Health Insurance in a Tort Claim

Video Transcript:

Cindy Speaker: If a person is injured in a car accident and needs medical treatment, what insurance do they use—health insurance or auto insurance?  That’s our topic today on this episode of StateLaw TV. My guest is North Carolina Attorney David Daggett of Daggett Shuler Law.  And David, it’s nice to have you today.

David Daggett: Hi, Cindy.  Thanks for having me on.

Cindy Speaker: Well, David, if someone gets into a car accident and they need medical treatment, should they pay for it with their health insurance or should they wait until they recover from the at-fault driver’s insurance company?

David Daggett: Cindy, that is a great question and it’s a question we get in our office very frequently.  The answer is, it is always in an injured person’s best interest to use their health insurance coverage first.  That doesn’t make any difference whether it’s private health care insurance, health care insurance through an employer or Medicaid or Medicare, use your health insurance first.  The reason is, is it helps bridge the gap in time until the auto insurance coverage can be sorted out in a claim result.  It keeps the bill collectors off your back.  And health insurance companies are used to processing claims.  Your medical providers are used to dealing with the health insurance.  It just makes it a whole lot easier for you.

Cindy Speaker: And if your health insurance company comes to understand that you did have a claim because of an automobile accident, are you going to have to pay back the insurance carrier when the claim is settled?

David Daggett: Cindy, that depends.  There are very strict provisions under the law as to whether health insurance is entitled to be repaid or not.  Repaying health insurance is called “subrogation”.  Health insurance carriers have to specifically qualify under federal statutes in order to be entitled to subrogation. So again, this is an area that is very complicated and very confusing.  An experienced injury lawyer can sort this out and easily weave through this mine field in order to handle it for an injured person.

Cindy Speaker: Okay.  Well, now, if your health insurance company knows that you were in an accident, does that have any effect on whether or not they are willing to pay your medical bills?

David Daggett: Typically no.  You have a contractual relationship with your health insurance company and under that agreement, they are required to process and pay your medical claims under the policy.  And again, that applies to private health insurance, health insurance through your employer or any sort of government program.

Cindy Speaker: You know, David, it really is complicated.  It seems that we talk about this insurance laws and it’s so complicated.  I want to ask you one more thing.  I’ve heard that that it is likely that your health insurance company probably becomes aware rather quickly when there is a claim because of an automobile accident.  How does that happen?  Is it just some kind of a system between hospitals and insurance companies, or that is public knowledge, or am I wrong on that?

David Daggett: Well, it would be in the medical records.  There’s coding on medical bills.  There are various ways that they can sort out whether the injuries came from an automobile accident or not.

Quite frankly, a lot of times, there are some gray area in there.  And sometimes, we really have to look at that gray area, particularly if we’ve determined that a health insurance provider is entitled to reimbursement.  For example, let’s say somebody is in an automobile accident, and while they’re in the hospital, they also have a heart attack.  The health insurance may or may not be entitled to repayment for those bills, for the treatment of the heart attack, and it takes somebody who is very competent to go through both the insurance language and the medical records to sort that out.

What the injured person needs is they need somebody on their side looking out for their best interest because the insurance company is not going to do that.

Cindy Speaker: Absolutely.  That certainly makes sense to me.  One other thing in my mind is when someone has an automobile accident; automobile insurance carriers are notorious for raising your rates.  Can that also occur with your health insurance?

David Daggett: That’s again a complicated answer.  The direct answer is no.  Health insurance companies don’t raise your rates for an accident.  However, it does go into your experience history and health insurance companies do base rates on occurrences in histories.  So it can’t directly make your health insurance go up.  It could indirectly make your health insurance go up.

Here’s an example that may help answer that question.  Is if you work for a company and you have health insurance through your company and somebody else in the company has to have major surgery that’s not accident-related, the health insurance rates could go up for your entire company the next time the insurance rates come around.  Now, that’s not a direct result but indirectly that can happen.  And maybe that’s getting a little too complicated to answer your basic question, no, they don’t raise your specific rates for a specific incident.  But it gets more complicated than that because in negotiating group policies, they do look at group claims histories.

