Many laypeople look to handle DC car accident claims themselves. They figure they know how to negotiate because they always do it at work. They may believe their insurance carrier is on their side and works for them. The reality is that tort law is complex. There are deadlines, caselaw, and statutes unique to DC, and an insurance carrier that knows precisely what your case is worth and is determined to pay you far less than that amount. An insurance claim for a DC car accident is at the heart of a personal injury lawsuit. When you sue an individual for a car accident, they seldom have adequate resources to pay the claim without insurance. Thus, auto insurance becomes imperative.
Meanwhile, our personal injury lawyers have handled car accident cases for over 70 years. Since 1954, we have successfully resolved over 10,000 personal injury cases. This means we are familiar with the many procedural requirements affecting your case. While the statute of limitations for DC injuries is three years, not everything related to a car accident injury falls under that three-year deadline. There are layers to insurance claims after a DC car accident.
Moreover, depending on the defendant, there may be evidence to preserve, which requires quick and decisive action. Properly subpoenaing a defendant or witness for pertinent information is also necessary. While a judge may give some leeway to a layperson at trial, the courtroom is not a place to profligate or waste a judge’s time.
What if you want to settle your case and are uninterested in trial? Remembering that insurance companies are in business to maximize their profits offers an important perspective. That means making payouts as small as possible if not none at all. They will manipulate the law and use it against you. If they do make a settlement offer, odds are it will not closely resemble the actual value of your case. Why would they not offer more? They know that you do not have legal counsel. And without an attorney, there is no legitimate threat of litigation. Thus, you have no leverage in your negotiation, and the settlement offer will remain limited.
Your coverage for an insurance claim for a DC car accident depends on the policy you signed up for. Of course, different insurance carriers offer different policy options to their clients. Notably, Washington, DC, does have mandatory minimum limits. The table below breaks down those limits in detail.
| Coverage | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Property Damage Liability | $10,000 |
| Third Party Liability | $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident |
| Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury | $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident |
| Uninsured Motorist Property Damage | $5,000 subject to $200 deductible |
This is often the first insurance claim for a DC car accident that you will make in your case. A collision coverage claim can be confusing as it is technically a separate claim from your bodily injury claim that your personal injury lawyer will work on with you. When you are in a car accident, you will want to fix your car. While the tortfeasor is ultimately responsible for the damage to your car, it may take some time to straighten out among the insurance carriers who actually caused the accident. Accordingly, you have two options. The first is to wait. If the adverse insurance carrier does not immediately accept responsibility on behalf of their insured, we can usually send them enough evidence to convince them. At that time, we will have them call you to coordinate the repair of your car.
The second option is to use your own collision coverage. When you do this, you will still receive reimbursement for the deductible if we win your case and the defendant is found liable for the collision. This allows you to get your car fixed far quicker in most instances. Although, it may take longer to receive reimbursement for your deductible. There are times when you must reach into your own pocket. For example, if your car is sitting in a tow lot, you have a duty to mitigate damages. This means that while the defendant is responsible for those costs of storing the vehicle, the defendant is only legally liable for the storage cost for a reasonable time. In other words, you must get your car out of a storage lot as quickly as possible because you may otherwise not be fully reimbursed.
Liability insurance coverage refers to the coverage an adverse driver will use to cover your damages for your bodily injury claim. For example, if you get into a car accident in Washington, D.C., and you suffer $18,000 in damages, their liability insurance will cover this. So long as the defendant has liability insurance, their policy should be able to cover $18,000 in damages. We must prove you incurred $18,000 in damages for this to apply. The adverse insurance carrier will not quickly pay $18,000 unless it is representative of your injuries.
The lowest level of liability insurance coverage typically follows a 30/60 structure. This means the defendant has $30,000 in liability coverage per person and $60,000 per occurrence. For example, if four plaintiffs and four victims are hurt by the defendant’s negligence in a car accident, and their damages total $75,000, the most they will get from the defendant is $60,000. The defendant’s insurer should split the $60,000 pro rata. The remaining $15,000 will determine whether the plaintiffs have their own underinsured coverage or UIM.
Personal injury protection, or PIP, is less useful for car accident victims in DC than in neighboring states like Maryland. Most of the time, you must decide between making a third-party claim under the adverse driver’s liability coverage and making a PIP claim. Only in limited circumstances may you make both claims. Additionally, there is a 60-day statute of limitations for DC PIP. Clearly, the law makes it difficult to use this form of no-fault coverage following an accident. However, PIP can be hugely beneficial. It gives you money to pay for your medical expenses or lost wages in advance of settlement.
So, even if we do not resolve your case for several months, PIP allows you to pay your bills. Speak with a personal injury lawyer today to determine whether you can use PIP for your car accident.
This is available in three instances. But in all instances, you may not have been responsible for the accident. Uninsured motorist coverage, or UM, is a component under your own insurance policy for a car accident.
You may use underinsured motorist coverage or UIM if the defendant’s liability coverage is insufficient to cover your damages. For example, if you receive a settlement offer from the defendant of $30,000, which is their policy limit, and your damages are $50,000, you are still left with $20,000 in damages. In other words, you are not yet whole for your injury. You may use your UIM coverage to cover the remaining $20,000. To do so, you must prove to your insurance carrier that the case is worth $50,000 to recover the additional $20,000.
