Limits of Liability

[ct64fl]

I live in SC. I was involved in a motorcycle accident in Nov 98. The persons that hit me were found at fault and cited. they did not have any insurance although this is a mandatory insurance state. Is there any recourse against the state? At the time of the accident I had three vehicle policy's in effect, 2 motorcycle and one auto. Limits of liability on each motorcycle were $15,000/$30,000 and on the auto $25,000/$50,000. The total of my doctor bills, and lost wages is around $25,000. Due to injuries sustained in the accident my Dr. has given me a permanent impairment rating of 28% on a whole person basis. My insurance company insists that they are liable for only $15,000 of the total bill. Is this correct? I feel that I had $60,000 coverage with one company and $50,000 with another and they should pay accordingly. If I sue them in court do you think I would be compensated for total damages and expenses

 

[Tracey]

You can't sue the state for not putting up roadblocks to catch uninsured drivers.

Your liability policy limits are not at issue here. You are claiming under your uninsured/underinsured protection. You aren't allowed to add all your policies together. Only the policy on the bike you were riding is used.

I don't know about your company, but State Farm won't let me carry more U/U coverage than my direct liability coverage. (I can carry less U/U if I want to.) Thus, your recovery against your insurance company is limited to $15k.

The 15/30 figure means recovery up to $15k per person (any number of people), and a total cap of $30k for all persons, not $30k per accident.

You have to sue the car driver for the rest and try to collect from him/her. Talk to a lawyer, who can run an asset check on the driver to see if s/he has a house or any money you can collect. (Doubtful.)

Did you have medical insurance through work? You may be able to use that to pay medical bills and use the bike insurance money to cover wages and save some for the future.


Sorry to hear about your accident,
Tracey

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.

[This message has been edited by Tracey (edited April 15, 2000).]

 

[ct64fl]

Tracey,

Thanks for the info. Not what I wanted to hear but I somehow suspected that I would lose all the way around from this situation. I do have a lawyer but he is very hard to get a hold of. This case is in the the demand phase now. The lawyer says I would be entitled to $128,000 if this case went to court but if the company is only responsible for $15,000 the losses from medical bills won't be covered. I had medical insurance from the government (retired USAF) but they consider themselves 3rd party and want to be reimbursed $12,000. That leaves me with $18,000 to pay out of my own pockets not includinglawyer fees. i will have the lawyer look into any assets the party who hit me may have had, but won't the insurance company be doing the same thing to recover their losses? Thanks again