Cindy Speaker: Right.  Well, it certainly is complicated.  David, if someone has specific questions, how can they reach your office?

David Daggett: This is a very complicated area—the law; and I recommend that anybody that’s dealing with these issues, at least consult with a confident attorney to try to get some answers and a better understanding of how it works.  Most attorneys will give guidance if necessary.  If it turns into a situation where representation is actually needed, then a good attorney will tell you, “Look, you’re really in over your head.  You need representation in this issue.”

For us, we have resources on our website at www.DaggetShulerLaw.com.  You can email, you can contact us by phone at 1-800-815-5500.  We enjoy helping people, enjoy sorting through these issues, and helping people out.  Particularly at what’s very a difficult time in your life.

Cindy Speaker: Right.  Well, David, thank you so much for being with us today.

David Daggett: Thanks for having me, Cindy.  We look forward to talking with you soon.

Cindy Speaker: Alright, good.  This is Cindy Speaker for StateLaw TV.

PIP/MedPay

Video Transcript:

Cindy Speaker: What is PIP and MedPay insurance?  That will be the focus of our discussion today as we talk about automobile insurance.  MY guest is North Carolina attorney David Daggett of Daggett Shuler Law. David, how do are you doing?

David Daggett: Doing great, Cindy.  Thanks for having me on today.

Cindy Speaker: David, we’re always glad to have you.  Well, David, I’m familiar with the terms PIP and MedPay but I don’t know exactly what they mean or if they’re even applicable in your state.  Why don’t you help us out with an explanation.

David Daggett: Well, PIP and MedPay are similar.  Let me tell you tell you real quickly.  We’re in North Carolina and North Carolina does not have PIP coverage, that’s Personal Injury Protection.  Now, that doesn’t mean that it necessarily doesn’t come into play, PIP coverage could possibly apply to a North Carolina resident if they are either out of state and injured in an accident or if they’re in North Carolina and riding in and out of state vehicle.  So we won’t completely forget about but we don’t have PIP coverage in North Carolina, okay?

We do have MedPay coverage.  MedPay is short for Medical Payments Coverage, and really what MedPay is, it’s like having health insurance on your car.  Liability insurance coverage is fault based coverage, MedPay is incident based coverage.  So it doesn’t matter who’s at fault in the accident.  If you’re in the car, you’re injured, incur medical expenses, and there is medical payments coverage, you’re entitled to recover.  It’s like having health insurance on your car?  Does that makes sense?

Cindy Speaker: It does make sense.  But let me ask you this, does everybody have this type of coverage on their auto insurance policy?  Is mandated be law or this optional?

David Daggett: No, MedPay coverage is optional coverage in North Carolina and it’s called contractual coverage.  Contractual coverage is different than mandated coverage and that you’ve agreed to that additional coverage with the insurance company.  The nice thing about the contractual coverage is, is the person with medical payments coverage has a lot of rights, and it’s good coverage to have and it’s not very expensive.

Cindy Speaker: Now, what do you find with your clients?  Do most of them have MedPay coverage?  I know that I hear personal injury attorneys talk about the problems with people buying the proper coverage and being properly covered.  It’s always an issue.

David Daggett: A fairly large percentage of people do have medical payments coverage.  It’s interesting depending on which insurance company you’re dealing with, the odds go up as to whether medical payments coverage is available.  Some insurance carriers are a little bit more aggressive about selling the extra coverage than others.

But we see medical payments coverage available in a large percentage of cases.  It can range anywhere from a thousand dollars of coverage to usually we see a maximum of $5,000.00 a coverage.  Although in some cases, it can actually go higher.

