Auto Accident Injuries and Policy Limits

[newmoon]

Driving in NY we were involved in a auto accident. My wife sustained serious injuries which required almost 2 years of treatments and major back surgery. She will have permanent damage and limited range of motion. The accident is 100% the fault of the other driver. We are now finding out that this driver only carries $50,000.00 worth of coverage on his policy. To myself and my Wife this is a drop in the bucket for what she has dealt with and will continue to deal with for the rest of her life. She will more than likely not be able to return to her prior job as I do not think she will physically be able to perform it. What are our options?

[littledove]

Hi, sorry about your wife, I also was in a serious crash had 10 surgeries & cannot go back to work, has also wrecked my life.
So I understand
this careless driver needs to be resposible!!!
you need a PI lawyer they should work on contigency (no out of pocket cost to you) they can check their assests & garnish wages for life. also make sure your insurance does not come after you to be reimbursed for what they have paid, this is called "subrogation rights"
good luck

[newmoon]

The fact that you are allowed to carry such a low policy limit is crazy imo. If you ruin someones life because of pure negligence then you should be handing over a hell of alot more money than 100K. Just my opinion and frustration is all.

[jk]

then speak to your state legislators about increasing the state minimum insurance requirements. I do agree with you. In todays world, $50k doesn't go far.

in light of littledoves post; if these folks have little or no money of their own, the chances of finding an attorney that will take such a case on contingency is limited. They would have to wait for their money as the defendant paid the judgment and most are not willing to do so.

[Betty3]

I agree with jk but you still might want to try finding a personal injury attorney to at least talk to.

[littledove]

just because they have a low limit does not mean they may have some assets,
I would talk to a PI attn, you could get the 50k upfront & also recieve a structered settlement. they may have retirment/houses /inheritence etc..
not your faut they do not have enough insurance, plus if you have UI
you can get some $$$ from that too

[jk]

Not disagreeing littledove. Simply stating what is the most common situation. Those with a lot of money often have higher levels of insurance because they understand the need to protect their assets while a person with little money often purchases the minimal insurance required simply because that is all that is required and they often have no assets to protect.

I did not intend to discourage the OP from at least investigating the possibilities, just trying to lend a bit of realism to the situation as a prep.

[littledove]

that is true, I agree

I was just thinking maybe they could poosibly have recently inherited a home ,money,land, stocks etc.. or eventually they may come into assets and if the wages are garnished ..later on they may be able to recieve a pay out in addition to the 50K policy limit that they would reiceve up front.

[newmoon]

So if we were to accept the policy limits then we could pursue the owner operator personally?

[jk]

only if you do NOT sign a release that would prevent any further action. An insurance company does work for their client and that is one thing they would ask for in most cases.