Understanding the Importance of Bodily Injury Liability Limits in Massachusetts

When you are injured in a car accident in Massachusetts, you can seek compensation for your injuries and damages by filing a bodily injury claim with the negligent driver’s auto insurance company. This is the initial legal process by which you can pursue financial compensation.  

The other driver’s bodily injury liability insurance limits are an important factor in understanding how much you may receive as compensation and managing expectations in Massachusetts car accident cases. Below I will discuss these issues as well as how you can proactively protect yourself against uninsured drivers.

Bodily Injury Liability Limits Are Important Aspects of an Accident Case

Determining the other driver’s bodily injury liability insurance limits is critical in establishing a potential settlement in a car accident case. The amount of bodily injury liability insurance available is important because it could be the only source of financial compensation recoverable after an accident.

Bodily injury liability coverage is a part of the Massachusetts auto insurance policy that will pay for injuries and losses caused by an at-fault driver. This portion of auto insurance coverage in Massachusetts is compulsory – meaning it is mandatory. Presently, the minimum legal requirement for bodily injury coverage in Massachusetts is $20,000 per person, $40,000 per accident. However, many drivers have additional optional coverage that can range from $100,000 per person to $250,000 per person or even excess coverage with umbrella policies up to or over $1,000,000.

The reason it is so important is that an auto insurance company – the company that insures the at-fault driver that caused the accident and your injuries – is only liable to pay up to the amount of their insured’s specific policy limits. In some cases, it is never an issue. However, in others it may be a big deal.

For example, in a recent case our Framingham car accident attorneys handled, our client suffered a torn rotator cuff in a car accident in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Our client had surgery on his shoulder and incurred more than $30,000 in medical bills and expenses as well as lost wages and significant pain and suffering. The driver that caused the crash only had $50,000 in bodily injury limits. Since our client’s damages exceeded the $50,000 limits, the other driver’s insurance company surrendered their $50,000 policy. That wasn’t enough to cover his damages, but luckily our client had underinsured coverage that compensated him for the balance of his financial losses. Without the underinsured coverage, our client would have unlikely recovered any additional compensation.

In another car accident case, the other driver had a $1,000,000 umbrella policy. Our client’s injuries were not too severe and there was plenty of coverage from the other driver’s auto insurance company to compensate our client. So, in this case, the bodily injury limits were not a factor in obtaining full and fair compensation for our client’s injuries.

As you can see, if your injuries and damages exceed the bodily injury limits of the other driver’s insurance policy, there are other options to explore for additional sources of compensation. This is why an experienced personal injury attorney is needed.

Here’s How You Can Proactively Protect Yourself from Underinsured Drivers

We never anticipate being injured in a car accident, but the reality is there’s always a probability that you may. This is why you should always review your own auto insurance policy or consult with your insurance agent to make sure you are protecting yourself from any underinsured drivers.

Once aspect of your policy you should look at is your Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Coverage – found under Part 12 of your auto insurance Coverage Selections Page. This part of your auto insurance policy protects you from drivers that are underinsured. This means that if a driver causes a car crash that you are injured in and they do not have enough bodily injury liability insurance, you may pursue additional compensation from the Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Coverage from your own auto insurance policy, if you have it.

Keep in mind, UIM is optional coverage in Massachusetts. This means that it is not automatically part of your policy when you purchase auto insurance. Again, that is why we always recommend that our clients (and anyone else) review their own auto insurance policies to make sure you have UIM coverage. If you don’t, or it’s not sufficient, we recommend getting it or increasing it. Trust us, it may come in handy.

Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit May Be an Option

In cases where your injuries and damages exceed the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability insurance policy, you have the legal option of filing a personal injury lawsuit directly against the negligent party. However, collecting additional compensation beyond the bodily injury limits is often a challenging task. Many individuals do not have the financial resources to satisfy a substantial jury verdict above what their auto insurance company pays. In many cases it is virtually impossible.

This is why you should always consult an experienced Massachusetts personal injury lawyer after being injured in a car crash. An attorney will be able to evaluate all insurance coverage options and determine if filing a personal injury lawsuit would be a practical option.