Cindy Speaker: Okay.  Well, David, let me go back to what we talk about in the beginning.  Suppose it’s an out-of-state driver and I am an out-of-state driver, I’m from Philadelphia as you know, but suppose I have an accident at North Carolina, I would have PIP coverage I believe?

David Daggett: What you do is you would not have medical payments coverage if you are riding in your car in North Carolina because your car is insured in Pennsylvania that had PIP coverage and not medical payments coverage.  If you’re in North Carolina and you’re riding in my car, you would have medical payments coverage that covers my vehicle plus depending on the contract with your insurance company, you may also be entitled to your PIP coverage in Pennsylvania.

Cindy Speaker: Wow!  This is really complicated.

David Daggett: Well, it is.  And this is one of the reasons that we recommend that anybody who’s injured in the accident and had pending claims consult with an attorney.  Unless you do this everyday, you simply cannot know all the ins and outs of insurance law.  And this can be very complicated, and in fact, sometimes we can find more than one medical payments coverage policy that applies to a person in an accident and you just never know the coverage you’re going to find if you don’t know where to look and the average person with have no way of knowing where to look for coverage.

Cindy Speaker: Well, that makes sense. Well, David, if someone wants more information, how can they reach your office?

David Daggett: Well, they can reach us in many different ways.  We like to be very responsive technologically.  Certainly, you can reach us through our website at www.daggettshulerlaw.com.  We also have an 800 number 1-800-815-5500.  Our email address is on our website and we tend to be very responsive and like to help people with these situations.

Cindy Speaker: Well, I certainly know that to be true.  David, listen, thanks so much for your time today for sharing your expertise with us.

David Daggett: Well, thank you and I always enjoyed being on State Law TV.

Cindy Speaker: Very good.  This is Cindy Speaker fro State Law TV.

PWC Insurance

Video Transcript:

Cindy Speaker: Is it important to have insurance for your boat or jet ski? That’s our topic on this episode of State Law TV. My guess today is South Carolina Personal Injury Attorney George Sink of George Sink Injury Lawyers, and he is going to enlighten us. So George, welcome.

George Sink: Well thank you, Cindy. Glad to be here.

Cindy Speaker: Well, George, I think our topic is timely today. We’re in the middle of the summer season and there are a lot of people enjoying their boats and jet skis and such. But do they need to be concerned about purchasing insurance for their water crafts?

George Sink: Well, the hard thing to know is these water crafts, jet skis, and other things are smaller than boats. And they maneuver more quickly, faster, and there’s a lot more danger to them than boat, something your familiar with. And on top of that, comes the security that you get on the water. It’s peaceful, serene, you’re happy, nothing could be wrong and so yes, you do need some insurance to protect against certain problems that can arise with these crafts.

Cindy Speaker: Well, George, what does personal watercraft insurance typically cover?

George Sink: Well, it covers medical and property damage and a matter of fact, I personally have had need for this. I took one of these skidoos up on a oyster bed in South Carolina here and it caused a lot of damage. So, there’s so much fun that the property damage luckily was covered. But if I would have fallen off as you know, you can imagine on an oyster bed, I would have been personally injured the large extent but I couldn’t sue myself. But my passenger might have had some recourse against me. So, these things are very important especially this time of year.

Cindy Speaker: Now, does the law require you to carry this insurance or is it optional?

George Sink: No, it’s optional. We don’t have to have it. So you don’t have to have life insurance either. But sometimes, it’s a really good idea and so it really works to your benefit. The benefit of you, the participant, in case something were to go wrong, and you never know. So yes, it’s highly recommended.

Cindy Speaker: Well, George, in your line of your work, handling accident and injury cases, you deal with insurance issues all the time. If someone has specific questions along these lines, how can they contact your firm?

George Sink: At 1-800-849-SINK. You can call toll free or you can find us on the internet at www.sinklaw.com.

Cindy Speaker: Very good. Well, George, thank you so much for speaking to us today about the importance of personal watercraft insurance.

