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Information on Liability and Coverage in NJ
Cherry Hill car accident attorneys helping the injured throughout South Jersey
Anyone injured in a Cherry Hill car, truck, or motorcycle accident as a result of someone else’s negligence or fault has the right to seek compensation for their personal damages and their financial damages. Personal damages include your physical pain and emotional suffering. Personal damages also include the loss of bodily function, loss of quality of life, and loss of consortium (marital enjoyment). Financial damages include your lost income and work benefits, and your property damage. It’s important to understand your liability and coverage in terms of insurance. At Ferrara & Gable, our Cherry Hill car accident lawyers will explain which insurance policies you can use regardless of fault, which policies you can use if another driver was at fault, and all other related issues, such as what types of injuries qualify you to seek personal damages because you have a significant injury or your loved one died.
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How can we help?
- Who pays for my immediate insurance needs?
- How do you fight insurance company’s efforts to deny or limit a liability claim?
- When can I use uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) insurance in Cherry Hill?
- How much liability and UM/UIM insurance should I buy?
- What other types of insurance coverage apply to Chery Hill car accident cases?
- Do you have a Cherry Hill car accident lawyer near me?
Who pays for my immediate insurance needs?
Your immediate insurance needs are typically as follows:
- Payment for your medical bills. Many Cherry Hill car accident victims receive initial care at an emergency room, urgent care or a local burn center. For serious injuries, the victim may require surgery and hospitalization. Most accident victims need to see their family doctor and different types of specialists such as orthopedists, neurosurgeons, and pain management doctors. Most car accident victims also need rehabilitative care from physical therapists, vocational therapists, psychologists, and other healthcare providers.
- Payment for your lost income. Car accident victims who have a catastrophic injury (such as a spinal cord injury, loss of a limb, or a traumatic brain injury) can’t work and may never work again. Some car accident victims lose weeks, months, or longer, even if they have injuries such as broken bones that are likely to heal. We know that each week you don’t receive a paycheck is a week you have to worry about paying your mortgage, the rent, grocery bills, and other expenses.
- Payment for the damage to your car or the cost to replace your car. If your car is totaled (the value of the repairs exceed the value of the car and the insurance company deems it not worth repairing), you’ll need to pay for a new car. If your car can be repaired, it costs money to pay for the repairs and the need to find alternative transportation until your car is fixed.
Until your car accident can be settled or there is a jury verdict in your favor, you might need to pay the above bills on your own, unless you have insurance coverage which will help cover them. These coverages include:
- Personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. This is provided through your auto insurance policy and provides no-fault medical benefits subject to the limitations you choose, up to $250,000 in medical expense coverage. It may also provide death benefits, wage loss reimbursement, and essential services reimbursement where applicable
- Your own health insurance. This insurance may be provided through a private carrier, work or a union, or a governmental agency such as Medicare or Medicaid.
- Collision and comprehensive insurance. This coverage, through your own auto policy, pays for the cost to fix or replace your car (depending on the amount of damage) regardless of fault.
At Ferrara & Gable, we may be able to negotiate with your healthcare providers to delay payment until your case is resolved.
How do you fight insurance company’s efforts to deny or limit a liability claim?
Even when you have the right to sue because you have a qualifying significant injury or because you paid for the right to sue in your auto insurance policy, the liability insurance carriers for the driver who caused your accident will try to limit the amount you can recover, or may try to refuse payment to you at all.
Our Cherry Hill car accident lawyers hold defendants accountable for all your personal and financial damages, up to the full policy limits. We counter all efforts by the liability carriers to deny or reduce your claim. This includes:
- Showing that their insured driver was negligent and that their negligence caused your car accident;
- Showing that your injuries are preventing you from returning to work;
- Working with your doctors to verify all the medical care that you need; and
- Working with you and your doctors to explain every way your injuries have changed your life, making it difficult or unbearable, including every type of pain you have and everything you can’t do that you could before the car accident.
When can I use uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) insurance in Cherry Hill?
Many drivers in New Jersey drive without any type of insurance. Even drivers who have insurance often have the state minimum, and can’t pay the full value of most accident claims. Hit-and-run drivers don’t pay your claim because they can’t be found.
That’s where UM/UIM coverage applies. UM/UIM can be used for all types of injuries or just significant injuries, depending on whether you purchased a limited right to sue or a full right to sue.
How much liability and UM/UIM insurance should I buy?
Many drivers only buy enough insurance coverage to “stay legal,” but the truth is, that coverage simply isn’t enough to fairly compensate you for the harms caused in many car accidents. Your UM/UIM coverage is limited by the amount of bodily injury liability coverage you purchase, so to protect yourself, you should always maximize your coverage.
At Ferrara & Gable, our Cherry Hill car accident lawyers recommend that you buy the following coverage:
- The maximum amount of bodily insurance you can afford
- UM/UIM insurance in the same amount as your bodily liability coverage
- The maximum amount of PIP insurance you can afford
- The right to sue for all types of injuries – not just a limited right to sue
- The maximum amount of property damage you can afford
- Collison insurance
We also recommend, if you can afford the cost, you purchase umbrella insurance that covers both excess liability and UM/UIM coverage.
What other types of insurance coverage apply to Cherry Hill car accident cases?
In addition to all the other insurance coverages we’ve mentioned, you should review your policy to protect anyone who drives your car with your permission. You should also consider buying comprehensive coverage that pays for the theft of your car or damage due to fire, vandalism, and other non-traffic accident causes.
Do you have a Cherry Hill car accident lawyer near me?
At Ferrara & Gable, our Cherry Hill vehicle accident lawyers meet clients at our office located at 601 Longwood Avenue in Cherry Hill, NJ. There’s parking nearby. You can reach us by the Rt. 38 bus. We also conduct conversations by phone and via video consultation.
We’ll help you through this traumatic time and fight for all the compensation you deserve.
Discuss your insurance coverage issues with our respected car accident lawyers in South Jersey
When another driver speeds, drives while distracted, or causes an accident in any way, you deserve to be compensated for all your personal and financial damages. At Ferrara & Gable, our Cherry Hill car accident lawyers are skilled at proving another driver is responsible for your injuries or the death of a loved one. We’ll work to secure compensation immediately for all your covered no-fault claims. We’ll fight to obtain full compensation for all the damages you’re entitled to, based on your injuries and the type of coverage you and the responsible drivers have. Call us or fill out our contact form today to schedule a free consultation.