The Ultimate Fighters for
Victims of Injuries
Victims of Injuries
Uninsured & Underinsured Car Accidents
The Steiner Law Firm represents people injured by uninsured and underinsured drivers throughout Westchester County and Upstate New York. These cases require a different approach from an ordinary automobile claim because the injured person may need to seek compensation through his or her own insurance policy. That does not mean the insurer automatically pays what the claim is worth. Uninsured motorist and supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist claims can become contested insurance matters involving questions about coverage, fault, injury severity, policy conditions, and damages.
Attorney Norman Steiner brings close to three decades of legal experience and approximately 50 jury trials to serious injury cases. He also brings something that cannot be learned from medical records or depositions. After suffering catastrophic injuries in a collision, Norman became an amputee. His experience gives him a personal understanding of how a permanent injury affects mobility, independence, work, family life, rehabilitation, and the countless ordinary activities that can suddenly become difficult.
That perspective is particularly valuable when an insurer attempts to turn a life-changing injury into a collection of billing codes and settlement calculations.
When the Driver Who Hit You Has No Insurance
New York Insurance Law § 3420(f)(1) requires qualifying motor vehicle liability policies issued or delivered in New York to contain uninsured motorist protection. The coverage is intended to protect an insured who is legally entitled to recover damages from certain drivers for whom liability insurance is unavailable.
An uninsured motorist claim can arise in more situations than simply discovering that another driver never purchased insurance. Depending on the circumstances and policy terms, uninsured motorist protection may become relevant when the responsible vehicle was uninsured, the vehicle was stolen or operated without the owner’s permission, an insurer denies or disclaims coverage, or an unidentified vehicle leaves the scene of a crash.
New York’s mandatory uninsured motorist protection generally provides at least $25,000 of bodily injury coverage for one injured person and $50,000 when two or more people are injured in an accident. Those amounts can be painfully inadequate after a catastrophic injury, which is one reason reviewing all available coverage is so important.
A claim against an uninsured driver also presents a practical reality. Winning a judgment directly against a person who has little insurance and few assets may not produce meaningful compensation. An attorney therefore needs to investigate not only how the collision happened, but every potentially available source of insurance.
Underinsured Drivers Present a Different Problem
An underinsured driver has liability insurance, but not enough of it to compensate the injured person fully.
Consider a driver who carries $25,000 in bodily injury liability coverage and causes a collision resulting in multiple surgeries and a permanent physical impairment. The responsible driver’s insurer may tender its limit, but the injured person’s damages could greatly exceed that amount.
This is where supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, commonly called SUM coverage in New York, can become critical.
Insurance Law § 3420(f)(2) addresses SUM coverage. Subject to the statute, policy language, and applicable regulations, SUM coverage can protect an insured when the bodily injury liability insurance available from the responsible motor vehicle is lower than the applicable SUM protection.
Before accepting a liability settlement in a serious accident, the complete insurance picture should be examined. Resolving the claim against the other driver without addressing requirements imposed by the injured person’s own insurance policy can create problems with a later SUM claim.
Your Own Insurance Company Can Become an Adverse Party
People are sometimes surprised by this part of the process.
They paid premiums for uninsured or underinsured motorist protection. They may have been customers of the same carrier for years. Nevertheless, when a substantial UM or SUM claim is presented, the insurer has a financial interest in limiting what it pays.
The carrier may examine whether the other driver was actually negligent, whether the injured person contributed to the crash, whether the injuries were caused by this particular collision, whether prior medical problems contributed to the condition, whether treatment was reasonable, and how much the claim is worth.
An insurer can also examine whether policy requirements were satisfied.
For that reason, an uninsured or underinsured motorist case should not be approached as merely filling out paperwork with your own carrier. A severe-injury claim can require the same detailed preparation that would be necessary in litigation against another driver.
Building the Insurance Case Before Arguing About Value
One of the first jobs in a UM or SUM matter is determining exactly what coverage exists. That may require more than looking at the declarations page in the glove compartment.
