Most car accident claims in St. Mary’s County, MD., are handled — at first — through insurance claims. That is, any and all victims injured in the auto accident will file claims against the insurance policy held by the at-fault driver (or drivers). More than two-thirds of those claims are successfully settled, which means that the victims receive their compensation without the need to file a personal injury claim in a Maryland State Court.

However, sometimes, the insurance company will deny a victim’s claim for compensation. If that happens in your case, there is no reason for panic. Ultimately, if the insurance company will not settle a Maryland auto accident claim, then the case must be filed in the Maryland State Courts. The St Mary’s County car accident lawyers at the Law Office of Robert Castro discuss what to do if your car accident claim is denied by the insurance company. Call us at (301) 870-1200 or use our contact page. We are Southern Maryland personal injury lawyers with offices in Waldorf, Maryland

If your claim is denied, the first two things to do is to determine the extent of the coverage denied and to determine why coverage was denied. If all coverage was denied, that means the case may be headed to court. However, if a $100 claim for a medical visit was denied, that might not matter too much and might be easily fixed.

As for the “why,” it is important to know the reason coverage was denied because, as noted, some things can be “fixed” (although some things are “easier” to fix than others). For example, coverage for a medical procedure might be denied for reasons like improper coding, invalid or unapproved medical providers, etc. Another fixable reason might be something like lack of evidence or lack of sufficient evidence. This might mean that a medical invoice is missing or the invoice is for something different from what is being claimed. These are the kinds of problems that can be fixed.

On the other hand, some problems are not easily fixed. These might include:

• No coverage at all for that type of claim or that type of damages
• Determination that the victim was partially at fault — in Maryland, a victim cannot recover if they were even a little bit at fault for the accident
• Insufficient proof of liability (according to the insurance company)
• Lack of medical evidence related to causation or some other legal element
• Evidence of a pre-existing condition and, thus (according to the insurance company) not a condition caused by the accident
• Failure to provide notice of the accident within the time required by the insurance policy
• And more

Once the reason or reasons are determined for the denial, legal and practical strategies can be developed. If there is a missing invoice, the solution is to get a copy of the invoice and send it to the insurance carrier. If medical evidence is insufficient, the solution is to get more evidence.

When dealing with the more difficult reasons for denial, there are two steps: seek an internal appeal and, if that is unproductive, prepare to file a car accident case in the Maryland State Courts.

As noted above, victims still have a right to compensation even if coverage is denied by an insurance company. A Maryland judge and jury has the “last say” on who is at fault, not the insurance companies.

Contact Waldorf, MD Personal Injury Attorney Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland personal injury lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Personal Injury lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.