relief you deserve without even filing a lawsuit. This allows you to recover more of your settlement, as you have fewer costs to pay, as well as getting you your money much quicker than having to go to trial.

If you’ve been involved in an accident and need representation, you need a personal injury firm that has decades of experience in navigating all the tough decisions and complications of civil litigation. You need a firm that is aggressive enough to obtain a good settlement quickly and painlessly, without the need for costly litigation, but one that is also unafraid to take the battle to the courts and obtain a favorable verdict when the time calls for it. Our saying at the Law Offices of Gehrke & Wegener is “Prepare for trial so that you never have to go.”

We hope you enjoy the advice and tidbits to come in this blog. We welcome your comments, and if you need information on a potential personal injury case, we encourage you to visit The Law Offices of Gehrke & Wegener to schedule a free consultation.