George Sink: Well thank you, Cindy. I enjoyed it.

Cindy Speaker: This is Cindy Speaker for State Law TV.

Pet Insurance in an Auto Accident

Video Transcript:
Cindy Speaker: What you do when your pet is injured in an automobile accident? That’s our topic on this episode of State Law TV. My guess today is South Carolina Personal Injury Attorney George Sink of George Sink Injury Lawyers. So George Sink, welcome.

George Sink: Well thank you, Cindy, Speaker. I’m glad to be here.

Cindy Speaker: Well, George, for many, pets are important part of the family and a lot of people enjoy taking their pets with them when they go on the road. But what happens when your pet is injured or killed in an automobile accident?

George Sink: Well, (00:00:38) to someone else, you can bring a claim for the lost. Unfortunately, it’s a property damage claim. They consider none humans, you know, a car, a dog a property. So, it’s a property damage claim so you have—if there’s (00:00:54) fault driver, you can bring a property damage claim against him. If it’s your fault, you may need some special insurance or other coverage.

Cindy Speaker: And George, what type of specific insurance will cover your pets injuries?

George Sink: Well. Cindy, many companies have pet injury coverage, and that covers injuries to cats, dogs, animals that you have or the pets of people who live with you. Special coverage that you can get from your insurance company and you have to check with them to make sure it covers the appropriate animals and the appropriate people.

Cindy Speaker: Okay. And when can you use it?

George Sink: Usually when you use your collision coverage. It usually pays for your vet bills, medical treatment, prescriptions and other help that an injured pet would require.

Cindy Speaker: George, how does per injury coverage differ from regular pet insurance?

George Sink: Yes, Cindy, pet injury coverage covers your pet when they’re in an accident in your vehicle. Pet insurance usually covers when their sick or ill, under a multitude of circumstances other than that,

Cindy Speaker: That’s very interesting. George, what are some other tips that might help keep your pets safe in the event of an auto accident?

George Sink: Keep your pet out of the front seat. Now, I have my dog Max and he appears on all my Christmas cards and he is always in the backseat, always. A tip that I don’t follow but might be good for other dogs or cats, especially would be to keep them in a crate. They’re very happy in the crate, believe it or not, they’re (00:02:33) animals originally. So they’re very happy when that’s the case. So, you’re making them happy and you’re making them safe and it really allows them to stay in a safe place, maybe on the ground so they don’t end up as projectiles and injure themselves. So, those are some tips that I’d follow.

Cindy Speaker: Well, George, thank you for calling attention to something that is important to so many, the safety of their pets.

George Sink: Oh, you’re welcome, Cindy, and thank you for having me. I hope everyone out there has the world of safety for their pets. I love them and I know you do, too.

Cindy Speaker: Well, George, in your line of work, handling accident and injury cases, you deal with insurance issues all the time. If someone has specific questions along these lines, how can they contact your firm?

George Sink: At 1-800-849-SINK. You can call toll free, or you can find us on the internet at www.sinklaw.com

Cindy Speaker: Thank you, George.

George Sink: Thank you for having me.

Cindy Speaker: This is Cindy Speaker reporting for State Law TV.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage for Motorcyclists

Video Transcript:

Cindy Speaker: What is uninsured motorist coverage as it relates to motorcyclist?  That’s our topic for today’s episode of Main Street Law.  I’m Cindy Speaker.  My guest is Indiana motorcycle injury lawyer Randy Sevenish of Sevenish Law in Indianapolis, Indiana. So Randy, how are you today?

Randy Sevenish: I’m great Cindy how about yourself?

Cindy Speaker: Pretty good, thanks.  Well, Randy as I understand that knowing insurance coverage inside and out is an important part of a personal injury practice.  And I know there is a coverage called uninsured motorist coverage, but let me ask you this, what is uninsured motorist coverage and is it important for motorcyclist to carry?

