What to do regarding the death of a passenger in a car accident driven by a potentially at-fault under insured driver with low assets?
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What to do regarding the death of a passenger in a car accident driven by a potentially at-fault under insured driver with low assets?
My mom died after being in a car accident driven by a relative; she was in ICU for 10 days. My mom was a non-driver and thus was not on my dad’s auto insurance. She had health insurance. It turns out that the relative has low coverage (20/50 on under insured and bodily damage) and has low assets. We are not sure yet if he may or may not be at fault yet. My mom had no life insurances. If relative is at fault will health insurance pay for all the medical expenses or will we become liable for all bills? Should we get own low cost lawyer or talk to the relative’s lawyer.
Asked on August 2, 2012 under Personal Injury, Virginia
Answers:
Leigh Anne Timiney / Timiney Law Firm
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I am sorry about the loss of your mother. Whether or not your mom's health insurance pays for all of her medical bills depends upon her health insurance coverage. Unfortunately, this happens frequently, where an insured person who is responsbile for an accident does not have enough insurance coverage to fully compensate the person injured in the accident. I would strongly suggest that you contact a personal injury lawyer. Every state is different with respect to law, however in many states when you receive compensation from a third party, such as your relatives auto insurance, it can create repayment options for you to your mother's health insurance, depending on what type of insurance she has. The law can get complicated with respect to this. You would be best served by contacting a personal injury attorney in your area to assist you with this.
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