The Steiner Law Firm can investigate issues including:
- The liability limits available from every potentially responsible driver, the client’s UM and SUM limits, other potentially applicable household or vehicle policies, and whether an umbrella or other insurance may affect the claim.
- Compliance with notice, consent, exhaustion, and other policy requirements while documenting liability, medical causation, financial losses, permanent impairment, and the full effect the injury has had on the client’s life.
Insurance Law § 3420(f)(2) generally makes exhaustion of applicable bodily injury liability limits a condition preceding payment of SUM benefits. The details matter. Before a liability claim is settled or a release is signed, the potential SUM claim should therefore be considered carefully.
New York No-Fault Benefits Still Matter
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage does not replace New York’s No-Fault system.
New York generally requires $50,000 in basic No-Fault coverage. Following a covered motor vehicle accident, No-Fault benefits can pay qualifying medical expenses, portions of lost earnings, and certain other necessary expenses without requiring the injured person to prove that another driver caused the collision.
UM and SUM coverage serve a different role. They concern damages the injured person is legally entitled to recover because of the conduct of an uninsured or inadequately insured motorist, subject to applicable insurance law and policy provisions.
This distinction becomes especially important in catastrophic cases where medical costs, lost earning capacity, future treatment, and non-economic harm can extend far beyond the basic No-Fault benefits available.
Norman Steiner Understands What Medical Records Cannot Show
A radiology report can identify a fracture. A surgeon’s note can describe an amputation. A rehabilitation record can measure range of motion. None of those documents, standing alone, can fully communicate what it means to reorganize a life around a serious injury.
Norman Steiner understands that distinction personally.
After his own catastrophic collision, doctors told him he might never walk again. Norman ultimately became an amputee and had to confront rehabilitation, mobility challenges, adaptation, pain, and the permanent changes that accompany limb loss. He went on to continue practicing law, trying cases and even competing as an amateur boxer.
That recovery does not cause him to minimize injury. It does the opposite. Norman understands that resilience and damages are not contradictory. A person who returns to work can still live with permanent pain. Someone who learns to walk with a prosthetic can still have suffered an enormous loss. A client who appears composed in a deposition may still confront difficult physical limitations every morning.
That experience helps Norman explain injuries to the people whose decisions matter.
Presenting an Injury to an Insurance Adjuster
An adjuster may encounter hundreds or thousands of claims. Medical records can become numbers on a screen: diagnostic codes, treatment dates, reserves, projected exposure, and settlement authority.
Norman works to make the human consequences understandable. If a client cannot comfortably climb stairs, sleep through the night, pick up a child, stand through a workday, drive for long periods, exercise, travel, or perform activities that once required no thought, those details can help explain why a claim cannot fairly be evaluated through medical bills alone.
Explaining the Case to a Judge or Jury
The same principle applies in litigation. Technical medical testimony has to connect with real life.
A jury may need to understand why someone who looks capable in the courtroom is nevertheless permanently impaired. A judge may need a clear record concerning causation, limitation, or future damages. Norman’s courtroom background, combined with his personal experience as an amputee, helps him translate complicated injuries into a story that is accurate, credible, and understandable without exaggeration.
Damages in an Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Claim
The damages available depend on the circumstances, applicable coverage, New York law, and the nature of the injuries. A serious claim may involve compensation for:
- Past and future medical expenses not otherwise compensated, lost income and diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, permanent physical limitations, disability, disfigurement, and the ways a catastrophic injury interferes with independence and daily life.
Determining value can be particularly complicated when the injury will last decades. Future surgeries, prosthetic needs, therapy, medication, reduced earning ability, and progressive physical limitations may all require careful consideration.
The goal is not simply to document what the accident has already cost. It is to understand what the injury is likely to cost the person going forward.
Hit-and-Run Accidents and Unidentified Drivers
Uninsured motorist protection may also become important when a driver causes a collision and disappears.
