What to do if I am the injured party due to an accident that I was involved in that was not my fault but the other person had no coverage?
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What to do if I am the injured party due to an accident that I was involved in that was not my fault but the other person had no coverage?
Can my own bodily insurance coverage pay for my own medical bills?
Asked on December 2, 2013 under Accident Law, Florida
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you have uninsured motorist coverage on your auto insurance policy, you can file an uninsured motorist claim with your insurance carrier which will compensate you for your injuries (medical bills, pain and suffering, and wage loss). Uninsured motorist coverage will pay for your medical bills. When you complete your medical treatment and are released by the doctor or are declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary which means having reached a point in your treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain your medical bills, medical reports and documentation of any wage loss. Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injuries and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
If you don't have uninsured motorist coverage, the bodily injury provision of your policy won't be applicable to your injuries because it applies when you are at fault in an accident to pay for the injuries of the occupants of the other vehicle, who were not at fault in the accident.
If you don't have uninsured motorist coverage on your policy, you will need to sue the at-fault party (registered owner of the vehicle that was at fault in the accident) for negligence to obtain compensation in your personal injury case.
If your auto insurance policy includes medical payments, you might be able to use that to pay for your medical bills if you don't have uninsured motorist coverage, but check with your insurance company to confirm that you have medical and that it would be applicable.
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