PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION
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Free Consultation. No Legal Fee Unless We Win.
Personal Injury Protection coverage is a wonderful and often overlooked insurance coverage. Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, is known as first-party coverage. This means you buy it to protect yourself and those riding in your car. Personal Injury Protection is easy to collect, and generally, a lawyer is not needed to apply for and obtain the money owed under the terms of this coverage. Tate Rehmet Law Office helps our clients with Personal Injury Protection as a courtesy, without charge.
Texas Medical Payment coverage, or Med Pay, is different. If you have Med Pay, then please click here for more information.
This section discusses who is covered under the terms of the Texas Standard Personal Auto Policy. The terms in your policy may vary from the standard policy language. Please read your own policy to verify the scope of coverage.
Insurance coverage can be very straight forward, but can also be a complicated area of law. If you have any questions about whether an insurance company must cover an injured individual, you must consult with an attorney. This section does not explain all aspects of insurance coverage.
1. Personal Injury Protection is an optional coverage that costs extra money beyond a standard liability-only policy.
2. Call the agent who sold the policy, or the insurance carrier to verify whether you have PIP.
3. Named insureds (people named on the policy) are always covered by Personal Injury Protection – regardless of what car they are in at the time of the wreck.
4. Family members who are not named on the policy are generally covered people, so long as they are not in a car owned by a family member that is not listed on the policy as a covered auto.
5. Injured people riding in cars listed on the policy are generally covered by Personal Injury Protection for that car.
6. The borrowed car scenario can lead to several layers of Personal Injury Protection coverage for the same injured person. The borrowed car scenarios can become confusing, but can also trigger coverage of more than one Personal Injury Protection policy.
Personal Injury Protection is not required under Texas law but is an optional coverage you can purchase in addition to the required liability policy which we all must carry. The policy language for Personal Injury Protection coverage is written so that it covers certain people and certain cars. The easiest way to determine if you are covered by Personal Injury Protection as a named insured, or if your car is covered as a covered auto, is to call the agent who sold you the policy and ask them if you are covered. Calling the insurance company and making the claim is also a good way to find out if you are covered. Determining if you are covered is usually an easy task, but can become complicated under certain circumstances. Generally, there are covered people and covered cars which are identified by name or make, model and year on the declaration sheet – which is the documents you received from the insurance company showing who, and what vehicles, are covered on the policy.
Covered people always include the named insured and generally include the family members of the named insured. The named insured is the person who bought the policy and any other people who are identified by name in your insurance papers. Family members are generally defined to include those people related to the named insured by blood and living under the same roof as the named insured. This means that family members who are not named on the insurance policy may also be covered. Remember the policy defines a family member as anyone related to the named insured by blood, marriage, or adoption and living with the named insured at the time of the wreck. Be sure to read the terms of your policy. Many policies cover family members, but some do not.
Covered cars are identified in the insurance papers by make, model and year. Anyone riding in a covered auto is covered by the Personal Injury Protection policy, regardless of whether they are a named insured or related to a named insured. Being hurt in, on, getting into or out of a covered auto qualifies that person for benefits of the Personal Injury Protection coverage. It does not matter if the injured person is not named in the policy as long as they are occupants of the vehicle that is covered.
It is possible then to be covered by Personal Injury Protection because you are the person named as a covered person in your auto policy, but you may also be covered by a friend’s policy on their car if you get into their car and ride as a passenger. This scenario leads to two layers of Personal Injury Protection coverage, and both policies will pay if you become injured in a wreck. This is what we call the “borrowed car scenario” and we are always on the lookout to see if we can collect multiple polices as a result of covered people riding in other covered cars which they don’t own. The borrowed car scenario can become complicated, especially if there are family members who are not named in the policy riding in borrowed cars. If you are unsure about whether Personal Injury coverage applies to you, then please call our office and we will review the coverage with you.
Below is a set of hypothetical scenarios which illustrate Personal Injury Protection coverage:
Let’s pretend Mary buys Personal Injury Protection from State Farm on her Ford. She lives with her children Harry, who is 17, and Jane who is 9. Harry drives a Chevy, but it is covered by a separate liability only policy without any Personal Injury Protection which is from Allstate. They live next to the Hendersons who own a van covered by Farmers with a Personal Injury Protection policy.
When anyone is in the Ford they are covered because the Ford is a covered auto. Mary, Harry and even Harry’s friend Bill are all covered when they are in the Ford. Personal Injury Protection coverage on the car covers everyone in the car.
