What You Need to Know About Bodily Injury Claims

Bodily Injury Insurance Claim

 

What is Bodily Injury Liability Insurance?

Bodily liability insurance is a coverage included in your auto insurance which covers costs of injuries that you may cause to others if you’re at fault in an accident. It also covers you and the family you list when driving another’s car if you’re at fault in an accident. Every insurance policy issued in the state of Washington is required by law to include a minimum bodily injury liability coverage.

What Does Bodily Injury Liability Insurance Cover?

Bodily liability insurance covers injuries and damages you may cause to another person if you are at fault in an auto collision. Each state requires at least a specific minimum mandatory amount of bodily injury liability coverage on every policy. In the state of Washington, you are required to carry $25,000/$50,000 in bodily injury liability insurance.

What that means is if you are at fault in an accident, your coverage will cover up to $25,000 in expenses if one person is injured and up to $50,000 for the entire accident. So, if you have the minimum coverage and are at fault in an accident that injures three people, and their damages are $45,000 in total, your insurance will should pay those damages.

How to File a Bodily Injury Claim

Bodily injury claims are called third party claims. If you are injured in an accident and it wasn’t your fault, then you would be making a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. This makes you a third-party claimant on their insurance. If you are at fault in an accident and cause injuries to others as a result of this accident, then they will be the third parties that are filing a claim against your policy.

If you are planning to make a claim, you should at a minimum have the following information:

  • Records from the accident, including any police reports
  • Pictures of your injuries and of the scene of the accident
  • All relevant medical records and bills for any treatment or care
  • All your receipts from your expenses as a result of the accident
  • Proof of lost wages or income because of your injuries sustained in the accident

Once you make your claim then expect to be dealing with that insurance company’s claim examiner or adjuster. They will work to process your claim but remember it is this person’s job to minimize the payout to you.

You likely are eligible to receive a higher payout than you are being offered. In order to receive the maximum payout for a bodily injury claim, it is important to have an experienced car accident attorney help you. Expect that the more money you are seeking, the more difficult it will be to get.

Factors Affecting Payouts for Bodily Injury Claims

There are a wide variety of factors that affect how much you are paid in making a bodily injury insurance claim. One person’s injuries may be minor and don’t cause any other related consequences, while another person’s injuries might be more severe, resulting in missed work and expensive medical bills.

One major factor that affects payouts for bodily injury claims in the state of Washington is the liability apportioned for each person involved in an accident. Washington is a comparative fault state, which means that liability has to be determined and apportioned before any payouts are made.

You and the other parties involved in the accident may not agree over what happened exactly. Who caused the accident?

Who was more at fault? How much insurance coverage did each side have? The answers to these questions help to determine liability and payouts for both sides. It is best to speak to a car accident attorney to help best calculate what the potential outcomes are in determining liability.

Sofia’s No Fee Guarantee

Attorney Sofia K. Miguel guarantees that you will never write a check to our office under Sofia’s “No Fee Guarantee.” Any initial consultation is free and if your case is selected, then Sofia will also cover all court costs as they accrue during your case.

Sofia only gets paid when you get paid. Her services will cost you nothing out of pocket; simple as that. Let Sofia’s nearly twenty years of experience in helping people recover for their personal injuries get to work for you now. If you have suffered a personal injury due to a car accident, attorney Sofia Miguel is standing by to answer your questions and help you fight to get the money you deserve.

Call us at 253-200-4471, come visit our office right here in Puyallup at 702 S. Hill Park Dr. #207, or contact us online anytime. We are here for you.

Personal Injury Attorney Puyallup

Sofia K. Miguel, Attorney

Sofia K. Miguel has extensive litigation experience; she has tried or arbitrated hundreds of cases throughout Western Washington. She graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2000 and has 17 years’ experience representing injured people. She is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and an EAGLE member of the Washington State Association for Justice.

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