Kirk Bernard Addresses Personal Injuries and Dealing with Insurance Companies
Kirk Bernard
November 04, 2009
The personal injury compensation systems that today's Americans have to deal with are getting very complex, and the state of Washington is not immune to the kinds of problems others face across the nation. Reports and statistics from various agencies show many thousands of Washington citizens, in urban areas like Seattle and out into the rural regions of the state, filing all kinds of personal injury claims from worker's compensation to public liability to professional liability and more.
A personal injury happens when someone incurs injury through the negligence of another person or entity. The injured party has a right to seek compensation against that party or entity for damages resulting from the personal injury. Most states mandate insurance coverage for situations that may result in personal injuries or damage to property. If the negligent party or entity is insured, the personal injury process begins with a claim filed against the insurance policy of the negligent party. Examples of insurance policies that cover personal injuries are business policies, umbrella coverage to a business, auto insurance to a driver, homeowner´s insurance or other types of coverage for public liability regarding their home or investment property.
So what happens when the negligent party is not insured or the policy limits are insufficient to cover the injured party´s damages? If the injured party carries that type of insurance coverage, such as auto or homeowners insurance, the injured party can submit a claim against his or her own policy. A number of states require that people carry such coverage. An example is automobile insurance. Like the collision and comprehensive portion of a policy, there is a minimum policy limit for uninsured and underinsured coverage. Further, more states are now moving to no fault insurance or personal injury protection (PIP) wherein each party collects from its own policy.
This system sounds great, but here's the problem: insurance is big business and the company doesn´t reap bounty for its shareholders if it pays every claim without question. Whether it is the carrier of the negligent party or the injured party, the carriers investigate claims and often deny or delay payment. One must read the fine print of an insurance policy for loopholes. If there are any mitigating factors in a claim, the carrier is sure to use it to avoid paying out some or any compensation to injured persons. Over the last decade, more carriers have an arbitration clause in the fine print, which means that filing a lawsuit is not an option until arbitration fails to reach a resolution agreed to by the parties.
What this means is that injured parties in Washington and throughout the country, must retain personal injury lawyers to guide them through the claims, arbitration and judicial process. Injured parties in the state of Washington and across the U.S. who have dealt with any kind of personal injury claim in the past will often admit that having legal counsel is one of the critical parts of the equation for dealing with any insurance company, whether it's your own or someone else's. Relying on a legal team, such as the experienced team Kirk Bernard leads at The Bernard Law Group, expedites the process of concretely identifying exactly who needs to pay compensation to the victim and how much they need to pay. Without legal assistance, it is likely that the injured parties will not receive the compensation to which they are entitled.
A personal injury happens when someone incurs injury through the negligence of another person or entity. The injured party has a right to seek compensation against that party or entity for damages resulting from the personal injury. Most states mandate insurance coverage for situations that may result in personal injuries or damage to property. If the negligent party or entity is insured, the personal injury process begins with a claim filed against the insurance policy of the negligent party. Examples of insurance policies that cover personal injuries are business policies, umbrella coverage to a business, auto insurance to a driver, homeowner´s insurance or other types of coverage for public liability regarding their home or investment property.
So what happens when the negligent party is not insured or the policy limits are insufficient to cover the injured party´s damages? If the injured party carries that type of insurance coverage, such as auto or homeowners insurance, the injured party can submit a claim against his or her own policy. A number of states require that people carry such coverage. An example is automobile insurance. Like the collision and comprehensive portion of a policy, there is a minimum policy limit for uninsured and underinsured coverage. Further, more states are now moving to no fault insurance or personal injury protection (PIP) wherein each party collects from its own policy.
This system sounds great, but here's the problem: insurance is big business and the company doesn´t reap bounty for its shareholders if it pays every claim without question. Whether it is the carrier of the negligent party or the injured party, the carriers investigate claims and often deny or delay payment. One must read the fine print of an insurance policy for loopholes. If there are any mitigating factors in a claim, the carrier is sure to use it to avoid paying out some or any compensation to injured persons. Over the last decade, more carriers have an arbitration clause in the fine print, which means that filing a lawsuit is not an option until arbitration fails to reach a resolution agreed to by the parties.
What this means is that injured parties in Washington and throughout the country, must retain personal injury lawyers to guide them through the claims, arbitration and judicial process. Injured parties in the state of Washington and across the U.S. who have dealt with any kind of personal injury claim in the past will often admit that having legal counsel is one of the critical parts of the equation for dealing with any insurance company, whether it's your own or someone else's. Relying on a legal team, such as the experienced team Kirk Bernard leads at The Bernard Law Group, expedites the process of concretely identifying exactly who needs to pay compensation to the victim and how much they need to pay. Without legal assistance, it is likely that the injured parties will not receive the compensation to which they are entitled.
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