somedude_001
SHO Member
no fault seems ridiculous to me
Alright. Here it goes..
In NYS there is what's called PIP coverage. That stands for personal Injury Protection coverage. The slang term is no-fault. This is a coverage that is mandatory $50,000 in NYS and everyone has it on their policy. Even if you dont have this coverage on yoru policy and you are insured in another state.. as long as you are driving through NYS, you have this coverage automatically. (Drive through state)
Now, the way it works. PIP coverage is first in line to cover any type of medical bills for you and any of your passengers in your car if you are in an accident. Remember, this is your coverage and not the other parties. They have their own PIP coverage. If you have any medical treatment at all that is related to this accident, it will go through your own coverage regardless of fault (Hence, no fault). There is no deductible that applies to PIP coverage.
The only way your medical bills would go on to the other guys policy is if you make a bodily injury claim against his policy. This is much harder to do in NY than in other states as NY has a bodily injury threshold that needs to be breached before you can make the claim. The threshold is basically a serious injury like broken bones, loss of limb, life threatening or death. You neck pains are considered a soft tissue injury and do not breach the threshold. So basically your insurance will cover you bills and that is that.
There is no "battling it out" between insurance companies when it comes to PIP coverage. That is a first party coverage and is there in case you are injured. There is only one or very few scenarios where your insurance company would go back after the other carrier for reimbursement or subrogation. I cant recall that off of the top of my head as it does not happen very often. Has something to do with the weight of the vehicle.
I work claims for a living so let me know if you have any other questions.
hopefully this clears this up.