Randy Sevenish: Well, I will tell, Cindy.  Uninsured motorist coverage or what we call UM coverage, for short, is one of the most overlooked and most important types if coverages that bikers can have, and aside from liability coverage that protects the biker when they themselves are at fault.  There’s just no other more important coverage for those riding motorcycles than uninsured motorist coverage, other than perhaps under insured coverage which is at least equally as important.  So to answer your question, UM coverage protects you and the people you love when a wrong doer is at fault and has no insurance and no assets or means to otherwise compensate you.  So in that, case you have in essence purchased insurance coverage before a crash for the uninsured driver.

Cindy Speaker: Okay.  Now, is that something that all motorcycles have, is it mandated by law?

Randy Sevenish: Well, amazingly, the answers are no and no.  Insurance agents in my state, at least, are required only to offer UM coverage but believe it or not, the law does not require it.  So bikers can choose not to have it by waiving the coverage in writing which is a very, very big mistake.  And in my practice in recent years I found a very troubling trend of bikers choosing not to have this very valuable form of coverage, thinking that they are saving money.  The problem comes up is when bikers are injured by an uninsured driver and the bikers themselves have no UM coverage.  They can of course still sue the uninsured driver, but usually these people fail to have sufficient assets to go after and the uninsured driver can also file bankruptcy, and the injured bikers still gets nothing.

So whether you call it a big mistake, an error in judgment or just a simple lack of understanding or knowledge, it makes no difference.  Do not ride without this coverage.

Cindy Speaker: Okay.  Now, let me ask this.  How much do you recommend that a biker have in terms of UM coverage?

Randy Sevenish: Well, that really depends but mostly upon the amount of risk that they are willing to take and gamble with.  And unlike liability coverage, which is intended to pay someone else for their injuries caused by the biker’s negligence, UM coverage provides compensations to the motorcyclist themselves, to their family members, passengers, etcetera, when injured by an uninsured person.  So, for that reason alone, it just make sense to purchase at least as much UM coverage as they have in what’s called liability coverage.  We strongly recommend that based upon their assets and comfort level that they should have at least $250,000.00 per person and $500,000.00 per accident.  And although probably beyond the scope of this question, if they also own a home and indeed have coverage on their bike for 250, 500, they should also consider securing what’s called an umbrella policy of one to two million dollars for just a couple of hundred more dollars annually.

Cindy Speaker: Okay.  Now, let me ask you this.  Suppose that someone has auto UM coverage, is that going to be have any help to them if they don’t have it where their motorcycle and maybe there is an accident that occurs?

Randy Sevenish: Be very careful here.  It really depends upon the ownership of the vehicle their on when this happens.  Many motorcyclists include their bike on the same policy as their car, truck and even homeowners, but some choose to have a completely different company to insure their bike for some reason.  And the general rule is that UM coverage follows you wherever you go.  So that means that whether you’re in your vehicle or someone else’s vehicle or in their truck, your truck, bicycle, moped, motorcycle or even if you re jogging down the road.  So typically, UM coverage follows you, but most companies will exclude UM coverage if it is not specifically covered on the motorcycle owned by you without first paying for that coverage.  So it’s best just to have UM coverage on all vehicles you own, period.  When in doubt, get with your agent and just read the fine print because as I’ve always said the big print give it and the small print take it away.

Cindy Speaker: That’s a great line and so true.  Randy, if someone wants more information, how can they reach you?

Randy Sevenish: Certainly, they can call me directly at 1-800-278-9200 or online at www.sevenishlaw.com.

Cindy Speaker: Randy, thanks so much for your time today.

Randy Sevenish: Thank you, Cindy.

Cindy Speaker: Until next time.  This is Cindy Speaker for Main Street Law.

