Expert: Claims Guy - 10/25/2008

Question
A few months ago I was a passenger in a family memebers car.  The driver (a family member) lost control of the car.  The car flipped multiple times and I slipped out of my seat bealt and was ejected out the passenger window.  So you can imagine how extensive my injuries were.  Of course the driver was found at fault.  their policy has PIP coverage of 10 grand and bodily injury of 25,000.  I just got a letter  from their insurance company saying what they paid so far...which is $300.00 then sent me the remaining bills( the first hospital bill) that they will not cover because my benefits have been exahusted.  So far they paid the 300.00, 25.00 for out of pocket expenses, and 400 for 5 weeks loss of wages which is a very laughable amount.  I only work on the weekends and that is not the 70% that they said they will cover.  So how are my benefits exahusted?  My lawyer said that he might have to go and make a claim under my underinsured to make sure all of my expenses are paid. My question is, will my insurance company go after my family member to seek reimbursement?  Can they come after my settlement to seek reimbursement as well?  I want to know what I can do to make sure my family member will not be affected by this personally?  I know I can ask my lawyer all of these questions, but I want an unbiased, outside perspective answer.  Thank you for your time.  Any help will be greatly aprreciated.

Answer
My first reaction is that you really need to have a lengthy conversation with your lawyer regarding these issues.  Your lawyer will receive a lot of money from your settlement and should be earning this.  I sense you do not have full trust in your lawyer, and if that is the case maybe you need a new one.

If you make a UM claim, your insurance company will have the right to seek recovery of their payment from the negligent driver.  If your relative has any assets or equity in a home, they may go after it.  They may choose not to depending on the circumstances but they can and likely will if they think it is worth the cost of doing so.

But the UM carrier cannot come after your settlement on the liability claim.  The UM coverage is excess to the liability settlement.

However, if your health insurer paid anything, they can and probably will file a lien against your settlement.

As for your relative, the only thing you can do to protect him/her is not to file a UM claim.  But then you will be stuck with the medical bills and that would not be fair to you.  If your health insurer paid the bills, this might protect your relative because while they can file a lien against your settlement, they cannot go after the negligent party directly.

As for the benefits being exhausted, I do not understand this and your lawyer should get an explanation.