Newman Creed & Associates

99 North Street
Bristol, CT 06010

860-583-5200
Toll-Free: 888-300-4469
Fax: 860-582-0012
Personal Injury

Frequently Asked Questions
Personal Injury

Q: How much automobile liability coverage should I carry?
A: The minimum insurance limits in the state of Connecticut are $20,000.00 per person and $40,000.00 per occurrence. Essentially, this means that if you cause an accident, the most any one person can collect from your insurance coverage is $20,000.00 and the most any number of claimants could recover from one accident is $40,000. How much insurance to carry is a personal choice and will also be governed by financial considerations as well as recommendations from your insurance agent, who may be able to recommend coverages for your home as well. One thing most individuals do not realize is that the insurance limits for underinsured / uninsured motorist coverage may be crucial if a claim ever needs to be made. Generally speaking, most insurance agents will write the same amount of coverage for this portion of your policy that is written for liability limits.

Nevertheless, you may ask for higher limits of uninsured / underinsured motorist (UM) protection. It is important to have sufficient coverage for this portion of your policy in case you are injured in an accident that is the fault of an uninsured driver or if you are in an accident in which the tortfeasor has damages that are well in excess of the responsible party's coverage.


Q: What is conversion coverage?
A: Conversion coverage is an option that may be purchased which, in effect, "stacks" your policy onto that of a tortfeasor. In other words, if someone at fault has insurance coverage that is not adequate to pay damages for injuries that you sustain, conversion coverage allows you to place your underinsured motorist coverage on top of the responsible party's coverage regardless of what your limit of underinsured motorist coverage may be. This is in contrast to the typical scenario whereby you would only be able to collect that amount of underinsured motorist coverage that is in excess of the tortfeasor's policy.


Q: If I have been injured in an accident, how much time do I have to seek medical attention?
A: Medical treatment should be sought as soon as possible if it is needed. Generally, you should seek treatment as needed regardless of whether or not you are contemplating a lawsuit. There is no sense in waiting to see if injuries will heal on their own because they may, in fact, get worse. For example, a sore back or neck which causes someone to change their posture to accommodate the pain may end up causing more damage to the musculature of the spine than if immediate treatment is secured. Again, one should not conduct themselves any differently because they are possibly making a claim for damages than they would ordinarily conduct themselves. So, if you would ordinarily go to the doctor's office, then this should be done. Only your medical providers are in position to assess and evaluate what type of treatment is warranted and what medical specialty and what modalities of treatment are best utilized for any particular injury.


Q: How much time do I have to pursue a claim as a result of an automobile accident?
A: The statute of limitations for automobiles / personal injury / negligence actions in the state of Connecticut is two years. If the accident occurs outside of the state, the statute of limitations for that jurisdiction would apply. In addition, certain actions against the state of Connecticut, local governments, housing authorities and municipal or state entities have their own time requirements. Coupled with this is the defective highway statute or the dram shop statute, which have notice requirements as short as 60 days. Therefore, it is important to consult a Connecticut injury lawyer about the applicable notice requirements and statute of limitations in your case.


Q: Who do I see for medical treatment if I have no insurance?
A: As a threshold matter, there are many different avenues in order to get medical bills paid. In certain circumstances, there may be medical payments insurance coverage or personal injury protection coverage on the automobile in which you were an occupant. In other situations, there may be medical payments insurance coverage on another vehicle that may cover your medical bills. There are new state programs for health insurance. Also, in certain circumstances, a liability coverage insurance adjuster may advance certain payments toward medical bills, and while this is not common, it does occur. In addition, certain medical providers may accept letters of protection on the settlement of a liability case when issued by one of our Bristol lawyers.

Newman Creed & Associates
99 North Street Bristol, CT 06010 • 860-583-5200 • Toll-Free: 888-300-4469  

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