Many workers’’ compensation claims arise when an employee is injured in an automobile accident while on the clock for the employer. In these cases, the injured worker sometimes has two claims – a personal injury claim and a workers’’ compensation claim. If another driver was at fault for the collision, it’s possible for the injured worker to receive compensation for pain and suffering – an option that is usually not available under the workers’’ compensation laws.
However, many drivers do not have insurance coverage and others only have the minimum liability limits. What does this mean for you? It means that if you’re injured in a car accident, it’s very possible that there will be insufficient compensation for your damages (i.e. medical expenses and pain and suffering).
For example, in North Carolina, the minimum liability limits per accident are $30,000.00 and in Florida, the minimum personal liability limits are only $10,000.00. This means that if you sustain a serious bodily injury requiring days, or even weeks, of hospitalization, your damages from the insurance company will essentially be capped at $30,000.00 (or $10,000.00 if you’re in Florida).
This is an unfortunate reality for many of our clients every year. Sometimes the damages are catastrophic and the available insurance coverage is just a pittance of what their case is worth. To prevent this from happening, we highly recommend that all of our clients, friends, and family purchase underinsured and uninsured (UIM/UI) automobile coverage. This type of coverage is fairly inexpensive and would cover you in case of an accident where the other driver does not have adequate liability coverage, or even no insurance coverage at all.
As an example, in North Carolina it’s possible to cover two vehicles with one million in underinsured coverage for $15.04 per month. It’s well worth every penny. Please take the time to review your auto insurance coverage carefully and see what kind of coverage you have.