What if Mary, Harry, and Jane get into the Henderson’s van and ride with them to the movies? Everyone in the van is covered by the Henderson’s Farmer’s policy on the van because the van is a covered auto so all occupants are covered. Mary is also covered under the State Farm Personal Injury Protection policy because she is named as an insured in that policy. Harry and Jane are covered under the State Farm policy because they are family members of Mary. Remember that family members are related to the named person by blood, marriage, or adoption, and live in the same house as the named person. Under this scenario Mary, Harry and Jane are covered by both Farmers and State Farm. Of course, the Hendersons are only covered by Farmers, because they are not named in the State Farm policy and are not family members of Mary. Typically, the Farmers insurance on the van must be used first, then the State Farm policy will begin to cover once the Farmers policy on the van is all used up.
Our hypotheticals are all easy to understand so far. Unfortunately, the policy contains exclusions for family members who are not specifically named in the insurance policy. The exclusion limits coverage in instances where a family member is driving a car that is not listed on the named insured policy but is owned by a family member. This is a little confusing and is illustrated by the following scenario.
What if Mary rides in her son Harry’s Chevy? The Chevy is insured by Allstate, but without Personal Injury Protection. There is not any Personal Injury Protection coverage on the car, so Harry is not covered by Allstate. Mary is still covered by State Farm because she is the named insured on that policy. The question is whether Harry is covered by State Farm because he is a family member of Mary’s. The rule is that all family members are covered, but if a family member is not a named insured, then they are not covered when driving a vehicle owned by a family member when that vehicle is not listed as a covered auto. Confused? You should be.
This is confusing, but it makes sense when you think about it. Let’s change the hypothetical. Mary has ten children, and all are over the age of 16 and all drive cars. Mary buys an auto policy with Personal Injury Protection, but only lists herself as an insured and her car as a covered auto. All her kids live with her and are related to her by blood, so they are all covered people. It’s not fair to the insurance company to be forced to cover ten additional drivers in ten additional cars without listing them and paying insurance premiums for them. She did not pay premium dollars for them, so they should not be covered when they are in their cars which have not been disclosed to Mary’s insurance carrier.
Simply put, if your family member is riding in a car owned by a friend, look for covered people and covered cars. If you need help, please call us at 903-892-4440. Consultations are free
1. Personal Injury Protection is “No-Fault” coverage – so who caused the wreck does not matter.
2. Most injuries occurring in, on, or around an auto are covered.
3. Pays for reasonable medical bills.
4. Pays for Funeral expenses.
5. 80% of lost wages are covered as well.
6. The policy is usually limited to $2,500.00, but can be higher.
Personal Injury Protection is a type of no-fault coverage, so it does not matter how the person was hurt in the wreck. They might be hit by another car, hit a tree, or be hit by a car when walking down the street. In all of these circumstances, Personal Injury Protection should cover the reasonable medical bills and 80% of lost wages.
The policy is usually limited to only $2,500.00, but can be higher.
1. Call the carrier and ask them to send a Personal Injury Protection Application.
2. Fill out the application and return it to the adjuster.
3. Send the police report with the application.
4. Don’t sign medical releases unless absolutely necessary.
5. Send bills to the adjuster (ICD-9 and CPT codes required).
6. Get a check.
The insurance carrier typically will send a Personal Injury Protection application that must be filled out and signed. Click to see an example of a Personal Injury Protection application from Amica. The application calls for a description of the wreck. We usually do not give any detail, but instead, attach the police report. We decline to provide a written statement because written statements can be used against you later. If you do give a written statement, then you must be careful when describing how the wreck happened and the nature and extent of your injuries. Those statements might be used by your own insurance company, or another insurance company, against you later. The application is signed at the bottom. There typically a place to sign higher up, but that line usually is an affirmation of no injury.
Once the application is filled out, it is returned to the adjuster. The adjuster will also send a HIPAA-compliant medical release. We do not have our clients sign these. The language in the release usually gives the adjuster broad-ranging power to get any of your medical records, regardless of whether they are related to the wreck or not. Your medical records and bills are privileged and you should carefully consider waiving your privacy. Once the privilege is waived for your insurance, then it may be waived for others.
Instead of returning the medical release, you should get the bills yourself and send them to the adjuster. Bills from medical providers can be sent with the application or later. Medical bills do need to be itemized with diagnostic and treatment codes, which are commonly called ICD-9 and CPT codes. If your medical bills are from medical providers in Grayson, Fannin, Cooke or Bryan Counties, please click here to see how to get itemized medical bills and records from most of the ambulances services, hospitals, and other emergency medical providers.