Underinsured Motorist Coverage for Motorcyclists

Video Transcript:

Cindy Speakers: What is underinsured motorist coverage?  That our topic for today’s episode of Main Street Law.  I’m Cindy speaker and my guest is Indiana motorcycle injury lawyer, Randy Sevenish of Sevenish Law in Indianapolis, Indiana. Randy, thank you for being with me today.

Randy Sevenish: Thank you for having me.

Cindy Speakers: Well, Randy, as I understand it, knowing insurance coverage inside and out is an important part of a personal injury practice.  Now, I know and we’ve all heard of underinsured motorist coverage, but let me ask you this.  What is underinsured motors coverage and is it important for motorcyclist to carry?

Randy Sevenish: Yes, Cindy.  Underinsured coverage or what we call UIM coverage for short, that’s U-I-M, is likewise, one of the most overlooked and ignored types of coverage that bikers can have.  And aside from what’s called liability coverage, there is just no other more important coverage than UIM coverage aside from UM or uninsured motorists coverage.  So to answer your question, UIM coverage is exactly that the name suggest.  It protects you and those people dear to you if the underinsured wrong doer is at fault and here she has insurance, but just not enough insurance to fully compensate you.

Cindy Speakers: Okay.  Now, is this something that all bikers would have?  Is it mandated by the law?

Randy Sevenish: Well, sadly no to both questions and although insurance agents in my state are actually required to offer both UM and UIM coverages to bikers, the biker can actually choose not to have it by waiving it.  And it really amazes me just how many bikers out there choose to waive this very important type of coverage, which frankly, Cindy, can be the difference between protecting themselves and those they love and financial ruin.  So as with UM coverage which is normally sold together with UIM coverage, I have noticed that continuing and troubling trend of people choosing not to opt-in to this form of coverage.

And then when they’re seriously injured by an underinsured driver, they at that point realize the huge error that they made, and by then frankly, it’s just too little too late.  So it’ just best to have plenty of UIM coverage to start with, to settle up with the underinsured driver’s insurance company first then second to then begin to end up negotiating with your own insurance company up to the UIM limits.  But absolutely, do not ride with out this coverage.  If they do, in my opinion, it’s frankly irresponsible and it places way to much needless risk upon the biker himself or herself as well as their families.

Cindy Speakers: Great.  Well, Randy, how much underinsured motorist coverage do you recommend a motorcyclist have?

Randy Sevenish: Well, again, under most policies, UIM coverage is sold together with UM coverage, and how much coverage they should have will again depend largely upon the risk that they are willing to take.  Keep in mind that UIM coverage provides compensation to the bikers themselves, to the family members and to their passengers when injured by a person with insurance, but just not ample insurance.  So with the UM coverage, for example, it only make sense to purchase at least as much UIM coverage as they have in liability coverage.  So if you choose to have $50,000 in liability, then you should have at least $50,000.00 in UIM at minimum.

But most bikers choose to be dramatically under compensated, so what I would like to recommend is a general rule of thumb of having at least $250,000.00 per person and $500,000.00 per accident.  And they should also keep in mind just as with UM coverage, should they suffer a significant injury only this time at the hands of underinsured driver, that they need to know that their own insurance company will not pay them anymore than the UIM limits they have agreed to buy as listed on their declaration pages regardless of their injury no matter how bad.  And even then, their own insurance will more times than not, not want to pay out the UIM limits.  So in the end, the wise biker will carry plenty of UIM coverage before the crash happens and then get ready to fight their own insurance company.

Cindy Speakers: Well, it doesn’t seem like you should to fight your own insurance company.

Randy Sevenish: Well, that doesn’t make it right but that’s the way it is everytime.

Cindy Speakers: Yeah, yeah.  Randy, what other best advice do you have for bikers and motorcyclist when choosing their insurance coverage.

Randy Sevenish: My best advice is to buy as much UM and UIM coverage your budget and comfort level shall allow.  Because I must say bad accidents just happen to good people.  So, don’t be one of the tragic stories shared by people like me about the good people like you.  So, by having ample UM and UIM coverages will just frankly ease the burden of a significant injury.

