When the At-Fault Party Can't Pay

Let’s say you’re driving down the road when, all of the sudden, someone pulls out in front of you, causing a serious crash. Not only is your car totaled, but you’re badly injured as well. In times such as this, you may be concerned about paying your car repair bills, medical bills, and other injury related expenses such as loss of income and loss of earning potential. If you’re concerned about how you’ll be able to pay for this, fear not: there are plenty of options for compensation. The victims of negligence don’t always have to shoulder the expenses of injury by themselves.

Insurance Might Pick up the Tab

Insurance will pick up the tab in most cases—assuming there is insurance to begin with. If you’re the at-fault party, meaning you caused the crash, your insurance will pay for the other party’s property damages and all injury related expenses. If the other party is at-fault, their insurance will be the one to pay. Insurance companies work together to prove which party is the at-fault party. Sometimes, fault can be very obvious. However, in more complicated situations, it could take quite a bit of time for insurance to determine fault. This means that each party could be without compensation for a while. Will Insurance Offer Enough?

Insurance companies aren’t necessarily looking out for your best interests. In fact, they’re most concerned with protecting their bottom line. Handing out policy limits and maximum compensation doesn’t typically align with their profit increasing models. Instead, insurance companies will often attempt to offer the injured party the smallest amount of money possible. In some cases, this will be enough to pay your bills. In other cases, the initial settlement leaves a lot of bills unpaid, along with loss of income and loss of earning potential. Furthermore, it can be difficult for the injured party to persuade the insurance company to offer them more compensation.

Using Your Insurance

If the defendant has no insurance, you’re not out of options yet. You can either sue them personally, or use your own insurance to pay for the property damage and injury related expenses. For this reason, you should have uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist insurance. If you’ve got underinsured motorist insurance, your insurance company will pay the remainder of your medical bills, typically up to policy limit, that the at-fault party’s insurance left unpaid. The uninsured motorist insurance covers the injured—again, up to policy limits—when the at-fault party doesn’t have any insurance.

Personally Suing the Defendant

There’s also the option of personally suing the defendant. However, this option only works in cases where the at-fault party has a significant amount of assets. If the at-fault party cannot pay the judgment, there may not be a point in suing them. A lot of car accident attorneys in Utah will refuse to sue the at-fault party if they know that there's a high likelihood that the potential defendant cannot pay the judgment. This is because the plaintiff’s need compensation immediately and suing a defendant who can’t pay the judgment will not provide the injured with compensation. Personal Injury Attorney If you’ve been injured in an accident, and the initial settlement check the insurance company offered just isn’t cutting it, a personal injury attorney may be able to help. Some personal injury attorneys specialize in car accidents. Hiring a car accident attorney is easy and relatively low risk. Personal injury attorneys help those who have been injured in accidents negotiating with insurance companies to get you the compensation you deserve. The personal injury attorney’s job is to advocate for the clients to the insurance companies. They’ll start by compiling evidence and then presenting it to insurance companies in the form of a demand letter.

Hire the Best Accident Attorney

If you’ve been injured in a car accident, you need the best accident attorney Salt Lake City has. Though a lot of personal injury attorneys can help you get compensation for car accident related injuries, having the best accident attorney Salt Lake City has can be very advantageous. By hiring the best accident attorney Salt Lake City has, you’re ensuring you’re getting the compensation you deserve. Filing a claim is easy and most personal injury attorneys give potential clients a free consultation in order to establish whether or not the firm is able to help the client. In some cases, it may be the most advantageous for the potential client to accept the settlement check. The free consultation should help you decide. If the personal injury attorney can help, they’ll work on contingency, meaning that you don’t pay them unless you win your case. So if you live in Salt Lake City, and you’ve been in a car accident, contact the best accident attorney Salt Lake City has.