Motor Vehicle Collisions

Answers to most frequently asked questions about motor vehicle collisions.

1. Who is the Claim brought against?

Answer: The claim is brought against the liable driver—that is, the driver who was responsible for causing the accident. For example, if your vehicle is rear-ended by another driver due to no fault of your own, the other driver is the liable or responsible driver.

2. Who pays for my injuries?

Answer: Although your claim for injuries is against the liable driver, in Colorado, anyone operating a motor vehicle is required to carry liability insurance. This means that in the vast majority of cases, the payment for your injuries is made by the liable driver’s insurance company. If the liable driver is uninsured or underinsured, in certain circumstances, you may make a claim for your injuries to be paid out of your own uninsured/underinsured motorist policy. Making an uninsured/underinsured claim against your own policy should not adversely affect your insurance premiums.

3. Who pays for my medical bills?

Answer: Until July of 2003, all of the reasonable and necessary medical bills and rehabilitation caused by the collision would have been paid by your no-fault insurance up to $100,000.00. No-fault may still apply in some accidents, and you should consult an attorney for analysis of your coverage.

If No-fault does not apply to your accident, you still have other payment options.

A. Medical Payment or “Med Pay” insurance is an optional insurance that many automobile insurers offer to their customers in various amounts. “Med Pay” is similar to no-fault insurance in that it is available to pay for your reasonable, necessary, and related expenses resulting from an automobile accident. However, you must be aware that “Med Pay” is additional coverage that must specifically be purchased by you. It is not required by law, and you do not automatically have “Med Pay” coverage simply by virtue of you having a complying liability policy.

B. Health Insurance. If you have health insurance, payment of your medical bills may be covered by your health insurance policy. However, it is important to remember that all of the limitations on treatment and equipment, co-insurance, co-payments, and deductibles of your health insurance policy are applicable.

NOTE: It is possible that you may have both “Med Pay” and health insurance. In this case, it is necessary to review the policy language of each policy and determine which policy is primarily responsible for payment of your medical bills and which is secondarily responsible.

C. Medicaid. If you are eligible to receive Medicaid benefits, Medicaid will pay for your treatment pursuant to its guidelines.

 D. Medicare. If you are a Medicare recipient, Medicare will pay for your medical expenses according to the Medicare rules and regulations. If you are successful and obtain a settlement or verdict from the negligent person, you will have to pay Medicare back minus some credit for attorney fees and costs.

4. Do I have to pay back my health insurance company or my “Med Pay” insurer and Medicaid?

Answer: If your medical expenses are paid by a no-fault policy, you do not have to reimburse the insurance company providing no-fault benefits. Since July 2003, any insurance company paying medical benefits on your behalf has the right to be reimbursed by you if you recover money from the liable driver. This is called a right of subrogation. Your attorneys need to evaluate the subrogation claim and negotiate a reasonable settlement of their claim for reimbursement for medical expenses.

A. What is subrogation?

Answer: Subrogation is the right of one party who has paid an obligation on behalf of another party to be reimbursed by the other party. The right of subrogation arises most frequently when a health insurance company pays medical bills for injuries received in an automobile accident or as the result of medical negligence.

Prior to July 2003, subrogation was not an issue in automobile related injuries. Since Colorado is no longer a no-fault state, subrogation is an issue in almost every automobile accident case.

Any health insurance provider that pays benefits for its insured for an automobile related injury has a right of subrogation as to those benefits paid. This includes Medicare and Medicaid. In the case of medical negligence, any subsequent treating medical provider who rendered medical care for the injuries received as a result of medical negligence also has a right of subrogation from any proceeds collected from the negligent medical provider.

Under certain circumstances (i.e., a large subrogation lien or relatively small liability policy), there may be no money left from the negligent driver’s automobile liability policy to compensate the injured person for their lost income, pain and suffering, and physical impairment. In this case, an injured person only gets compensated for their injuries if the insurance company can be convinced, either through skillful negotiations or legal proceedings, to reduce or waive their right of subrogation. The same can be true in medical negligence cases.

When dealing with subrogation issues, whether the automobile injury or medical negligence arena, a skilled and knowledgeable attorney can often obtain a significant reduction or complete waiver of an insurance provider’s subrogation interest, resulting in more money to the client.

5. What if I do not have health insurance or “Med Pay” insurance?

Answer: If you do not have health insurance or “Med Pay” insurance, there are still options available to you to obtain treatment. Of course, you can pay for your medical treatment out of your own pocket. However, this option is usually not realistic for most individuals, given the high cost of medical care.

There are also doctors who will treat a patient and allow the deferral of payment of their services until such time as you recover money from the liable driver. This is called rendering treatment on a “lien”. Under this circumstance, the doctor will require you, and probably your attorney, to sign a statement granting the doctor a lien on all proceeds received in settlement or by verdict from the liable driver’s insurance company. You must be aware, however, that payment to your medical provider(s) is not contingent upon receiving money from the liable driver; and in the event you do not receive money, you will probably still be responsible for payment to the medical provider.

6. When should I contact an attorney?

Answer: It is solely your decision whether or not to contact legal counsel. However, it is strongly recommended that you contact an experienced attorney as soon after the collision as you reasonably can. Legal counsel will relieve you from the burden of dealing with the liable driver’s insurance company, as well as medical providers’ billing departments and collection agents, should medical bills not be paid in a timely manner. Often insurance companies will discourage accident victims from contacting an attorney. This is because they do not want you to be represented legally and to know your rights.

7. What type of investigation should be done?

Answer: There should be an investigation done as soon as possible, which would include an interview with the investigating police officer, obtaining witness statements, obtaining photographs of the vehicles, drawings or photographs of the scene of the collision and an analysis of the location where the vehicles came to rest after the collision. It is important to obtain ambulance and emergency room records and interview those witnesses.

8. What type of experts is used in auto collision cases?

Answer: Typically the type of experts may include all of the medical personnel, especially treating physicians or orthopedic surgeons. There may also be an engineer or accident reconstruction expert to analyze the collision. There can also be experts such as vocational/rehabilitation experts, life care planners, economists, and consulting physicians.

9. When do I have to file a Complaint in Court for my auto collision?

Answer: The statute of limitations in Colorado is (3) three years for any motor vehicle collision. However, an investigation of the issues surrounding the collision should be done as soon as possible after the collision.

10. What are the chances that my auto collision case will settle out of Court?

Answer: The overwhelming majority of cases (in excess of 90%) of auto crash cases settle.

These frequently asked questions and answers are designed to be general and not specific to any case or issue. Due to the complexity of any legal question, these answers may not take into account important and complicated material. Please consult one of our attorneys for any legal opinions before relying on any of the information on this web site. Please feel free to complete the Do I Have a Case' form available on our home page.

11. What is Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist Coverage?

Uninsured motorist coverage is required to be offered to you by your insurance agent in Colorado. This insurance covers you if you are injured by someone who does not have liability insurance. Your insurance company "steps into the shoes" of being an insurance company for the negligent uninsured person and provides you excess coverage over and above the liability coverage of a negligent person who caused your injury when that liability coverage is not enough to adequately reimburse you for your injuries.