Cindy Speakers: Well, Randy, if someone needs more information, how they can reach you?

Randy Sevenish: They can call me directly at 1-800-278-9200 or online at www.sevenishlaw.com.

Cindy Speakers: Randy, thanks so much for your time today.

Randy Sevenish: My pleasure, Cindy.

Cindy Speakers: Until next time.  This is Cindy speaker for Main Street Law.

Hit & Run Accidents

Video Transcript:
Cindy: What can a person do if they were struck by a hit and run driver in South Carolina-that’s our topic for today’s episode of Main Street Law TV News. I’ve asked South Carolina personal injury lawyer, George Sink of George Sink Injury Lawyers to be my guest today. So George, thank you for being with me.

George: Thank you for having me, Cindy.

Cindy: My pleasure. Well George, what can a person do if they were struck by a hit and run driver in South Carolina?

George: Well, the funny thing is they—in South Carolina, you must have an uninsured motorist coverage and that coverage covers you against people who either hit or run or they hit you and they don’t have any insurance, so it’s uninsured motorist coverage, but the legislature was wary of a situation where someone comes out of a bar and has too much to drink maybe and then drives off the road and hits a tree and says, “Someone made a pass at me and I swerved to avoid them and went off the road. I want to make a recovery against my uninsured motorist coverage.”

So in order to make a recovery, you have to do three things before you’re entitled to have a claim and those three things in our state are—you have to make all reasonable efforts to determine the identity of the car or driver. Second, you’ve got to call the police or the right authorities and report the collision in a reasonable amount of time and then it gets a little tricky, but if you have an impact between the two cars, ones that rules apply and if there is no impact, that’s the, “I went off the road, hit the tree,” thing. There is no impact, you have to have the right sort of witness to make the right sort of affidavit to allow you to have a UM claim—uninsured motorist.

So you’re not entitled to it even though you have the coverage. You have to go through this series of requirements and then you can proceed.

Cindy: Now uninsured motorist coverage that you speak of, is that mandated by state? In other words, would every person be carrying that in South Carolina?

George: Yes, it is required and everybody has it and it’s wonderful because it helps you. So I advocate everybody getting as much of that as possible. It’s really good!

Cindy: Okay and what about in other states, George?

George: The same thing. Because it covers that same contingency, but there’s the same set of policy constraints involved because the legislatures of the states which are influenced by the insurance companies and probably rightly so probably have some requirements that you have to meet before you’re entitled to file a UM claim properly and that’s to avoid people trying to trick them or I hit the tree, so I’ll get paid and most people think that’s not a good idea if you’d been drinking a lot and there really wasn’t anything. So you have to guard against that and that’s why these requirements are in place, these hurdles, you have to go over to allow yourself to legally file and process and collect from uninsured motorist coverage.

Cindy: Well, that makes sense and George, if someone comes to you, is that something that you can help them with?

George: We do this all the time, yes.

Cindy: Alright and how can they reach you for more information

George: George Sink Injury Lawyers is at 1-800-849-SINK. That’s toll free, 1-800-849-SINK and our website is www.sinklaw.com.

Cindy: Very good. Well George, thanks again for your time today.

George: Cindy, thank you for having me.

Cindy: This is Cindy Speaker reporting for State Law TV.

Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Video Transcript:

Cindy: What is underinsured motorist coverage? That’s our topic for this episode of Main Street Law. I’m Cindy Speaker and my guest today is South Carolina personal injury attorney George Sink of George Sink Injury Lawyers. George, welcome and thanks for joining me today.

George: Well, thank you very much, Cindy. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Cindy: George what is underinsured motorist coverage, could you explain that to us?

