Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

Personal injury protection insurance is offered in Maryland with minimum limits required of $2500. However the insurance coverage can be waived by first named insureds. If you have elected to have personal injury protection the benefits provided include reasonable and necessary expenses arising from an accident including medical costs, surgical, diagnostic, etc. and also payment of up to 85% of lost income. Specifics about the personal injury protection coverage and the benefits provided can be found in Maryland insurance code annotated section 19–505. Personal injury protection benefits are of tremendous value to a plaintiff in a personal injury case in Maryland. The money is most wisely used to first reimburse lost wages. Often times there is a race between the insured and medical providers seeking reimbursement of their cost both from the PIP coverage. One way to help control the situation is too promptly file the PIP claim while enlosing your disability slip and statement from your employer regarding lost wages. If you have questions regarding personal injury protection please feel free to give me a call. I have been representing clients in personal injury and malpractice cases for over 20 years. I am happy to answer your questions over the phone at no cost to you. 1-888-760-7339

Maryland Personal Injury Offsets to Underinsured Coverage by Workers Compensation Benefits Received.

In a Maryland personal injury case, there is a some what complicated situation that exist when multiple policies of insurance are all at play in the plaintiff's recovery. An interesting case was recently decided in the matter of Blackburn v Erie involving under insured coverage and workers compemsation insurance. This situation involves a fairly complicated mess of who gets what from the insurance coverage and who is entitled to what as off sets to avoid a wind fall recovery to the plaintiff. The first part of the equation is easy. When the under insured coverage is greater then the liability coverage the under insured coverage must pay the deficient. Of course this assumes a policy limits offer. It becomes more interesting and perhaps more complex when you throw in a workers compensation policy. You encounter this situation when a worker is injured in car accident for example. In this case when the workers compensation carrier has paid benefits the under insured carrier wants an off set to their coverage equal to the benefit received by the plaintiff. As such no wind fall by coverage duplication. Normally this argument arises when the workers compensation carrier has reduced their lien by some figure. In this case the under insured carrier says well then reduce what we owe to plaintiff by the amount of the reduction in the workers compensation lien. And guess what the courts in Maryland agree with the under insured motorist on this point.

Underinsured personal injury issues in Maryland accident cases

In Maryland every driver is required to carry automobile liability insurance. However the law only requires a 20/40 policy. As such you can end up with a situation where your personal injury claim exceeds the value of the defendant's liability policy. Assuming you do not have adequate under insured motorist coverage yourself, then what are the prudent steps to follow to verify there is no other source of coverage for your personal injuries after the defendant insurer offers policy limits. I recommend you secure an affidavit from the defendant. This can be a bit tricky since you will need to communicate through the defendant's insurance company. However it is necessary in the serious accident cases. The affidavit should attest to no agency, and no insurance from business, household or any and all other sources. In the event you have reason to believe the defendant has personal assets, sometimes unlikely when there is only a 20/40 policy, however, not impossible, then I suggest an asset check. The asset checks are fairly limited in my opinion, but can find real property, which often times have value. If you have any questions on this issue please feel free to call me. I am a Maryland personal injury lawyer.

Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer, Underinsured Settlement Procedures

In the event you intend on settling your case with the defendant insurer (liability carrier) and your case value exceeds the defendant's policy limits you can seek additional money on your client's behalf from the client's underinsured motorist coverage. However, there is a procedure that must be followed. Please review § 19-511. Uninsured motorist coverage--settlement procedures

(a) If an injured person receives a written offer from a motor vehicle insurance liability insurer or that insurer's authorized agent to settle a claim for bodily injury or death, and the amount of the settlement offer, in combination with any other settlements arising out of the same occurrence, would exhaust the bodily injury or death limits of the applicable liability insurance policies, bonds, and securities, the injured person shall send by certified mail, to any insurer that provides uninsured motorist coverage for the bodily injury or death, a copy of the liability insurer's written settlement offer.

(b) Within 60 days after receipt of the notice required under subsection (a) of this section, the uninsured motorist insurer shall send to the injured person:

(1) written consent to acceptance of the settlement offer and to the execution of releases; or

(2) written refusal to consent to acceptance of the settlement offer.

(c) Within 30 days after a refusal to consent to acceptance of a settlement offer under subsection (b)(2) of this section, the uninsured motorist insurer shall pay to the injured person the amount of the settlement offer.

(d)(1) Payment as described in subsection (c) of this section shall preserve the uninsured motorist insurer's subrogation rights against the liability insurer and its insured.

(2) Receipt by the injured person of the payment described in subsection (c) of this section shall constitute the assignment, up to the amount of the payment, of any recovery on behalf of the injured person that is subsequently paid from the applicable liability insurance policies, bonds, and securities.

(e) The injured person may accept the liability insurer's settlement offer and execute releases in favor of the liability insurer and its insured without prejudice to any claim the injured person may have against the uninsured motorist insurer:

(1) on receipt of written consent to acceptance of the settlement offer and to the execution of releases; or

(2) if the uninsured motorist insurer has not met the requirements of subsection (b) or subsection (c) of this section.