Following a car accident, individuals with injuries have the right to pursue a legal claim against the driver responsible for harm and property damage. In many situations, the negligent or inattentive driver’s automobile insurance company pays for these damages. But what if the adverse driver does not carry auto insurance? Uninsured motorist claims in DC car accidents become available when you have car insurance and the driver at fault does not. Here, we will discuss how making an uninsured motorist claim affects your rates, if you can use your coverage and the other driver’s coverage to cover your damages, and more. At Gelb & Gelb, experienced Washington, D.C., car accident lawyer Roger Gelb represents injury victims in their pursuit of accident-related costs.
Attorney Gelb’s vast legal experience advocating for car accident victims enables him to develop strategies for seeking judgments in various situations. These range from at-fault drivers with inadequate motorist coverage for accident-related costs to clients relying on uninsured motorist claims in DC car accidents to obtain compensation. Clients communicate directly with Mr. Gelb throughout their legal engagement. They will soon appreciate his ability to anticipate and overcome potential challenges to their uninsured motorist claims in DC car accidents. As a dedicated personal injury attorney, Roger Gelb is recognized as a prominent, capable lawyer throughout the D.C. Metro area. At Gelb & Gelb, we are proud to help clients pursue the compensation they deserve, and we have recovered multi-million dollar recoveries on behalf of accident victims throughout Washington, D.C.
Generally, when a victim files a legal claim against an at-fault driver, the driver’s liability insurance covers accident-related costs. These include medical expenses, property damage, and other losses. In many cases, the at-fault driver carries minimal liability coverage. This may not fully cover the victim’s expenses. Some drivers have no automobile insurance at all, which violates DC law. Hit-and-run collisions create another challenge. That is one instance where uninsured motorist claims in DC car accidents come into play. The offending vehicle may leave the scene, making it impossible to identify the driver. Underinsured motorist coverage helps accident victims when the at-fault driver lacks enough coverage. It helps pay for accident-related costs.
Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver lacks liability insurance and covers victims when a driver flees the accident scene. In Washington, D.C., drivers must carry auto insurance, known as liability coverage. However, some drivers continue to operate vehicles without coverage, while others carry the minimum amount required by law. Accordingly, uninsured motorist claims in DC car accidents are not always an option. Our goal is always to fully maximize the amount of compensation you recover. If you make an uninsured claim, you cannot make an underinsured claim under your policy. That would violate your insurance contract. So, we will first try to use the negligent driver’s policy.
If that is unavailable, we must use your policy to recover. The good news is that this does not affect your rates. As you are not at fault for the accident, your insurer has no basis for increasing your rates. Rather, you are utilizing the insurance that you pay for.
The first step in recovering damages after a car accident is for the victim to prove responsibility. Negligence remains a common cause of car accidents, and the elements required to prove negligence are duty, breach, causation, and damages. To successfully claim damages, the injured party must present evidence showing that the other driver failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances. This failed duty of care must have directly led to the accident and resulting harm.
Drivers must exhibit safe and reasonable behavior. This includes following traffic rules, keeping a safe distance, and adjusting speed for weather. When a driver rear-ends another vehicle by following too closely or speeds aggressively through traffic, this behavior may show negligence by breaching the duty of care. If negligent conduct causes a crash and harms others, victims have the right to seek damages from the responsible party.
Before determining the value of uninsured motorist claims in DC car accidents, an injured individual should familiarize themselves with the damages for which they may receive compensation. Medical costs related to the accident are typically included in a claim, as is property damage. When injuries prevent an accident victim from returning to work, the claim will likely include missed income. If injuries prevent an accident victim from returning to their line of work, damages may also cover vocational retraining. These damages are the same as those in an uninsured claim if you are suing the negligent driver and recovering through his insurance. In either event, your case has one value. It is a question of who we recover from. Although, there are limited exceptions typically not applicable in a car accident case.
In most situations, the victim’s insurance company will investigate medical treatment and injuries suffered in a crash. The legal duty of an insurance company is to handle uninsured or underinsured claims in good faith. Additionally, accident victims must cooperate with their insurance companies.
When filing an uninsured motorist claim, the attorney representing the injured individual works to settle the claim after reviewing all accident-related costs. If the claim does not settle, a lawsuit may follow. In this case, the lawsuit becomes a breach of contract action against the insurance carrier. This type of claim falls under a first-party claim since it involves the injured party’s insurance. If we can identify the at-fault driver during our investigation, the first-party carrier may pursue subrogation against this driver after paying the claim. However, that does not affect your recovery. Your case still has one value, and if you have already recovered from your own insurance company, you will not have to pay it back and later recover from another insurer.
Underinsured motorist bodily injury and property damage coverage help accident victims recover medical expenses and property damage costs. If the victim’s injury claim exceeds the defendant’s policy limits, the victim may file an underinsured motorist claim.
Typically, insurance companies allow a finite period to file an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim. Additionally, the policy will limit their coverage and the types of accidents covered. In some circumstances, coverage does not extend to hit and run collisions. An experienced attorney can advocate for you when negotiating with an insurance company.
When you are making an insurance claim for a DC car accident, it follows the structure of tort law and civil procedure. If you have any questions or believe you may have a case, contact a personal injury lawyer immediately for a free, no-obligation case consultation.
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