Things to know if you are injured in a Mass Transit Accident: Part 1 of 3

Check your own insurance policies!

You're Injured, Now What?

An update to keep you informed on personal injury situations.

Setting the Scene: You’ve decided to help the environment and leave your car at home today in order to take the bus to work. Your minding your own business, dutifully avoiding eye contact with other passengers, when all of the sudden, a pickup truck blows through a red light and plows directly into the side of the bus. All of the passengers are thrown from their seats and you are tossed into the aisle, breaking your arm and tweaking your neck. After everyone is rushed to the hospital and you are treated for your injuries, you find out that the teenager who rammed his brand new truck into the bus has the best airbags available but the least amount of insurance he can legally get away with. He walks away with just a few bruises while you and the other bus passengers are left with broken bones and many insurance battles ahead. After the incident is over you try to rationalize why you are left with endless medical bills when the entire accident was the other driver’s fault. Luckily you had the foresight to invest in underinsured motorist insurance and today is the day you get to take advantage of your preparedness.  

How it works: If your auto-insurance policy includes underinsured motorist insurance, then you may be able to get additional compensation for your claim. Even though you weren’t driving your car, your underinsured motorist policy can kick in to cover any remaining expenses you incurred from your mass transit accident. California requires all drivers to carry a minimum ratio of 15:30 for liability policies which means that the insurance of the vehicle at fault will pay out no more than $15,000 to any individual who sustained injury or up to $30,000 total for all injuries sustained in the accident. Well, you were on the bus with ten other people when the truck hit it and $30,000 will not be enough to compensate everybody. This is when your underinsured motorist insurance would kick in and cover the remaining expenses. Even though you were not at fault in the accident, make sure to check your personal insurance policies for further compensation when making a claim.