Medical expenses are billed to the liability coverage for the at-fault driver, up to their policy limits. All drivers in Virginia must carry a minimum of $25,000 in bodily injury claims.
A serious car accident can generate a lot of medical bills. But an accident victim may have a right to recoup the cost of medical care and other losses from the at-fault driver who caused the accident.
Our Richmond car accident lawyers at Marks & Harrison work to recover compensation that makes you financially whole. Your settlement or jury award after a car accident claim is meant to allow you to pay any outstanding bills related to the car crash and recoup the money you’ve already spent. Virginia law also allows a jury to award non-economic “pain and suffering” compensation for what a car accident victim has needlessly been put through.
If you have been injured in a car accident in Virginia that someone else caused, a car accident attorney can help you pursue just compensation to cover your crash-related medical bills and your pain and suffering. Call or reach us online for a free review of your case and legal advice.
How Insurance Pays Medical Bills After a Virginia Car Accident
If you receive medical treatment for injuries after a car accident, you should use any healthcare insurance coverage available to you to pay for the treatment.
But the primary source of insurance money available for your injuries in a car accident caused by someone else will likely be the at-fault driver’s auto insurance. Auto liability insurance pays when the policyholder is legally liable for someone else’s losses.
Under state law, Virginia Code Section 46.2-706, all Virginia car owners are required to carry auto liability insurance or pay a $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee and show proof of financial responsibility. Most car owners obtain car insurance.
Virginia requires the following minimum auto liability coverage:
- Bodily injury/death of one person: $25,000
- Bodily injury/death of two or more persons: $50,000
- Property damage: $20,000
Liability coverage in Virginia also includes uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM coverage) that equals the amount of the liability coverage, unless the purchaser declines this coverage in writing. This is coverage you may draw from if you are injured by a driver who has no liability insurance or if you have a claim that exceed the limits of the at-fault driver’s insurance.
Accessing Auto Liability Insurance After a Virginia Car Accident
To access the at-fault driver’s auto liability insurance, you must convince their insurer that the policyholder is responsible for the car accident and your injuries.
If there is a question about liability for the accident, either or both insurance companies may refuse payment to you. This happens often in Virginia because the state has very strict car accident liability laws.
Virginia car accident laws are based on the doctrine of “pure contributory negligence,” which means that fault for a two-vehicle accident is not proportioned between the two drivers involved. So if an insurance company believes that you might have contributed to the accident in any way, they can deny your claim.
To be eligible to recover compensation from the other driver after a car accident, under Virginia’s strict standard, you must not have had any fault for the accident. This gives a potentially at-fault driver and/or an insurer plenty of opportunities to question the accident victim’s role in the crash and attempt to shift the blame.
Our attorneys at Marks & Harrison investigate accidents to gather evidence to establish who was at fault and help clients file insurance claims for payments they are due. When insurance companies fail to act in good faith, we file lawsuits asking the courts to order the insurance company to pay for our client’s accident-related losses.
When dealing with profit-driven insurance companies, you will need an experienced Virginia car accident lawyer on your side to be treated fairly by the insurer and recover just compensation for your losses.
How to Obtain Compensation for Virginia Car Accident Medical Bills
To obtain insurance compensation for medical bills after a car accident in Virginia, you must either have healthcare coverage of your own or you must be able to demonstrate that another party bears full responsibility for the accident.
Most two-car traffic accidents involve one vehicle colliding with another because of a driver error. There are many reasons a driver may commit an error that leads to a car accident. Many car wrecks are due to speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving, and drowsy driving. Many others are due to carelessness, such as failing to yield the right of way, drifting across lanes, or failing to judge the speed of an oncoming vehicle.
At Marks & Harrison, we can thoroughly investigate your car accident to determine what happened and who was at fault. We work with forensic engineers when necessary to identify and establish the cause of accidents and to prove liability.
As we investigate the cause of the accident, our firm will identify all possible sources of insurance to provide compensation for your injuries. In some accidents, there are additional parties who may be held liable, such as the employer of an at-fault driver.
Most insurance claims are settled out of court through negotiations. Insurance adjustors have an obligation to minimize the amounts paid out in accident claims. Their first settlement offers are typically less than what the company can eventually be compelled to pay. By presenting solid evidence of liability paired with a detailed accounting of our client’s costs and losses, Marks & Harrison can negotiate settlements favorable to our clients. Our determined attorneys will be prepared to present a persuasive case in court if necessary.
Our Virginia Car Accident Attorneys Are Ready To Help You
If you’ve been injured in a car crash someone else caused in Virginia, contact the Richmond car accident attorneys at Marks & Harrison today. We can investigate your accident and injuries and then negotiate aggressively to obtain maximum compensation for you.