George: I sure can. What happens is if you’re involved in a collision, you have the ability to get additional money if you’re hurt badly to put on top of the money that you’re otherwise entitled to, so if the other person hits you, they have coverage, but it’s not enough. You can get more through your insurance company and it is cheap. I’d get a lot of it. I’ve got a million dollars. It’s so cheap that it’s not a big investment and it really helps you.

Cindy: Now, does everybody have under insured motorist coverage? Is that mandated by the state?

George: No, it is not. It is something that you can get for yourself if you’re so inclined and I always recommend that because the people that need it will tell you all of my clients who have ever needed it says it’s the best thing they’ve ever done.

Cindy: George, what do you recommend that our listeners do in regards to obtaining this important coverage?

George: I would talk to your agent immediately and just say I heard this program and the lawyer was empathic about getting this because it protects you and your family.

Cindy: Before they do that, if they have questions, can they contact your office to help guide them and if so, how?

George: Well, they can call us at 1-800-849-SINK or they can get us on our website which is www.sinklaw.com.

Cindy: Very good. Until next time, this is Cindy Speaker for State Law TV.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Video Transcript:

Cindy Speaker: What is uninsured motorist coverage?  That’s our topic for this episode of Main Street Law.  I’m Cindy Speaker and my guest today is South Carolina personal injury attorney, George Sink of George Sink Injury Lawyers.  George, how are you today?

George Sink: I’m terrific.  How are you, Cindy?

Cindy Speaker: I’m good, thank you.  George, let’s jump right in here.  What is uninsured motorist coverage?

George Sink: Uninsured motorist coverage is a way of recovering when you’ve been injured by someone who cause an accident and damage to you while they were uninsured.

Cindy Speaker: Now, does everyone have that type of coverage, is it mandated by the state?

George Sink: Yes, it is!  But the funny thing is, you really don’t have a claim unless you go through some sort of ritual, but it is mandatory by the state to have this and it’s wonderful to have a lot of it.

Cindy Speaker: So does that mean that you recommend carrying more uninsured motorist coverage than what the state requires?

George Sink: Absolutely, it’s very cheap and it helps you, so often times, what you really need is a lot of it to protect you from someone who has injured you who doesn’t have enough.

Cindy Speaker: And in South Carolina, what would that recommendation be?

George Sink: As much as your company will allow, every company is different.  I have a million dollars on mine.

Cindy Speaker: And that’s affordable?

George Sink: Yes, it’s the cheapest you can buy and it helps you.

Cindy Speaker: What if the driver is a victim of a hit and run accident?  Would he use uninsured motorist coverage in that situation?

George Sink: Absolutely!  It’s just what’s involved in that.  The funny thing is, it’s complicated.  The statute says, basically you don’t have an uninsured claim unless you do three things and you have to read the statute carefully, but you have to report it to the police authority promptly, so it has to be reported to the police and you have to have physical contact with the other person or a witness and the witness is a very special sort of person and I don’t have time to go into it, but it’s complicated.  And you have to get an affidavit that’s filled out in a certain way and the third part of it is, you can’t be negligent in determining the identity of the person.

So if you’re in a collision, you feel okay and you let him go, you’re not going to have an uninsured motorist claim because you were negligent in not getting their name and identity so we can recover from them.

Cindy Speaker: That makes sense.  One final thing, George.  What recommendation do you have to someone who after listening to this wants to reevaluate the matter if they’re uninsured motorist coverage?

George Sink: I would get as much of this as possible and the reason is simple, it helps you.  If someone hurts you, they don’t have enough money to pay for the damage to you, this will pay for it.  Nothing could be better for you than to do this and it is cheap!  So Cindy, I couldn’t recommend this any more than I am right now, buy it, buy as much as you can!

Cindy Speaker: I think I’ll be calling my insurance company later today.  George, if somebody wants to get in touch with you, how can they do that?

George Sink: They can call 1-800—849-SINK or they can go to the website which is www.sinklaw.com.

Cindy Speaker: Thank you, George.  Until next time, this is Cindy Speaker for State Law TV.