Car accidents can result in damages that extend far beyond the property damage costs of repairing or replacing a damaged vehicle. When the accident causes serious injury, damages can quickly escalate, leaving an injury victim facing financial hardship. A catastrophic injury with permanent consequences can mean lifelong economic damages with impacts on earning capacity and the ability to accomplish daily tasks. Many car accident survivors in California ask, “What are the options for a car accident victim in California when their damages far exceed the limits of the at-fault driver’s liability auto insurance?”
What are the Minimum Insurance Requirements In California?
Before considering the possibility of your accident damages exceeding the insurance policy limits, it’s helpful to know what the state requires for coverage. California Senate Bill 1107 recently increased the state’s minimum requirement for liability coverage, now requiring all licensed California drivers to carry the following:
- $30,000 per person for injury coverage
- $60,000 in injury coverage per accident
- $15,000 in property damage coverage per accident
Although this 30/60/15 rule provides more coverage for car accident victims in California than the previous minimum requirement, it may not be enough for an injury victim with severe or catastrophic injuries requiring extensive medical treatment or leaving them facing an uncertain career future.
What Types of Damages Occur In Serious Car Accidents?
A powerful collision causes tremendous crash force, propelling the motorist’s body forward at the speed the car was traveling before the seatbelt snaps them back against the seat. The crash force of a car accident places the body’s bones, muscles, and internal organs under tremendous strain. In addition, the motorist may suffer multiple blunt-force traumas from the car’s structure collapsing inward.
Common damages in car accident claims include the following:
- Reimbursement for medical expenses
- Anticipated future medical expenses for further necessary procedures, surgeries, rehabilitation, home health care, and adaptive equipment
- Out-of-pocket injury-related costs
- Lost earnings
- Future income loss
- Reduced earning ability due to disability
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Catastrophic injury damages that apply in individual cases, such as loss of limb, the loss of an organ, loss of vision, hearing loss, scarring, disfigurement, PTSD, or diminished quality of life
If a car accident causes the death of a loved one, a wrongful death claim for damages such as the lost earnings of a provider could exceed insurance policy limits. If you have lost a loved one in an accident, reach out to our Van Nuys wrongful death attorneys for legal assistance.
What Are the Options for Recovering Compensation Beyond Insurance Limits In California?
When a car accident victim faces extensive damages that far exceed the limits of the at-fault party’s minimum insurance coverage, a Van Nuys car accident attorney will vigorously pursue all potential sources of economic recovery. This could include the following possible actions, depending on the circumstances of the case:
- Filing a claim against the injury victim’s uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage if they’ve added this optional coverage to their auto insurance policy
- Pursue a personal injury lawsuit against the defendant for additional compensation above their insurance limits (this is only viable if the defendant has significant financial resources)
- Pursue compensation from any other party that contributed to the accident or the severity of the injuries, such as a negligent road maintenance agency, a negligent roadwork contractor, a road planning agency that designed a dangerous roadway or confusing intersection, the manufacturer of a defective auto part, seatbelt, or airbag
Less commonly, the at-fault driver may be eligible for additional compensation through a defendant’s umbrella policy. These policies provide compensation against any type of lawsuit filed against the policyholder.