If your insurance company absolutely insists on getting a medical release, it is time to call a lawyer for assistance. Non-cooperation is a reason for the insurance company to claim you breach the terms of the policy. Please consult with an attorney if the adjuster insists on a medical release.
After the application and the medical bills and records are sent to the carrier, the insurance company adjuster should send a check to you within a few weeks.
1. Personal Injury Protection can be assigned to a medical provider.
2. The medical provider sends bills directly to the Personal Injury Protection adjuster, and the adjuster will send a check to the provider.
3. Negotiate the price of medical care before assigning the policy to the medical provider
Personal Injury Protection is assignable. If you write a letter to your insurance company telling them to pay a medical provider directly, then the insurance company will pay the bills of the medical provider directly. Some physicians, mostly chiropractors, are willing to treat patients involved in a car wreck and collect payment for the medical bills from an assignment of Personal Injury Protection.
If you assign your Personal Injury Protection to a medical provider, then you should discuss the price of medical care with the medical provider before they start submitting bills to the Personal Injury Protection adjuster. The medical provider will most likely bill a “cash price” for the medical care rendered. The cash price is generally the highest price charged in the medical industry. No health insurance company pays this high price, and the medical provider most likely does not expect anyone to pay it. Negotiate before the medical provider starts submitting bills so that your health care dollars can be stretched as far as possible.
Personal Injury Protection is a contract. If the adjuster refuses to pay, does not pay promptly, or does not pay for all the bills incurred, then they might be in breach of the contract. If a breach is shown, then the insurance company may be liable for the money which you are owned, as well as attorney’s fees, and penalties.
Personal Injury Protection is a collateral source of payment. Collateral sources of payments are a great benefit to an injured person because a collateral source of payment cannot be considered by most other liability insurance carriers. This is best explained by a hypothetical. Let’s pretend that Mary is in her Ford, which has Personal Injury Protection through an auto policy issued by State Farm, and is hit by a drunk driver who is insured by Farmers. Mary is injured and incurred medical bills. She can submit those bills to State Farm and the bills are paid under the Personal Injury Protection policy. Mary can then submit those bills to Farmers and Farms must pay them again. The reasoning is that Mary paid her insurance premiums for her Personal injury Protection coverage, and not the drunk driver. So neither the drunk driver nor the insurance company of the drunk driver receives any benefit from the fact that Mary had Personal Injury Protection.
Personal Injury Protection is subject to subrogation. Subrogation is the idea that if one person hurts another, but a third person pays for the damages, then the third person stands in the shoes of the hurt person to the extent they paid. In a car wreck with injuries, subrogation is most likely the result of health insurance or a benefit like Medicare. Health insurance pays for the medical bills, and the hurt person collects for those bills from Personal Injury Protection or another insurance carrier. This may give rise to an obligation to repay the health insurance or plan that paid for the bills.
1. If the insurance company can’t produce a written rejection, then they must provide the coverage even though no premiums were paid.
2. If they can’t find the rejection, then they won’t respond, and you must call again.
3. After several calls, they will admit they can’t produce it.
4. The carrier may try to charge a premium under these circumstances, but they are not entitled to any payment.
Texas law dictates that every auto policy comes with at least $2,500.00 of Personal Injury Protection unless the purchaser specifically rejects the coverage in writing. In a small percentage of cases, the carrier can’t produce the written rejection. If the rejection cannot be produced, then the carrier must provide the coverage even though no premium was paid.
This document is intended to be a guide to help non-lawyers make an application for Personal Injury Protection benefits. It is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Reading or possessing this document does not mean that Tate Rehmet Law Office will act upon your behalf. Tate Rehmet Law Office only represents clients who have signed a written retainer agreement. If you have not signed a written retainer agreement, then you are not represented by Tate Rehmet Law Office. If you have any questions about Personal Injury Protection benefits, you need to consult a lawyer.
Please call us at 903-892-4440 or read more about PIP on our website www.ShermanAccidentLaw.com. Consultations are free
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Sherman Texas Personal Injury Lawyers
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Work accidents commonly lead to injury, and even death. These on the job accidents can occur at any job. Many of us work in industrial environments, such as oil fields or metal fabrication shops. Any job that exposes us to heavy equipment, or equipment that uses large amounts of force or torque, exposes us to danger. On the job injuries many also happen in cars or other settings. Any of these can cause serious injury or death.
The car accident lawyers at Tate Rehmet Law Office see more than their fair share of car wrecks in and around the Texoma area. Although each accident is unique, one fact is almost universally true in every collision: car accidents happen when drivers do not follow safety rules. When people fail to obey safety rules they become negligent and are responsible for any damage or harm caused. Negligence is simply the legal term for failing to drive in a safe manner.
