Car Accidents and No-Fault Insurance

In New York State, when you are involved in an automobile accident, you have two types of insurance to think about.

The more immediate and urgent insurance to think about is, "how do I get my medical bills, lost wages and expenses covered while I am in the hospital and out of work?"  The second issue is, how do I get compensation for my pain, suffering, and permanent injures, that is the "non-economic damages."

Let's talk about the insurance that gets the medical bills paid along with the lost wages and other expenses.  In New York that insurance is called "No-Fault" insurance.  No-Fault insurance is coverage that we all have on our vehicles.  So, if you are a New York licensed driver, with a New York registered car, it is mandatory to have your vehicle insured with No-Fault insurance.

The basic No-Fault Insurance provides for the payment of medical costs, a percentage of lost wages, compensation for substituted services and all other reasonable expenses incurred asthe result of personal injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident in New York up $50,000 per person.  (You can purchase No-Fault insurance beyond the $50,000 and you should check with your agent about doing just that!  $50,000 can go quickly when you are seriously injured.)

As the word "No-Fault" implies, you do not have to sue anyone, (usually), to get the coverage.  If you are a driver of a vehicle at the time of the accident it is your own policy of insurance that covers your medical costs, lost wages and other expenses.  If you are a pedestrian, it is the coverage of the vehicle that struck you that has to pay your "No-Fault", because you are not in a vehicle.  If you are a passenger in a motor vehicle it is the "No-Fault" policy of the owner of the vehicle that you are in that will cover you.

What does "No-Fault" cover?

No-Fault covers economic loss that you suffer by reason of the accident up to $50,000, (or over $50,000 if you specifically ask for that type of coverage from your car insurance agent).

It covers all necessary expenses, including hospital, medical, surgical, nursing, dental, ambulance, x-ray, prescription drug and prosthetic services, psychiatric, physical and occupational therapy and rehabilitation and any other professional health service.

"No-Fault" insurance also covers loss of earnings from work, which the person would have performed had he not been injured, up to $2,000 per month for not more than three years.

Finally, "no-fault" insurance covers all other reasonable and necessary expenses incurred up to a paltry $25.00 per day for not more than one year from the date of the incident.

The lost wages are reduced by 20%.   Lost wages are further reduced by amounts recovered from social security disability, and worker's compensation to the extent that they defray medical expenses, and Medicare.

The VERY IMPORTANT THING YOU NEED TO KNOW is that you must make a claim for these "No-Fault" insurance benefits within THIRTY DAYS of the accident.

My next post will describe that other portion of insurance policies to be considered when it comes to "non-economic damages", the stuff that is not covered by "No-Fault" and what we all refer to as the liability part of the policy of the wrongdoer that covers the pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life aspects of an automobile accident.