Six months after being struck by another car as she drove\nher car in Shenandoah County, Va., on Jan. 6, 2017, Brenda Lee Greenfield, the\nmother of two young children, died of her injuries. The other driver, Karey Mullins,\nwas issued a ticket in connection with the crash for failing to obey a traffic\nsignal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mullins paid a $100 fine for the infraction, which\ninvolved her 2009 Ford Fusion smashing into Greenfield’s car on West Reservoir\nRoad near the interchange with Interstate 81. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following Greenfield’s death, her family filed\na lawsuit<\/a> claiming that negligence by the other driver resulted in the\ninjuries that caused the victim’s death, according to an April 13 story by The Northern Virginia Daily<\/em> newspaper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to low liability insurance coverage limits held by\nthe other driver, however, the victim’s two sons and the executrix of her\nestate could only seek damages of $25,000 from Mullins’ insurance policy, the story\nreported. One of the children was an infant with special needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a settlement reached by the parties, all claims\nwere settled for that $25,000 limit on the policy held by Mullins with USAA\nCasualty Insurance Co. The settlement was approved by a judge in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tragically, this family was victimized twice by this unfortunate\nincident. First, the mother of these two children died in a traffic accident,\nand second, because the victim and the driver who struck her didn’t have\nadequate insurance coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This case is a horrific example of why every driver\nneeds to be sure they have adequate car insurance to protect themselves, including\nthe all-important insurance to protect themselves and their family if the\ndriver who caused the crash doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough\ninsurance. So called Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage and Underinsured Motorist\n(UIM) coverage are incredibly important optional coverages that your insurance\nagent may not offer to sell to you, but you should ask for them and pay for as\nmuch coverage as you can afford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uninsured motorist coverage covers you in a crash if\nthe other driver who caused the crash has no car insurance at all. That’s\nillegal, but it happens often enough to be worrisome to drivers who are\nresponsible and carry adequate insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Underinsured motorist coverage is exactly that \u2013 it\nprovides coverage to you and your passengers if you are hurt in a crash caused\nby a driver who does not have adequate insurance to pay for your injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This tragic case in Virginia is an example of the\nrepercussions that happen to victims who are involved in crashes with drivers\nwho are not adequately insured. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are to sue for damages and pain and suffering\nafter a crash in which you are injured by another driver, the available pool of\ndamages is limited to the insurance coverage that is available from their\npolicy and from your own UM and UIM coverages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To ensure that you are not hurt a second time after\nbeing injured physically, being sure that you personally have a healthy amount\nof UM and UIM coverage is essential for preserving your legal rights in the\nevent of a crash caused by another driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are injured in a crash by another motorist who has\nonly the minimum insurance or a low amount of liability coverage, you will\nlikely have a tough time finding a lawyer who will file a claim against the\nother driver because the potential damages are so slim. And a civil judgement\nwon’t be helpful because the other driver can file for bankruptcy, which will dismiss\nany judgement you may be awarded. People often think that in the event of such\na crash, the other driver will have to pay or that they will go to jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth, however, is that no one is going to jail in\nsuch a case. Accidents happen and people don’t necessarily go to jail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The only remedy people have in tragic cases like this\none is to have UM and UIM insurance coverage, and lots of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The people who often cause accidents like the one\ninvolving this family in Virginia are usually not criminals. The other driver\nin this case was not drunk. They were just negligent, which isn’t a basis on\nwhich she could be criminally prosecuted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To adequately protect your family, you need to\ndetermine how much UM and UIM coverage it will it take to care for you for the\nrest of your life if an accident prevents you from working again, because that’s\nthe coverage you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adequate coverage can be affordable and can be part of\na discussion you have with your insurance agent. It’s worth asking your agent\nhow much UM and UIM you can get for an incrementally higher insurance premium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not worth trying to pay less for adequate\ninsurance. This is coverage for your family’s benefit and you are far more likely\nto be injured in a car accident than in any other way. Be prepared and be well insured\nwith solid insurance coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Legal\ncases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of\nsimilar kinds of car crash cases that MyPhillyLawyer<\/em> attorneys\nregularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to\ndiscuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality\nrequirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one\nto illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\nneed a car accident injury attorney<\/a>, we here at MyPhillyLawyer<\/em> stand\nready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever\nseriously injured in any kind of car crash, slip and fall, workplace injury\nor wrongful death in Philadelphia or anywhere in the United States. We pledge\nto make sure that you and your family get the compassionate, dogged and\nexperienced legal representation that you deserve and expect from a\nprofessional legal team which works hard to uncover every fact to bolster your\ncase and maximize your damage award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nrepresent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure\nthat their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to\nreceive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talk to a\nPhiladelphia car crash attorney at MyPhillyLawyer<\/em><\/a> by calling 215-227-2727 or toll-free\nat 1-(866) 352-4572 anytime and our experienced, compassionate,\naggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your\nfamily every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n