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You have been injured in an accident, and you have had to deal with many doctors appointments and physical therapy sessions. You have missed time away from your job, and you have had to take strong medications that left you unable to function at certain tasks.
Unfortunately, you are partially to blame for the accident that injured you. You are wondering if you can receive compensation for your medical bills from your insurance company. In most cases, the answer is yes, if you are a New Jersey driver.
New Jersey is a No-Fault State
There are two different types of insurance laws in the United States: fault and no-fault. In a fault state, the insurance company of the person who caused the accident is responsible for paying its related bills. In a no-fault state, a driver’s own insurance company will pay for their accident-related expenses, no matter who caused the accident. New Jersey drivers must carry $15,000 worth of liability insurance for injury to one person and $30,000 per accident. You must also carry $5,000 for damages to property and $15,000 worth of Personal Injury Protection.
Your insurance company should pay your bills up to the amount of money for which you were covered. If your medical bills exceed the amount for which you are covered, You may be able to get money from the other driver’s insurance company if they shared in the blame for the crash.
Comparative Negligence
The Garden State has a comparative negligence rule for insurance claims not covered by personal injury protection. This means that if the drivers were both somewhat responsible for an accident, the insurance company of the driver who was most at fault might have to pay the medical bills of the driver who was less to blame.
For example, suppose you were hit by a drunk driver who was speeding when attempting to make an illegal turn. In that case, an insurance company may determine that you were 30% responsible for the collision and the other driver was 70% reliable.
Your settlement from the other driver’s insurance company will be reduced based on your amount of responsibility. For example, if you were 30% responsible for a crash, you would only be able to recover 70% of your claim against the other driver’s insurance company.
Proving Your Claim
Insurance companies are notoriously tight-fisted. So whether you were dealing with your own insurance company or the other driver’s company, you are unlikely to be offered a fair settlement for your injuries.
According to Goldstein & Goldstein, LLP, there are a few things you can do to make sure your bills get paid.
When you are at the accident scene, you should contact the police and wait for them to arrive. You should also take pictures and get the names of anyone who might have seen the accident. You should exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver.
Make a copy of every medical bill you have and ask the doctor to write you a report. Be sure to save the receipts from all of the medicine you have had to take because of your accident. And get a letter from your employer stating the number of hours you have missed from work.
Be sure to hire an attorney who has years of experience with personal injury law and has an excellent reputation with the State Bar Association.
Accidents are painful and time-consuming. However, a good lawyer can negotiate with an insurance company to get you the money you deserve.
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