Personal Injury Law

Underinsured Coverage Can Be an Issue in a Virginia Truck Accident Claim

By Ben Glass

With thousands of truck accidents occurring annually in our country, it would be reasonable to assume that trucking companies would purchase sufficient insurance coverage to protect their drivers. Although truck wrecks have been known to lead to catastrophic injuries, even death, some trucking companies have opted to save a couple hundred dollars a year on their insurance policies by choosing minimal coverage. The ones who are paying the price are their employees.

Recently, a case was brought in federal court in the southern part of Virginia. The lawsuit involved a truck driver who was injured by an allegedly negligent driver. The trucker was seriously injured, but the other driver didn't have enough insurance. As Virginia law allows, the trucker turned to the insurance his employer had purchased for the truck. However, he was only presented with more bad news.

Sadly, his employer had only purchased the minimal $25,000 worth of underinsured motorist coverage. This employer had, in essence, deprived its employee of much needed protection.

The lesson from this Virginia truck accident case
The lesson to this tragic story is that you must ensure that you have the appropriate coverage in case of an accident. You don't know if the other driver will have adequate insurance, or any insurance at all. Therefore, you better make sure that you have enough underinsured and uninsured coverage to protect you and your family.

I would encourage you to sit down today and review your auto insurance policy. You should also watch the video, Virginia Car Insurance-Underinsured Coverage, which discusses this topic in greater detail.

Full post as published by Northern Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer on March 11, 2011 (boomark / email).