Tucker Lawyer Explains What Full Coverage Really Means

“If you could be a fly on the wall of my office, you would be shocked and appalled by some of the stories you would hear,” attorney told me. Pryor’s Tucker-based law firm specializes in personal injury, mostly resulting from tragic car, semi-truck, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents. Here are a few examples demonstrating the magnitude of the cases he handles.  

A lady was texting on her cell phone when she pulled out in front of another car. There was nothing the gentleman could do – he t-boned her. She had $50,000 in coverage, and he had $25,000 in uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance. His original medical bills alone totaled around $90,000. This does not include specialist visits, follow-up care, lost wages, pain and suffering or medication. However, the total amount of insurance money available to him was $75,000.

A little girl was struck by a large SUV on a day that happened to fall in between policies for a motorist switching his insurance coverage. The family had an uninsured/underinsured policy amount of $25,000. The young girl had multiple surgeries with bills that were immensely greater than the insurance coverage.

A driver crashed into a young motorcyclist, and both the man and his bike were slammed viciously into a guardrail. An arm and leg were mangled and destroyed. The driver carried $100,000 in coverage – “which is far more than most people carry,” noted Pryor – and the motorcyclist’s policy covered an additional, meager $25,000. His original medical bills topped $700,000. The young man will need additional surgeries and treatment. He is not working and trying to learn how to walk again. Recently, his employer released him, and his health benefits are now gone.

In 2010, a wife and mother of two was killed when a commercial vehicle came speeding through a red light. Her twelve-year-old daughter was in the car, tried to wake her mom, but her efforts were futile. Pryor represented the family against the trucking company and set a record for the highest settlement for a case in that county. For wrongful death cases such as these, Pryor travels all across the United States to represent families who have been affected.

There is no way to completely repair the damage caused by these types of accidents, but the financial repercussions in all of these situations could have been softened if the parties involved had been properly insured. “Every one of these clients said the same thing,” noted Pryor. “They never thought it would happen to them.”

“About 98 percent of the people I see and work with are underinsured,” said Pryor, “and the worst part, they have no idea.” When clients come to him with exorbitant medical bills, he is forced to explain that their $25,000 insurance policy combined with the at-fault party’s $25,000 policy will barely scratch the surface. They are baffled and devastated. “It’s the hardest conversation to have,” Pryor said, shaking his head. “Our job is to collect these monies and then negotiate down the massive medical bills while trying to get the injured person some money for their damages. This is challenging, but we love to help our clients out. They become our extended family members.”

“I had no idea I wasn’t really fully covered.” “Why didn’t my insurance company explain this to me?” Pryor hears phrases like these all the time, and it falls to him to outline how car insurance actually works. I was surprised by what I learned.

“Full coverage doesn’t mean you’re fully covered,” he began. If you are hurt in an accident, you first turn to the party at fault. If his or her insurance policy doesn’t fully cover the expenses, you then go to your own insurance policy to tap into your uninsured/underinsured coverage, if you have it. You can also access another relative’s insurance if he or she is living with you and has a separate policy. If those funds are insufficient and expenses still remain, your only option is to go after the personal assets of the at fault driver; however, if there are no assets, the remaining costs fall on your shoulders alone. “One important note, you can’t go after someone’s insurance and their personal assets. You must choose, but the choice is usually made for you,” Pryor added.

“Many people seem to think that there is a big, magic pot of money,” he explained, “and that if insurance doesn’t cover everything, they simply sue or dip into this fund. But, the truth is, insurance is usually the only source to cover the costs of an accident. People who carry insufficient insurance don’t typically have a lot of assets to go after. If they did, they would protect them. The flip side is,” Pryor continued, “if you are carrying the minimum coverage and you hurt someone, you open yourself up to being sued. Most people don’t understand they aren’t protected. Most insurance companies don’t do their job and explain this to people.”

Are you someone carrying a $25,000 policy, believing you’re truly fully covered? I was. So what should you do to ensure you are taken care of after an auto accident?

