FAQ After a Car Crash

Vehicles moving at low speed still have a lot of momentum due to their mass. This momentum is transferred to the victim’s spine and can cause damage to tissue at low speeds.

Spinal pain after a car crash can sometimes take weeks, months or even years to manifest following a car crash. By getting checked now, you are being proactive and preventing future spinal problems down the road.

No, your insurance company cannot legally increase your insurance premiums for seeking medical care from any provider.

You need to contact your insurance company and fill out an application for benefits. It is important to be clear as to the injuries you have sustained and how the accident occurred. Any time you are asked to fill out and/or sign a document relating to an accident, you should consider contacting an experienced attorney if you have not previously done so.

The smartest thing to do after you’ve been in a collision is to call an attorney who specializes in personal injuries. If you don’t know who to call, we can help connect you with an attorney.

There is $40,000 per person per accident ($20,000 for hospital/medical expenses and $20,000 for non-medical expenses such as lost wages, replacement services, etc.)

The insurance company will help pay for your mileage to and from your doctor appointments, any time missed from work (up to $500/week) and will cover any other inconveniences due to pain and suffering.

By law, your automobile insurance company has to pay your medical bills under the No-Fault coverage in your policy before your health insurance pays anything. If you exhaust the $20,000 in nofault medical coverage, or if your automobile insurance company refuses to pay any of your medical bills, then your medical bills can be submitted to your health insurance company.

You can be compensated for your injury even if your spouse or relative was driving and was at fault in causing the accident, and even if you own the car involved in the accident.

You can receive up to $200 per week (starting one week after the accident) to pay for household help such as housecleaning, snow shoveling, and yard work. An injured “primary homemaker” receives payment for lost services even if there is no out of pocket loss.

If you have an injury, you may deserve compensation for losses No-Fault benefits don’t cover. These include pain, human suffering, disability, disfigurement, emotional distress and other losses. In order to recover, you will have to prove liability and may also need to show one of the following:

1. Over $4,000 in medical bills;

2. Disability for more than 60 days;

3. Permanent injury or disfigurement

If the driver causing the accident is uninsured, or hits and runs from the accident site, you may have additional rights.

You should contact a lawyer to defend your rights. The insurance company is financially motivated to make sure your claim is minimized or even defeated. Unfortunately, many people find out the hard way that even their own insurance company doesn’t necessarily care about them. The insurance companies have experience and the advantage when dealing with an accident victim who does not hire an attorney.

You should notify the no-fault insurer of the accident. Workers compensation is a “primary” method of recovery in an automobile accident of this nature, but it is not an “exclusive” remedy. In other words, workers compensation pays for all claims that could be paid by either no-fault insurance or workers compensation. However, there are some benefits available through no fault insurance that are unavailable through workers compensation, such as replacement services, for which the no-fault insurer is responsible.

If you are unable to work your no-fault benefits will pay up to $500 per week in wage loss for time missed from work.