New London Car Accident Injury Attorneys

Being involved in an auto accident is a frightening experience for anyone in New London, and suffering a broken bone or serious knee injury can make it even more overwhelming. The long-term consequences of these injuries can be serious, so it is essential to take the right steps to protect your health, rights, and financial future, whether you were driving your own car or a rental.

Broken Bones and Auto Accidents: Critical Steps for New London Victims

A common tactic for insurance companies is to offer you money immediately after a crash, before you know the extent of your injuries. Do not even consider discussing settlement with the insurance company for the other driver until you are out of the hospital and have finished treatment for your injuries. If you were to accept an offer early on and sign settlement documents, you are most likely stuck, and you could end up having to pay a significant amount back to your health insurance company if it paid your medical bills.

This repayment requirement is called subrogation, and all health insurance policies have a provision stating you are required to pay them back. However, if your health insurance plan is not a self-funded ERISA plan, there are Iowa laws that can help protect you, so that if you do not make a full financial recovery, your health insurance company also is not allowed to make a full financial recovery. If your plan is a self-funded ERISA plan, which is common if you work for a larger company, federal laws apply instead, and if you settle your case without reaching an agreement with the plan, you may have breached the contract, meaning you could end up paying back all of the money the insurance company paid you.

Do Not Let Medical Providers Bill the Other Driver's Insurance

Iowans injured in auto accidents often think they will have the hospital and medical providers bill the insurance company for the other driver. This is a bad idea for several reasons. The other driver's insurance company may ask you to send them your medical bills, but this does not mean they will pay them. This is an insurance company tactic designed to put pressure on you to settle when your bills remain unpaid and you start receiving collection calls and letters.

If you have health insurance, it is best to provide your health insurance information to all medical providers and ask them to bill your health insurance. Some hospitals and medical providers will claim they cannot bill your health insurance if there is an auto accident involved, which is simply not true. This is a tactic used to try to be paid the full bill instead of the lower contractual amount already agreed upon with your health insurance company. This matters because under Iowa law, the minimum car insurance liability coverage is only $20,000, and if the other driver has minimum or low limits, you could end up owing money toward your medical bills after the insurance has been paid.

If you have an attorney involved, you will typically pay back your health insurance at a discounted amount, putting more money in your pocket. If you have car insurance with medical payments coverage, it is best to wait and use this coverage for your co-pays and deductibles after your health insurance has paid your medical bills, rather than using it first.

Insurance and Liability in a New London Rental Car Accident

If you are in an accident while driving a rental car near New London, the first few steps are the same as they would be for any other accident. You need to check for injuries, tend to any injuries, move the car or yourself to a safe location, and call the police. From there, what you need to do varies slightly from what you would do in an accident involving your own vehicle. As soon as you are able, you will need to contact your rental car agency, report the accident, and ask what your next steps should be. You will also want to call and inform your own insurance company.

Who Covers the Rental Car Accident?

If a driver of another vehicle was completely responsible for the accident, that driver's insurance company would need to cover the damages. But who pays if you were at fault, or if the other driver does not have enough insurance? It depends on both your personal auto insurance policy and any coverage you purchased at the rental car agency. Rental car companies usually offer a few types of coverage: a collision damage waiver, which acts as comprehensive coverage for the rental car, liability coverage that pays for others' damages when you are at fault, and personal accident insurance that covers you and your passengers' medical bills. These are optional, so you may or may not have purchased them.

In most cases, your own auto insurance policy will kick in first, assuming your policy covers accidents in rental cars. Most policies with collision and comprehensive coverage do cover them, so if you are unsure what your coverage includes, contact your insurance agent. If you purchased rental car insurance when you took out the rental, it will usually kick in next, depending on the types and limits of coverage you purchased. In some situations, your credit card company might also pay for any deductibles you are obligated to pay. It is worth reviewing your personal policy, the rental car policy, and your credit card policy carefully to determine how they work together, and if the details are confusing, you can discuss them with an attorney in the New London area.

Common Knee Injuries From New London Car Accidents

The knee or knees are often traumatized during a car crash, caused by the knee being forced toward the front of the vehicle and crushed, twisted, or coming into contact with another object. Here are some of the most common knee injuries following a vehicle wreck.

Severe knee injuries are expensive to correct and can leave a New London victim unable to walk, perform regular activities, or even go to work for days or weeks at a time. To help provide compensation for damages caused by a knee injury from a car accident, filing a car accident claim or lawsuit can help.