Motorcycle Accident Lawyers in Fort Collins, CO

Dealing with a property damage claim is frustrating and time consuming. Sometimes insurance companies take too long to inspect your vehicle and provide you with an estimate. Ultimately, the at-fault person’s insurance should pay for your vehicle. However, there are times when you may want to use your own insurance, if you have coverage. For example, if the at-fault party doesn’t have insurance, you may need to use your insurance. Other times, the at-fault insurance may refuse to pay while they are investigating the crash and determining who is at fault (even if law enforcement has already cited the other driver). If you need a vehicle to get to work, you may not have time to wait for the investigation, so you may use your own insurance. In these cases, you may have a deductible, so your insurance will pay you the amount of the damage less the deductible amount. If the other insurance company eventually agrees its driver was at fault, then it will repay your insurance company and you will get a check for your deductible amount.

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage, also called UM/UIM Coverage, is insurance coverage that you purchase to protect yourself from being in an accident with someone who has no insurance, or only very little insurance. UM / UIM Coverage is especially important in Colorado, where some liability policies only total $25,000 and there are many uninsured motorists. UM / UIM coverage must be offered to purchasers of liability insurance. The amount of UM / UIM coverage can range from $25,000 to over $300,000.

UM / UIM typically works as follows. If a motorist with only $25,000 in insurance coverage causes you $50,000 in medical expenses, then you would first collect the $25,000 from the at-fault motorist. Once those funds were collected, you would then submit a claim under your UM / UIM coverage for the rest of your damages.

This is one of the most frequently asked questions. It can be answered, but the answer depends on the specific facts of your case. In meeting with many people over many years, we’ve often heard people say that they’ve read that their case is worth some multiple of the amount of their medical bills. They ask things like, “Should pain and suffering be three times (3x) the total medical bills?” or “What is the non-economic to economic damages ratio?”

But determining the amount you are owed actually has nothing to do with any kind of multiplier or factor. The amount of your pain and suffering and changed quality of life are completely independent from the amount of your medical bills. Consider these two cases as examples.

In Case 1, a person is in a high-speed crash. The car rolls several times and looks like a crushed tin can. The driver is immediately taken to the hospital by ambulance. The driver is shaken up, has some sore spots and is understandably in shock. Because of the powerful forces in such a crash, the emergency room doctor orders a full set of CT scans or MRIs to make sure there are no serious internal injuries. Fortunately, the driver has escaped any serious or lasting injury. She feels better and doesn’t seek any follow-up care. She takes it easy for a few days and continues to feel better. Within a week, she’s pain free and back to normal. We’ve seen folks in this scenario many times. Her medical bills are relatively high because expensive scans and emergency room care were provided. She also has a non-economic damages claim for pain and suffering, but how great is that compared to her relatively expensive medical bills? Her pain and suffering damages may be less than her total medical bills.

In Case 2, a person suffers a severe, permanent injury that cannot be repaired, such as paralysis or traumatic amputation of a limb. He receives initial medical treatment, but the treatment is mainly to stabilize the condition. There are no long-term medical expenses because the injury cannot be healed. He must live with the permanent impairment for the rest of his life. He struggles to care for himself day-to-day. He cannot do the hobbies and other activities he enjoyed for recreation. His medical bills are relatively low compared to the severity of the injury. But his damages for permanent impairment, disfigurement, permanently changed quality of life and pain and suffering are immense. They will be many, many times greater than his total medical bills.

An accurate determination of what your case is worth requires knowing the details of how your life was affected, the severity and duration of your pain, your long-term prognosis and medical needs, and whether you have any permanent impairment. The truth is, no one knows exactly what your case is worth unless you go through a trial and a jury decides it for you. But by applying our experience to the specific facts of your case, we can provide you with the likely range of outcomes.