If you are injured in an automobile accident, your auto insurance policy will play an integral part of your personal injury case.
Under most circumstances, if you are injured in an auto accident, you insurance will pay for your medical expenses. It is no secret that medical expenses are costly and add up quickly. Up until recently, New Jersey State law required driver’s to have $250,000 worth of Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”). However, this is no longer the case. Now insurance companies are offering PIP limits as low as $10,000 or $15,000. By selecting a lower PIP limit, you may severely limit your ability or the ability of your passengers or family members to receive medical treatment following an accident.
Additionally, most insurance policies offer Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist protection (UIM/UM). This protects an injured party if they are injured by a driver with no insurance or little insurance. If you are injured by someone driving an uninsured vehicle or involved in a hit-and-run, you can make a claim against your own insurance to compensate you for your injuries. However, you are contractually limited to the insurance limit that you selected. Therefore, if you are injured by an uninsured vehicle and you only have a $15,000 UIM/UM policy limit, the most you can receive from your insurance company is $15,000. Therefore, in order to protect yourself in case of an accident, you should make sure you PIP limit is $250,000 and your UIM/UM limits are high.
Here at Ginarte Gonzalez Winograd L.L.P., we provide high-caliber representation to New York / New Jersey personal injury victims and their families. Contact our office at 1 (888) GINARTE for free consultation and we will make sure your rights are not lost. You can also use our online contact form.