First, “understand your policy, your declarations page,” advises Pryor. Your declarations page shows your coverage. Call and ask your insurance company to explain the details of this page to you and what the numbers mean. “If it says 25/50, this is not a good sign. You are underinsured,” said Pryor.

Second, get maximum coverage in case you hurt someone. Also, obtain maximum uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. “If someone with little to no insurance hits and injures you and you don’t carry uninsured motorist coverage, there is very little, if anything, we can do to get you the money you need – you’re simply out of  luck,” Pryor said.

Third, “get medical payments coverage added to your policy,” he continued. Medical payments coverage will provide you with funds to pay medical expenses for yourself and, should you be at fault and injure another motorist, that person, as well. “It is very cheap and no matter if you are at fault or not it pays out automatically for medical bills. This addition is a must. Most states require people to carry this; unfortunately, Georgia does not,” added Pryor.

Fourth, “add an umbrella policy to your plan,” Pryor said. It’s additional coverage that can be obtained for a relatively small amount of money, and it picks up where your insurance leaves off. For instance, if the aforementioned injured motorcyclist had an umbrella policy for one million dollars, that would have been added to the at-fault driver’s policy of $100,000, as well and his uninsured/underinsured coverage of $25,000. This would have paid for his remaining surgeries and helped with his lost wages and follow-up care. Some umbrella policies cost less than $50 a month.

“It’s also important to know what to do when you’re in an accident,” Pryor said. “I tell people to keep my number programmed into their phones.”

First, always call the police and make a report. “Exchanging insurance information is good but doesn’t determine fault and other critical factors. You may not have accurate insurance information, and many times people don’t report the accident to the insurance company,” Pryor explained. A police report allows you to establish a record of the accident and the parties involved. The police will also verify that the other driver has insurance and who that insurance company is.

Second, get checked out by an appropriate medical provider immediately following the accident. “Keep in mind, your adrenaline is pumping, you’re in shock and many times you don’t even notice you’re injured. Symptoms from an accident can show up a week, two or even longer after the event. This happens all the time,” said Pryor. He continued, “When talking to your medical provider, make a thorough inventory of all the problems you’re having. Have a close friend or family member help you recall all your symptoms. You will be under a lot of stress from the accident, and many times your memory will be foggy. Most insurance companies comb over medical record intakes, and if you didn’t mention a certain injury, they can use that as an excuse not to pay for the legitimate treatment of the injury.”

Third, if you are injured through no fault of your own, seek legal help immediately. “Please feel free to call me…anyone,” Scott said honestly. “It’s important never to try and handle the insurance companies on your own. They make their money by paying you as little as possible, if nothing at all, so they will try to build a case against you from the very beginning. I tell my clients once I represent them, their only job is to get better. We are a firm dedicated to our clients, and we handle the insurance logistics for them.”

On a special note, if you are injured by a tractor trailer, semi-truck, box truck or commercial vehicle, a different set of laws and rules applies. These are special cases that are extremely time sensitive. “I need to get an accident reconstructionist on the scene immediately in order to preserve the much needed evidence,” Pryor said, “so contact me or your personal injury attorney immediately following your accident.”

Pryor also emphasizes the importance of retaining an attorney that specializes in personal injury. Handling insurance companies is tricky, and the laws are always changing. Pryor and his firm handle these types of cases exclusively. It’s clear that Pryor takes pride in fighting for his clients. He is a Marine and a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. “We’re a non-partisan advocacy group working to protect the civil justice system and rights to jury trials,” he inserted.

“It’s heartbreaking when you can’t help as much as you wish you could,” Pryor concluded, “and if people had proper insurance, it would really help lessen the financial hardships they encounter when they or their loved ones are hurt.”

Scott Pryor’s law firm serves clients throughout the state of Georgia and is located at Sutton Place Court in Tucker, GA. He represents badly injured clients nationally, as well. If you have been injured, you can call him at 404-474-7122 or by visiting his website.