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Car accidents are dangerous and can be costly. If another party causes you harm in an auto collision, they could be liable for damages. Injured victims may be eligible to recover compensation for economic and non-economic damages. In rare cases, the injured party may also be eligible to recover punitive damages. Of course, and as we will soon learn, what your DC car accident case is worth and what you can recover are often two separate numbers. The reason is that defendants rarely have sufficient assets to cover a large judgment against them. Moreover, many insurance policies do not cover all of what your case is worth. Consider for a moment a hypothetical. Assume you are injured in a car accident in Washington, DC.
A DC car accident lawyer at Gelb & Gelb proves that the other driver caused you harm and that the value of your harm suffered is $250,000. By all accounts, this is an impressive verdict. However, collecting on that verdict may be more challenging. In this hypothetical, as is the case in many cases, the defendant only has $100,000. This is more than the statutory limits in Washington, DC. Thus, we still need to find a source to recover the remaining $150,000. Fortunately, our accident attorneys are resourceful.
Following a car accident, you should seek legal help. A seasoned car accident attorney can investigate your crash, hold the responsible party accountable, and leave no stone unturned in the search for a source of recovery. Please contact Roger Gelb to learn about recoverable damages after a DC car accident.
Suing a defendant personally is the most intuitive method for obtaining damages. If someone harms you due to negligence or intentionally, you sue them in their personal capacity. Ideally, this person has enough money to be able to pay you. Then, your only concern should be what your DC car accident case is worth.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In select circumstances, we will have our investigator perform an asset check on the tortfeasor to determine if it is worth pursuing a lawsuit against them. This is the least common method for obtaining the money you are owed, but it is a valuable tool under the law. Instead of recovering from the defendant under their personal assets, we can make a claim through their insurance. Even if we sue the defendant personally, if they have insurance in a car accident, their auto insurer will defend them at trial.
This is undoubtedly the most common method. Often, the tortfeasor does not have enough money to pay your judgment or settlement and will have to rely on his insurance coverage. Some people have more significant policies than others, and this method, taken by itself, can be a game of chance. In Washington, DC, the minimum limit is $25,000 per person and up to $50,000 per accident. That means if you are the only plaintiff suing the defendant, you can recover up to $25,000 under that policy. However, if multiple people are in your car, all plaintiffs have up to $50,000 to share pro rata before that policy is exhausted.
Additionally, there may be an issue as to whether the tortfeasor’s insurance policy covers the accident at the bar. In these instances, it is imperative to have a skilled lawyer on your side who is experienced with insurance law.
Sometimes, the tortfeasor will have little to no assets or insurance. In such a case, you can use your insurance’s uninsured motorist coverage (“UM”). Sometimes, we have clients who fear using their insurance. But this is what your insurance is for. Using your UM coverage should not raise your rates; you pay your insurance company for this option. Other ways to use your insurance without another option are fact-dependent and require consultation with your personal injury lawyer. Ask an attorney what your DC car accident case is worth today.
An apparent reason why you likely need a lawyer not only advocating for you but also guiding you through this process is the real-world problems you encounter when looking to resolve a personal injury matter. As discussed, even when you have proven liability and a substantial amount of damages, or it is already obvious, obtaining the money you are owed can be an entirely more complicated process that often requires legal assistance. In this article, we cannot address every possibility under the law.
We now understand that you may not always be able to collect what your case is worth due to insufficient funds being available. But how do you know what your DC car accident case is worth? To determine what your DC car accident case is worth, we consider economic, non-economic, and punitive damages in select instances.
After a crash, an experienced attorney could help the injured claimant recover compensation for economic damages. Economic damages refer to the monetary losses or out-of-pocket expenses a person sustains after an accident.
Economic damages could include medical bills, hospital calls, rehabilitation services, lost wages, property damage, and lost earning capacity. A skilled car crash lawyer could calculate the damages and help the injured person recover compensation.
A person could recover several types of non-economic damages, which do not have a specific monetary value. The most common types include loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and mental anguish.
There is no formula for non-economic damages. They are calculated by considering the entirety of the case, including the amount of property damage where the case would be litigated, the amount of the medical bills, the amount of lost wages, and the actual diagnosis and prognosis.
For example, suppose the medical bills were $1,000, but the person lost a limb in the accident, and the claim is worth a significant amount of money, regardless of the number of bills. In that case, there is no formula to calculate the claim’s value. That claim has to be analyzed in terms of an entire picture. A knowledgeable car accident lawyer could evaluate the injured claimant’s losses.
Punitive damages are just what the name implies. They are awarded to punish a defendant in a case. However, punitive damages are not recoverable in most automobile accident claims or claims for negligence.
The at-fault insurer would pay the property damages on behalf of their insured, so they would have an obligation to defend and indemnify their insured, including paying for the damage caused by their insured.
A person’s automobile insurance carrier could offer first-party medical coverage. They would likely offer collision coverage if the claimant purchased that coverage. They could provide rental car coverage on their policy to their insurance.
A car crash lawyer can help you recover a wide range of damages following an automobile collision. An attorney is entirely responsible for not only recovering the medical bills, lost wages, pain, and suffering and assisting with the property damage claim, but the attorney must zealously pursue the maximum recovery on behalf of their client.
The attorney could gather all medical bills, records, prescriptions, and receipts, collect and calculate the lost wage documentation, and present everything to the liable insurance company and the first-party medical carrier if one is available. The legal team at Gelb & Gelb, P.C., would first attempt to resolve the claim amicably on behalf of the claimant. If unable to do so, a lawyer would file a lawsuit to retain inadequate recovery. You can schedule a consultation today to learn about the types of recoverable damages after a car accident.
Copyright © 2025 Gelb & Gelb, P.C. All rights reserved.