Some car crashes only cause minor cosmetic damage to the vehicles involved and therefore may not even warrant the filing of an insurance claim. Many other collisions require repairs to vehicles and/or cause injuries that necessitate medical treatment. More serious crashes could leave someone hospitalized and struggling to support themselves because of lasting medical limitations.
Many adults do not have health insurance, and even those that do often have mediocre coverage. Many people pay as much as 20% in coinsurance, making emergency medical costs after a car crash prohibitively expensive. Others have deductibles that cost thousands of dollars. Thankfully, those who are not at fault for a crash can potentially turn to the other driver’s car insurance and/or the personal injury lawsuit process to pay for treatment costs.
Liability coverage often applies to medical care and lost wages
Mandatory bodily injury liability coverage protects people from getting hurt in a crash caused by someone who can’t pay for their medical treatment. The insurance company can pay even when the driver who caused the wreck doesn’t have the resources to cover the expenses.
Unlike standard health insurance, where the company will pass a significant portion of the total expense back to the patient undergoing treatment, car insurance typically provides full coverage for medical treatment, at least up to the policy limit.
People can cover all of their treatment costs without needing to pay for hospital bills or prescription medication out of pocket. Although it may involve a bit more effort to pursue a car insurance claim, it is typically a smart decision to do so, especially when someone was not to blame for a crash and does not have particularly generous healthcare coverage.
The other driver could also be responsible
Unfortunately, the policies people carry don’t always have enough coverage to cover emergency medical treatment costs, surgery expenses and other medical bills. Those injured by a driver without much insurance may need to consider a personal injury lawsuit as a means of recouping financial expenses, including treatment costs.
Recognizing that there are sources of compensation that don’t pass expenses back to those who have been involved in a car crash can help injury victims to cover their costs when they aren’t responsible for causing the harm they’ve suffered.
