TOP 5 CAR ACCIDENT MYTHS

   

Hand Injury

$4.6 Million

Significant hand injury from riding lawnmower

Spinal Cord Injury

$3.55 MILLION

Spinal cord injury from a commercial truck

Wrongful Death

$2.5 MILLION

Brain Injury

$2.5 MILLION

Brain injury from tractor-trailer case

Burn Injury

$2.4 MILLION

Burn injury from a house explosion case

Orthopedic Injuries

$2 MILLION

Orthopedic injuries from a motorcycle accident

Broken Arm

$1.325 MILLION

A broken arm from an auto accident

Head Injury

$1.2 MILLION

Head injury suffered by a pedestrian hit by a car

Wrongful Death

$1 MILLION

Wrongful death case

Hip Injury

$994,000

Hip injury and replacement from auto accident

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Brad W. Huffman – Experienced Attorney at Huffman & Huffman

Senior Partner
2 mins READ

Being injured in a car accident is bad enough but the many myths surrounding these types of cases makes it all the more complicated. Learn about the top 5 most common car accident myths and misconceptions. Courtesy of HG.org

MYTH #1: EACH STATE’S AUTO INJURY LAWS ARE THE SAME

Insurance rates are regulated by state-run agencies and vary widely from state to state. Some states require that you purchase liability insurance, some do not. Some states have no-fault law, while others have at-fault laws. No-fault laws tend to be widely misinterpreted by residents who find the details of who pays for what fairly confusing.

No-fault in its simplest terms means that regardless of fault, a car accident victim is entitled to certain benefits. For example, a person’s own auto insurance company pays for the economic loss from his injuries (medical bills and lost wages) after an auto accident, regardless of which driver caused the accident.

At-fault states take into account who was at fault for an accident, and to what degree, when determining what each person (and their insurance companies) will pay for injuries and property damage.

All of these factors affect an auto accident case including settlement offers, jury verdicts and even appeals.

MYTH #2: I CAN COLLECT PAIN AND SUFFERING DAMAGES SIMPLY FROM BEING IN PAIN

Some states have specific requirements that an injured car accident victim must first pass before she can recover non-economic (pain and suffering) damages from any automobile accident. This means that being in pain is not enough to receive compensation beyond your limited economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages. In order to qualify for additional non-economic damages in some states, the injured party has to have suffered any of the three types of injuries:

  1. Death
  2. Permanent serious disfigurement
  3. Serious impairment of body function

Explore our articles on car accidents to find valuable information about accident statistics and a step-by-step guide on what to do after a car accident.

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