Cleveland Car Accident Attorney Provides Leading Legal Expertise for Accident Victims
February 27, 2014Cleveland car accident attorneys at Lowe Scott Fisher Co., LPA focus their practice on resolving personal injury cases for victims of motorcycle, truck and automobile accidents. Partners at Lowe Scott Fisher have a long history of helping accident victims fully understand their insurance coverage and obtain the maximum compensation for their injuries.
“Many of our clients come to us following an automobile, truck or motorcycle accident claiming that they have full insurance coverage. However, the term ‘full coverage’ is not well understood, and many clients do not actually have the level of insurance coverage that they anticipated,” explained firm partners. “Our Cleveland car accident attorneys work hard to investigate each client’s individual policy and see what coverage applies to his or her personal injury case. Even before a claim is involved, we use this proactive approach to help individuals analyze their policy and make the adjustments required to meet their needs.”
When preparing to purchase or renew an auto insurance policy, Lowe Scott Fisher encourages clients to consider the following insurance options:
- Liability (also known as bodily injury liability): This insurance coverage applies if an individual causes an accident and the other party is injured.
- Property damage liability: This insurance coverage applies if a person causes an accident and damages someone else’s property, such as a car, telephone pole, or garage door.
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury: This option is important if an individual is injured in an accident by someone who has very little automobile insurance coverage (underinsured) or no coverage at all (uninsured). Accidents involving underinsured or uninsured motorists may result in expensive medical bills that are not covered by health insurance, lost wages, future lost wages, and severe pain and suffering. In situations involving fatal injuries, the victim’s family may have a wrongful death claim. This type of insurance compensates the victim or family for the losses mentioned above. However, some insurance companies are selling uninsured and underinsured protection separately. It is recommended that individuals carry at least as much uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage as they do liability coverage.
- Collision: This coverage applies if a vehicle is damaged in an accident or collision. A deductible is usually associated with this coverage.
- Comprehensive: This covers the vehicle in the event of damage from a variety of incidents not involving a collision, and usually has an associated deductible. It is used to cover restoration or repairs for vandalism, theft, storm damage, etc.
- Medical payments: This option helps individuals injured in an accident to pay their medical bills, regardless of who was at fault. The money can be used to pay co-pays, deductibles, out-of-network charges, prescriptions, or any other medical bill the health carrier will not pay. Many hospitals and doctors want to access the victim’s auto policy to obtain these medical payments because they can bill the auto policy for the full amount of the bill. Given that health insurance companies have a reduced, negotiated rate with doctors and hospitals, individuals involved in an accident should immediately write a letter to their auto insurance company requesting it to refrain from paying any medical bills directly.
- Insurance limits: Each individual must determine how much insurance to purchase based on what he or she needs and can afford. Lowe Scott Fisher encourages clients to prepare for the worst-case scenario by assuming that they will be struck and severely injured by someone with little or no insurance. How much would be required to cover medical bills and lost wages? Fortunately, buying higher limits of coverage is not that much more expensive than basic insurance. When renewing or purchasing a policy, always ask the agent for pricing on additional insurance coverage to weigh all the options.
Because of its demonstrated leadership in the areas of motorcycle and other motor vehicle accidents, personal injury and medical malpractice, the Cleveland car accident attorneys at Lowe Scott Fisher have successfully represented thousands of clients in disputes against insurance companies related to automobile insurance policies and coverage. Individuals who have been injured from an accident should please call the trial attorneys at Lowe Scott Fisher for a free consultation. The firm also provides free advice regarding automobile insurance policy options and coverage.
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