Will car insurance cover your crash-related hospital bills?

On Behalf of | Jun 24, 2022 | catastrophic injuries

When drivers in Wyoming get into motor vehicle collisions, they may have massive expenses related to the crash. Repairing a damaged vehicle can cost thousands of dollars, and replacing a vehicle will be even more expensive. Beyond that, you could have tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

If you broke a leg or suffered a brain injury in a car crash caused by another driver, you will likely need to file an insurance claim. The driver who caused the wreck should give you insurance policy information so that you can file a claim. Will car insurance fully reimburse you for your medical costs?

There are limits to what insurance will pay

Every driver in Wyoming should have at least $25,000 worth of bodily injury liability coverage. That limit is for a crash where one person gets hurt, and the state expects $50,000 worth of coverage when two or more people get hurt in a collision.

Any driver can choose to carry more coverage than that, but many do not. You will also find that the insurance company will try to limit how much they pay and negotiate so that they don’t write a check for the full value of the policy. Especially when you have a serious injury, the costs for your medical treatment could be much more than what the insurance company will pay.

Brain injuries and spinal cord injuries could lead to six-figure medical bills. Severe injuries could also mean weeks away from work and lost wages. What can you do when the other driver’s insurance policy can’t pay your medical bills, let alone reimburse you for that lost income?

You need to look at all of your options

There are multiple layers of protection available for those hurt in car crashes. In addition to liability insurance, you may have the protection of underinsured motorist protection and collision coverage on your own policy. You may also be able to bring a personal injury claim in civil court.

You could file a lawsuit against the other driver if they broke the law or were obviously negligent at the wheel. There might even be a third party, like a business, with some liability for the crash. Looking over the report from the police and learning more about Wyoming personal injury laws can help you get an appropriate amount of compensation for the injuries you suffered.

Learning more about the rules that apply to insurance claims and injury lawsuits can help you after you get hurt in a motor vehicle collision in Wyoming.