Is there anyone who doubts that insurance protection is a good thing to have? State governments consider it so important to help meet the cost of likely medical care for someone injured in a motor vehicle accident that most of them mandate minimum coverage amounts.
Here in Alabama, failure to have the minimum protection can result in some pretty steep fines. But of greater concern is the effect that such a failure might have in meeting the treatment needs of someone who has been hurt in an accident because of someone else’s negligence.
Considering what medical costs are running these days and how easy it is to rack up huge bills for even a seemingly minor injury, it becomes valid to wonder whether all costs are likely to be met if something more catastrophic occurs like a spinal cord or brain injury. Not only can recovery take a lot longer, sometimes the full effects of the trauma may not be apparent right away. To protect a victim’s future may require action from a skilled attorney.
There are a couple of events from around our region in recent days that bring this particular issue to the fore. They involved two school buses that overturned. One incident happened last Thursday afternoon in Chilton County. The other took place in Jefferson County Friday. In what has to be odd strokes of coincidence, 12 students on each of the buses ended up going to the hospital and no other vehicles were involved at either scene.
Authorities say that several of the victims reported that they had hit their heads. Others said the accidents left them with sore necks and backs. Officials say no one was seriously hurt. But the thing with head, neck and spine injuries is that the full extent of the damage can often go undetected, resulting in an even more challenging period of recovery.
It’s in situations like this that it is possible for insurance limits to be hit quickly. But where medical need continues and negligence can be shown to have been a cause of injury, it may be possible to pursue compensation through civil action.
