4Things That May Limit Your Damages Recovery After An Accident
Even if you have a strong auto accident claim, there are things that may affect your recovery. Here are some of those things, and why they may affect your damages recovery:
Damage Caps
Most states have placed caps on certain types of personal injury claims. In many cases, the caps apply to specific damages, mostly non-economic damages. However, there are types of claims with overall caps, which can severely limit your recovery if you were seriously injured and your damages are off the roof. For example, the state of Missouri limits the recovery of medical malpractice damages for catastrophic injuries to $736, 310 (for the year 2018) so you shouldn't expect more than that when pursuing a medical malpractice case in the state.
Low Insurance Limits
In most cases, when you sue someone for personal injury damages, it is their insurance carrier who actually signs your settlement check. However, there is a limit as to how much you can collect from the insurance company; this limit depends on the defendant's policy limits. Therefore, you may be out of luck if your damages exceed the defendant's insurance limits because you may not recover everything.
Limited Assets with Financial Value
If your damages exceed a defendant's insurance policy limits, then you have the option of going after their personal assets to recover your damages in full. Such an action may be viable if the defendant is relatively well-off and your damages are so high that going after the assets is worth it. In such a case, you may get the court's permission and help in recovering your damages from assets such as real estate property or cash in the bank. Of course, you won't be able to recover further damages from the defendant if they don't have substantial assets that can be garnished.
Multiple Claimants
Lastly, you may also have a problem collecting your damages if you are among a number of injury victims suing the same defendant. A good example is if you were hurt as a passenger in a bus, and all of you are suing the same bus company. Another example is when four of you develop severe food poisoning after eating in another person's home, and you are as suing the same homeowner. In such cases, you may fail to collect your damages in their entirety because you will be competing for the same resources with the other injury victims.
As you go about this process, don't forget to consult with an accident attorney like those from Buckley Law Office.