The pedestrian accident lawyers at Tate Rehmet Law Office are here to help if you have been injured in an accident as a pedestrian in the Sherman, Denison, North Texas or Texoma area. Pedestrian accidents are far too common as Texas has one of the worst records in the nation for pedestrian safety. Fatalities from pedestrian crashes have trended upward for several years, and this makes walking on or near a Texas roadway a dangerous activity. The city of Sherman alone has 1-3 pedestrian deaths per year with many more injured. The North Texas and Texoma region have even more. Texas is usually ranked 3rd highest in the nation for total pedestrian accidents per year.
Our pedestrian accident attorneys are here to assist victims and their families recover their losses caused by the accident. We understand the life-altering nature of a pedestrian collision and we will provide thorough and caring representation to those who have suffered from a pedestrian injury. We will take all steps necessary to seek the maximum amount of compensation available to you and stay in close communication with you throughout the process. We work on a contingency basis for all of our clients, which means we are not paid anything unless you collect money for your injuries.
Our legal team has decades of experience in personal injury law. We have represented numerous victims injured in pedestrian collisions, and have a proven record of success in recovering for our clients. If you or a family member has been injured in a pedestrian accident please give us a call and we will provide you with a legal rights consultation free of charge. You can reach us at (903) 892-4440 or by chat or the email contact form on our Contact Us page and other pages of the website.
Tate Rehmet Law Office is a Sherman, Texas, personal injury law firm, dedicated to representing individuals who have been hurt by a wrongdoer. The cases we handle include auto accidents, large truck wrecks, motorcycle accidents, wrecks involving pedestrians, premises liability claims, defective products claims and claims involving injuries caused by animals, including dog bites.
Our North Texas injury lawyers dedicate 100% of their professional time assisting those who have been injured by the wrongful acts of another. We work with clients in a number of places, including Sherman, Denison, Gainesville, Bonham, Durant & all of North Texas & South Oklahoma—often called the Texoma area.
Any of us can become the victim of an auto accident. Car wrecks are frequently the lead story in the Sherman/Denison news. Some of these car accidents leave individuals with serious injuries, while others are left with the death of a family member. Lives are changed forever, and financial hardship may ensue. The personal injury attorneys at Tate Rehmet Law Office are dedicated to recovering compensation for the harms and losses caused in these car accidents. We are a personal injury law firm, devoting 100% of our time and effort representing individuals who have been injured, or the family members of those who have been killed by the negligence of others.
Our personal injury attorneys handle car wrecks in Sherman, Denison, Gainesville, and Durant. One of our injury attorneys is licensed in Oklahoma, and assists with auto accidents occurring in Durant and Southern Oklahoma. If you or someone you know has been involved in an auto accident please don’t hesitate to contact Tate Rehmet Law Office at (903) 892-4440. Or, you may send our attorneys the details of the accident and injuries by using the contact form below. The initial call, consultation, and investigation are free of charge.
Automobile drivers have a duty to look out for motorcycles, but often do not look carefully enough. When this happens, the motorcyclist is exposed to serious injury, or even death. Adding insult to injury, the motorcyclist, who was doing nothing wrong, is often blamed for causing the wreck, and accused of speeding. This happens because the auto driver can’t explain why they did not see the motorcycle. In reality, the auto driver did not look carefully enough. When the car driver tells the police and insurance companies the wreck was caused by the motorcyclist, the police write unfavorable reports, and insurance companies deny claims that should be paid.
The personal injury lawyers at Tate Rehmet Law Office help injured motorcyclists pursue recovery of their loss, and handle wrongful death suits for the family members of motorcyclists who are killed. If you are hurt in a motorcycle wreck, or if your family member has been killed in a motorcycle accident, please contact us. A personal injury attorney in Sherman will discuss the case with you without any charge. You may contact us by calling (903) 892-4440 or by using the contact form below to send the details of the motorcycle injuries to our attorneys. The initial call, consultation, and investigation are free of charge.
A defective product, or a dangerous product, is a product which was not built according to the design, or the design itself was flawed before the item was constructed. These types of items can become lethally dangerous. Our injury law firm has helped many clients with defective product cases, including defects in cars, tires, flammable clothing, and hydraulic cylinders. More specifically, we have helped clients who were seriously injured in Sherman from the failure of a hydraulic cylinder which was lifting a large wing on a bat wing mower, a child that was severely burned in Sherman while wearing pajamas that did not meet federal flame retardant standards, and the wrongful death of minor children who were killed when a steering mechanism in a car failed.
