A car accident in Indianapolis or any state for that matter is a traumatizing experience for the victim. An accident causes tremendous amounts of pain for the victim, including physical injuries and loss of property. In the more serious cases, a victim is often left with months where they can no longer work to support their family as well.
Whenever a victim sues the at-fault driver for a car accident in Indianapolis. The key consideration is whether the at-fault driver even has the funds to pay off the compensation, should the victim win the personal injury lawsuit. In the case that the defendant has no money to pay, their insurance policy is the only source of paying the compensation, if it exists.
You will need an experienced Indianapolis car accident lawyer to file a personal injury suit or defend it on your behalf.
Let’s look at the dynamics of a case that involves a defendant with no money or insurance policy to pay off the compensation amount.
First of All, Ask Yourself If It’s Worth It
We understand that car accident are a life event that can alter a lot of things for you but a personal injury lawsuit doesn’t just involve an Indianapolis accident attorney fighting the case on your behalf. Several things like character assessment and evidence gathering will involve you as well.
If the goal is to just punish the defendant then the plaintiff should calm down, take a step back and assess if it is worth the time and money? Especially, when the defendant is in no position financially to pay compensation?
If the damages did were great, then it makes sense for the plaintiff to push for compensation for physical injuries, property loss, and loss of income.
What If The At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance?
Auto insurance and uninsured motorist coverage come into play in most states in situations where the defendants don’t have the insurance policy or funds to pay the compensation amount to the plaintiff. In most of these cases, the plaintiff’s insurance company is then supposed to compensate the plaintiff for their losses.
This will depend on provisions in your auto insurance policy. But, the most important thing to note here is that even if the defendant can’t pay you, all is not lost.
Let’s look at some provisions that will get you some compensation for your losses:
Personal Injury Protection
This provision pays for physical pain and loss of income due to being in a car accident. This is provided to the insured driver, regardless of them being at fault in the accident or not.
Medpay
This provision can be added to a driver’s own insurance policy and ensures that their medical bills get paid in case of a car accident. It doesn’t matter who was at fault in the accident as long as the insured driver or car was involved.
Uninsured / Underinsured
UIM will pay the plaintiff’s medical bills, loss of income, and property damage in case the defendant cannot be located or is unable to pay for damages and has no insurance policy. This is only possible if the plaintiff did not explicitly cancel UIM on their insurance policy at the beginning. You may need the help of an experienced Indianapolis car accident lawyer to sue or negotiate with your insurance company if they disagree that the accident triggered the UIM coverage.
The state of Indiana requires Uninsured or Underinsured motorist coverage unless the motorist agrees to not add it to their insurance policy. The minimum limit for bodily injuries is $25,000 and the same stands for property damage as well.
How Can an Indianapolis Car Accident Lawyer Help You?
If you have been in a car accident and plan on suing the at-fault driver for your losses and you just found out that they have no insurance and are financially too weak to compensate you, this can send you into a state of worry.
A good Indianapolis accident attorney like the ones at Rowe & Hamilton can help ease your worry and simply lay out your options for you. There are plenty of ways in which you can still get some financial relief even if the defendant doesn’t have the funds or insurance policy to compensate you.
At Rowe & Hamilton, we have over 32 years of experience with helping our clients navigate car accident cases in Indianapolis. Our experienced accident attorney will assess your case and your options and negotiate with your insurance company on your behalf.
Need help with a car accident lawsuit? Call an experienced Indianapolis car accident lawyer.
