Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog
Liability insurance not only covers injuries to victims in other car, but also can be used to compensate injured passengers in at-fault driver’s car. However, there is sometimes not enough coverage on a single policy to cover the full extent of all injuries.
Auto insurance liability insurance in Massachusetts has policy limits broken down into the three categories. A policy will have separate limits for a single injury, total injuries per accident, and property damage resulting from the accident. Some people have the state minimum insurance, while other people will have insurance well above the state mandatory minimums.
In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the state requires minimum coverage $20,000 per injury, $40,000 per accident, and $5,000 in personal property of others coverage. Boston drunk driving accident lawyers typically express these figures as 20/40/5. When you are riding the T and see a poster for a company advertising cheap insurance with state minimum coverage, they are talking about 20/40/5.
This means that in a single accident, if a driver has the state required minimum insurance, the policy will cover up to $20,000 for a single personal injury. This normally means a single person injured in a car accident. The policy will cover up to $40,000 for all personal injuries that occurred during an accident. $5,000 in personal property damage to others can be applied to vehicle damage caused to victim’s car. Once all insurance has been paid, the insurance company is not required to pay out any additional money. This leaves your drunk driving accident lawyer with the option to go after at-fault driver’s personal or real property assets, if he or she has any. People who own property and assets often purchase more insurance, such as 300/600/100, to prevent any out-of-pocket expenses beyond their policy deductible. People who buy state minimum coverage often do not own much.
Some accidents obviously involve more injuries than can be covered by the state minimum. For example, according to a recent news article from My Fox Boston, a recent accident in Norwood, Massachusetts required firefighters to extract all five occupants of driver’s vehicle using emergency equipment, such as Jaws-of-Life. Police arrested at-fault driver for operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor (OUI) and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
While it does not appear anyone was seriously injured in this accident, it is easy to imagine how people could have been injured. If you are one of multiple victims in a car accident, you should contact an experienced car accident lawyer as soon as possible, so your lawyer will be better able to get the limited funds available to compensate you for your pain and suffering, lost wages, and other special damages.
Even if there isn’t sufficient coverage under a single policy, if you have your own insurance, you may have what is known as underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage to make up for the shortage in at-fault driver’s insurance policy. In the case of serious personal injury, it is very easy for medical bills alone to be over $20,000 per person.
If you have been injured in a Boston drunk driving accident, call for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Alleged drunk driver arrested after crash that required 5 to be extracted, February 21 , 2015, My Fox Boston
More Blog Entries:
Massachusetts Man Arrested for 11th Drunk Driving Offense, August 12, 2014, Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers Blog