All of these accidents and the resulting injuries occurred in the Sherman/Denison area. Our personal injury lawyers were able to assist each client, helping guide them through the aftermath. Products liability is a complicated area of law. Evidence which is not collected quickly may be lost forever. If you believe a dangerous product caused an injury or death, please contact our personal injury law firm by calling (903) 892-4440 or using the contact form below to send our attorneys the details surrounding defective products and related injuries. An injury attorney in will evaluate the dangerous product claim and take steps necessary to preserve evidence. The initial call, consultation, and investigation are free of charge.
Read more on Defective Products…
Drunk driving, or DWI, happens all too often, frequently leading to auto wrecks caused by the drunk driver. Sadly, as of 2009, Texas was ranked 45th in highway safety by MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving) with 1,235 people killed by drunk drivers during that year. Many more people have been injured by intoxicated drivers. Alarmingly, according to MADD, the average drunk driver has driven under the influence of alcohol 80 times before being arrested. Our Sherman injury attorneys aggressively pursue personal injury claims against drunk drivers. With rare exception, we file suit against the drunk driver, usually immediately after the client retains our firm.
Chris Rehmet, a lawyer at Tate Rehmet Law Office, is a former criminal prosecutor who convicted many drunk drivers of the crime of DWI. He is very familiar with DWI investigation and evidence. In addition, Chris is an active volunteer with MADD in Grayson County, and regularly speaks to those individuals convicted of DWI in Grayson County about the potential civil liability of driving under influence and causing personal injuries to another. Our personal injury lawyers hold drunk drivers accountable and force those who commit the crime of DWI to meet their responsibility for the auto collisions and personal injuries they cause.
Tate Rehmet Law Office has forced several drunk drivers to pay money out of their own pockets, above and beyond the available insurance limits. If you are hurt in a car wreck caused by a drunk driver, please call. You have power over the drunk driver. The drunk drivers’ financial future is in your control. Our personal injury attorneys will talk to you about DWI and explain why you have this power, and how to use it. If a family member has been killed by a drunk driver, we will discuss the legal implications, but our accident attorneys in Sherman will also direct you to resources in Grayson, Fannin, or Cooke County that might help you with your emotional loss. The initial call, consultation, and investigation are free of charge. Please do not hesitate to contact us by calling (903) 892-4440 or using the contact form below to send the details of the drunk driving accident to our attorneys, and we will contact you promptly.
The wrongful death of a family member is one of life’s greatest tragedies. Coming to grip with a sudden loss of a family member may be one of life’s greatest adversities. No amount of money can make up for these kinds of losses. None-the-less, the wrongdoer should be held accountable for the damages they cause. The personal injury attorneys at Tate Rehmet Law Office are experienced at representing surviving family members in wrongful death claims and holding the wrongdoer accountable.
The injury attorneys at Tate Rehmet Law Office have asserted wrongful death and survivor claims for surviving family members of auto wrecks, work accidents, drunk driver accidents, tractor trailer accidents, motorcycle accidents, and defective products. Almost all wrongful death cases require suing the person or company who caused the death. Tate Rehmet Law Office has successfully sued major corporations for wrongful death in both federal and state courts.
You depend on the other person to have insurance to pay for your losses when they hit you. The law requires us to buy a minimal policy with limits of $30,000.00 to pay for injuries to any one person and $25,000.00 to pay for property damage. Being hit by someone who has no insurance, or does not have enough insurance, is frustrating. There are, however, steps which can be taken.
The first step is to look under every stone for insurance coverage. Many times the driver is not the owner of the car they were driving. If they borrowed the car from someone who is not a relative living in the same household, then there may be insurance in the driver’s household that covers them.
If there is no insurance, then the driver who caused the accident may have to pay out of their own pocket. Tate Rehmet Law Office has forced individuals to pay out of their own pocket on several occasions.
Health Insurance allows many injured people access to medical care. Without insurance, access to medical care can be difficult or impossible. Even those with health insurance may not be able to pay the high deductibles required by their policies. Our personal injury lawyers in Sherman understand how difficult access to medical care can become. A letter of protection can be used to get access to medical care in lieu of health insurance. A letter of protection is a letter from our office to a medical provider promising to pay the provider’s bills out of settlement or judgment money. This letter can be used to help gain access to doctors, therapists, radiologists, and pharmacies. We are familiar with many of the medical providers in this area and can talk with you about which doctor or medical provider is most appropriate, as well as the best way to pay for that medical care.