Insurance Law § 3420(f)(1) expressly addresses certain unidentified motor vehicles that leave the scene of an accident. These cases can raise additional factual and coverage questions, making prompt investigation especially valuable.
Evidence may disappear quickly. Nearby surveillance footage can be overwritten. Witnesses can become difficult to locate. Vehicle damage may be repaired. Memories fade.
After a serious hit-and-run collision in Westchester County or Upstate New York, preserving evidence and notifying the appropriate insurers should be addressed promptly rather than waiting to see whether police eventually identify the driver.
Deadlines Should Not Be Assumed
New York CPLR § 214 generally provides a three-year limitations period for personal injury actions based on negligence, but insurance claims can involve additional contractual notice provisions, procedural conditions, arbitration requirements, and other deadlines.
Claims against governmental entities may involve substantially shorter notice requirements. Wrongful death claims operate under different time limits. The facts of the collision, parties involved, applicable insurance policies, and type of claim can all affect the deadline.
For those reasons, a person should not rely on the general three-year rule as permission to delay investigating an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim.
Frequently Asked Questions About Uninsured and Underinsured Accidents
What happens if the person who hit me has no car insurance?
You may have a claim through uninsured motorist coverage available under your own automobile insurance policy or another applicable policy. The precise coverage depends on the circumstances of the collision and the policy involved.
What if the other driver has insurance but only $25,000 in coverage?
If your injuries are worth substantially more than the driver’s available liability insurance, SUM coverage may provide an additional source of compensation if applicable coverage exists and its requirements are satisfied.
Does filing a UM or SUM claim mean I am suing my own insurance company?
Not necessarily. A claim is first presented pursuant to the applicable insurance policy. Disputes concerning responsibility or the amount owed can, depending on the coverage and circumstances, proceed through arbitration or litigation.
Can my insurance company dispute my injuries?
Yes. The fact that you purchased coverage does not prevent the insurer from investigating causation, medical evidence, severity, damages, or other issues affecting its obligation to pay.
Do New York’s No-Fault benefits apply when the other driver is uninsured?
They may. No-Fault and uninsured motorist coverage serve different purposes. Qualifying No-Fault benefits generally address certain economic losses following a covered accident, while UM or SUM coverage may address damages attributable to the uninsured or underinsured driver.
Can I make an underinsured motorist claim before settling with the other driver’s insurer?
SUM claims have important procedural requirements. New York Insurance Law § 3420(f)(2) generally requires exhaustion of applicable bodily injury liability limits before the SUM insurer must pay. An attorney should review the applicable policies and settlement process before a release is signed.
How long do I have to bring an uninsured motorist claim?
There is no single deadline that should be assumed for every UM or SUM situation. Statutory limitations periods, insurance-policy requirements, notice provisions, and the facts of the accident can affect timing. Prompt review is the safer approach.
What if I suffered a permanent or catastrophic injury?
Severe injuries can make identifying every available insurance source particularly important. The claim should address not simply current medical bills but future treatment, earning capacity, permanent limitations, pain, independence, and how the injury is expected to affect the person’s life over time.
Speak With The Steiner Law Firm About an Uninsured or Underinsured Accident
Discovering that the driver who seriously injured you has little or no insurance can feel like a second blow. It does not necessarily mean there is no path to compensation.
The Steiner Law Firm represents accident victims throughout Westchester County and Upstate New York and can investigate the responsible driver’s coverage, review your own insurance protection, preserve evidence, evaluate UM or SUM benefits, document your injuries, and pursue the compensation available under New York law.
Norman Steiner understands serious injuries both as a trial lawyer and as someone who has personally rebuilt his life after catastrophic injury and amputation. When an insurer, judge, or jury needs to understand what an injury has actually taken from a person, that perspective matters.
Contact The Steiner Law Firm to request a free consultation and learn what insurance coverage may be available after an uninsured or underinsured motor vehicle accident.