Our fight just for our clients doesn’t always stop with the liable party in our clients’ claims. Unfortunately, sometimes you’re involved in an accident and there isn’t enough coverage in the liable party’s coverage to fully compensate an injured party for their injuries. In theses instances, it is always good to make sure that you have underinsured motorist coverage, as our client did.
Mrs. Bixler was a passenger in the vehicle her husband was driving when they were rearended so forcefully that it pushed their vehicle into the one in front of them. Mrs. Bixler sustained injuries to her cervical and lumbar spine, back, neck, shoulder, and elbow. Our client went to her primary care physician who referred her out for treatment.
She had MRI’s and was diagnosed with various disc disorders. She went through multiple rounds of therapy and rehabilitation treatment, multiple injections and has now been recommended for an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. This surgery and subsequent treatment alone will cost roughly $100K.
As we do for all our clients, we thoroughly investigated the insurance coverage applicable to Mrs. Bixler’s accident. Even though Missouri law requires every driver to have auto insurance with minimum bodily injury liability coverage of $25K, often drivers are underinsured. We were able to obtain the policy limits of $50K from the liable party, but we did not stop there. We discovered an additional $50K in coverage underinsured coverage in her policy and made a demand for that amount for Mrs. Bixler.
Not only did attorney Grant Doty recover the full policy limit against the liable party, he pushed even hard for our clients and was not only able to obtain the full policy limit of both covered parties but also assist in our client’s recovery of her medical payments coverage.
Mrs. Bixler’s case is a primary example of why it is so important to review the declarations page of your insurance coverage so that you know exactly what type of coverage that you have. In cases like this, where our clients’ damages exceed the liable party’s available limits, it is imperative to know if you have any additional coverage such as underinsured coverage or medical payments coverage to help compensate you for your injuries. Unfortunately, the at fault party doesn’t always carry enough coverage, so it’s always best advised to make sure to protect yourself!
In addition to Mrs. Bixler’s claim we were also able to settle her husband’s claim from the same accident. We were grateful for the opportunity to represent them and wish them the best in the future.