Often paired together uninsured and underinsured motorists or UM is not required in Georgia as it is in other states. Georgia does require a minimum amount of liability coverage but clearly, not everyone follows the law.
Yes, underinsured motorist coverage should pay compensation for pain and suffering. But like all car wrecks, receiving compensation is not always easy.
An Atlanta auto accident lawyer can help you fight for compensation. Additionally, they can help you put a value on your pain and suffering and know when settlement offers are too low.
What Should Underinsured Motorist Coverage Take Care Of?
Underinsured motorist coverage should cover the gap between the at-fault driver’s insurance coverage and compensation needs. That means that it should cover the difference for all things such as property damage, physical recovery, medical costs, and pain and suffering.
Underinsured motorist coverage kicks in after the at-fault driver’s insurance company has exhausted their coverage limits. For example, if the driver that hit you has the minimum liability coverage, capping out at $15,000 for bodily injury but your injury costs mounted up to $50,000 you have a massive gap.
You don’t want to take on $35,000 in medical costs. Then when you factor in pain and suffering the extent of debt could be substantially worse. You may have lost wages, or even lost the ability to work. All the while your bills are piling up and getting behind creating an unclimbable mountain of debt.
That is where underinsured motorist coverage comes into the rescue. Not only should it cover the outstanding medical costs, but other attributes of pain and suffering as well.
Do You Need Underinsured Motorist Coverage?
Yes, you need uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Because the two pair together it’s even more important to have this type of coverage. The number of accidents happening involving under, or uninsured motorists is alarming and it’s continuing to rise.
Throughout Atlanta, there are a number of uninsured drivers, or people driving with the minimum liability insurance. The issue isn’t that they’re breaking the law, the issue is that they’re putting everyone at risk of complete ruin if they’re in an accident.
Without underinsured motorist coverage, you don’t have much of a chance at all for any reasonable amount of compensation. It is just one of those things that’s better to have and not need, than to not have and regret needing it later.
What Falls Under Pain and Suffering?
Lawyers have many different methods for calculating pain and suffering. Usually, they rely on what evidence they have available to support your claim to determine what fits into their calculation.
Generally speaking you can include the following, and more, in a pain and suffering claim:
- Actual pain
- Medical costs
- Bills for rehabilitation or recovery from surgery or injury
- Physical limitations
- Loss of ability to be intimate
- Emotional and psychological trauma
- Depression and anxiety
- Memory loss and other disorders from brain injury
These issues are all too common in car accidents. Underinsured motorist coverage won’t rush to cover things such as emotional trauma without evidence that the issue stems from the crash. A lawyer can help you put together your evidence in a compelling manner to show the difference in behaviors and habits from before and after the wreck.
Suffering? Legal Recourse Might Be The Only Way to Get Compensation
Insurance adjusters or the people who are evaluating your case, often work solely based on numbers. They assign a number to everything, but how can you assign a value to losing something like the ability to hold your children?
The pain, within the pain and suffering umbrella, is easy to prove costs such as medical bills and lost wages. But suffering is something different. It is hard to prove suffering to someone who wants a receipt for everything.
Suffering will often include new physical limitations or the loss of something important to you. If you loved your career as a chef but lost your dominant hand, you quite possibly lost a major part of your identity. That suffering is hard to value, but a lawyer can help.
Contact An Atlanta Car Accident Attorney Right Away
Pain and suffering is a commonly used term that works to diminish the reality of your injuries. You are in pain, and suffering, and compensation, of any amount, won’t change that. A bit of legal guidance can help you put a realistic value on your injuries and suffering.
The Weinstein Firm helps injured victims of car accidents with their claim and their case. Having a personal injury lawyer isn’t just for taking your case to court. There are many times when you need help just to sort out the issues between the insurance companies. Call us to get legal help before you need it.
