COLORADO’S
NO-FAULT LAW SUNSET (EXPIRED)
AT THE END OF JUNE 2003.
All motor vehicle accident claims arising on or after July 1, 2003 are
based upon "pure tort" law.* Under pure tort, at fault drivers
(tortfeasors) are responsible for all damages including medical bills.
In practice, however, a tortfeasor's ability to satisfy such liability
may be limited to their insurance liability coverage. As a result, seeking
competent legal representation is critical since without the threat
of litigation and, if necessary, jury trial, it is unlikely that the
the insurer will pay the full amount of your damages. This does not
mean that litigation or trial will be necessary once you hire an attorney.
In most cases, the insurers know that competent attorneys like the professionals
at AutoInjuryLaw.com will not hesitate to litigate or try your case
and therefore it is not uncommon to receive a satisfactory settlement
prior to filing suit.
Since minimum liability and uninsured motorist limits under the new
law are maintained at $25,000 per person/ $50,000 per accident, in circumstances
involving serious injury, an insolvent tortfeasor would have little
ability to cover all of the victims medical bills. This may leave other
critical damages such as disability, loss of earning capacity and pain
and suffering uncompensable. As a result, AutoInjuryLaw.net recommends
increasing both liability and uninsured motorist benefits to a minimum
of $100,000 / $300,000 and preferably $250,000 / $500,000 or higher.
Under the new law such higher limits are necessary to properly protect
yourself and loved ones.
The move to tort also intensifies the need for proper health insurance
coverage and experienced legal representation. Health insurance or "med-pay"
benefits available under your auto insurance policy are critical to
insure the availability of necessary health care prior to resolution
of the claim. It should be noted that under most automobile insurance
policies the maximum amount of benefits offered for med pay is likely
to be insufficient in the event of serious injury.
In
addition to securing maximum compensation for damages, experienced legal
representation is essential to address complicated issues associated
with the health insurer's right to subrogation (right to be reimbursed
from the claim proceeds). Under circumstances in which the victim has
no health insurance, the professionals at AutoInjuryLaw.net may be able
to secure availability of healthcare through negotiation of physician's
liens directly with health care providers. Under such liens providers
would ultimately be compensated from the proceeds of the victim's claim.
*The change of law did not effect entitlement to no-fault benefits for
claims arising prior to July 1, 2003. No-Fault
(PIP) benefits may also be available for accidents occurring after the
change of law but prior to the renewal of PIP based insurance policies
issued prior to July 1, 2003.
