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If you, or a loved one, have been injured in a car accident in Wyoming, this guide is for you– Learn your legal rights and responsibilities in Wyoming.
You didn’t choose to be in this situation, but now that you were injured in a car accident, you must deal with aftermath. How can you best protect yourself? How can you ensure that the medical bills are paid? What about getting compensated for your lost wages, damaged vehicle, and the rest of it?
As an attorney that handles car accident cases in Wyoming, I answer these questions every day. I talk to people in your situation. My goal with this guide is to help you understand what comes next and how to manage it. I want you to be positioned to get everything you can out of your situation and move on with your life. That is why I wrote this guide.
Quick disclaimer: Please understand how to use this information. First, everything in this guide is “most of the time” information and advice. It may not be the right information or advice for you. Your situation is unique to you. You will only get my legal advice if you hire me and we take the time to really understand your situation. Other attorneys do things differently and reasonable minds disagree. Use your common sense, and if you are in doubt about a point, talk to an attorney and get legal advice.
Also, laws and best practices change. I will do my best to update this guide.
I absolutely 100 percent recommend Freeburg law and my personal lawyer Ethan Morris. Being from another state once they were on the case they did everything to make me feel the ease of the burden of the charge I received. I don’t know how I would have handled it without their help from 500 miles away. The sentencing I received was minimal and I was happy with the entire process. Ethan made me feel as if I just made a small mistake on my part and he would handle everything for me within his power. They were well worth every dollar. Strongly recommend as a DUI attorney.
I hired this firm due to the positive reviews. Ethan did not let me down. He fought for me and my case was dismissed. The team at Freeburg Law will LISTEN to you. They will believe you and do the very best for you. Someone will answer the phone even on a Sunday morning. They will reply to every email, and answer every question no matter what. They will have your back.
I've worked on many civil and criminal cases with Freeburg Law over the years, some going to trial, many settling out of court. They do an outstanding job for their clients. They put in the time and resources needed to present the best possible case. Most importantly, they care. Easy to work with, top-notch trial lawyers. I'd highly recommend them for any civil or criminal case.
Alex Freeburg is an excellent attorney and Teton County is lucky to have him. Throughout the duration of my case, he maintained exceptional communication with me, providing every detail and explaining every juncture as they arose. Alex is a dogged advocate but has a big heart as well. I would recommend him to anyone.
I absolutely 100 percent recommend Freeburg law and my personal lawyer Ethan Morris. Being from another state once they were on the case they did everything to make me feel the ease of the burden of the charge I received. I don’t know how I would have handled it without their help from 500 miles away. The sentencing I received was minimal and I was happy with the entire process. Ethan made me feel as if I just made a small mistake on my part and he would handle everything for me within his power. They were well worth every dollar. Strongly recommend as a DUI attorney.
I hired this firm due to the positive reviews. Ethan did not let me down. He fought for me and my case was dismissed. The team at Freeburg Law will LISTEN to you. They will believe you and do the very best for you. Someone will answer the phone even on a Sunday morning. They will reply to every email, and answer every question no matter what. They will have your back.
I've worked on many civil and criminal cases with Freeburg Law over the years, some going to trial, many settling out of court. They do an outstanding job for their clients. They put in the time and resources needed to present the best possible case. Most importantly, they care. Easy to work with, top-notch trial lawyers. I'd highly recommend them for any civil or criminal case.
Alex Freeburg is an excellent attorney and Teton County is lucky to have him. Throughout the duration of my case, he maintained exceptional communication with me, providing every detail and explaining every juncture as they arose. Alex is a dogged advocate but has a big heart as well. I would recommend him to anyone.
I absolutely 100 percent recommend Freeburg law and my personal lawyer Ethan Morris. Being from another state once they were on the case they did everything to make me feel the ease of the burden of the charge I received. I don’t know how I would have handled it without their help from 500 miles away. The sentencing I received was minimal and I was happy with the entire process. Ethan made me feel as if I just made a small mistake on my part and he would handle everything for me within his power. They were well worth every dollar. Strongly recommend as a DUI attorney.
I hired this firm due to the positive reviews. Ethan did not let me down. He fought for me and my case was dismissed. The team at Freeburg Law will LISTEN to you. They will believe you and do the very best for you. Someone will answer the phone even on a Sunday morning. They will reply to every email, and answer every question no matter what. They will have your back.
I've worked on many civil and criminal cases with Freeburg Law over the years, some going to trial, many settling out of court. They do an outstanding job for their clients. They put in the time and resources needed to present the best possible case. Most importantly, they care. Easy to work with, top-notch trial lawyers. I'd highly recommend them for any civil or criminal case.
Alex Freeburg is an excellent attorney and Teton County is lucky to have him. Throughout the duration of my case, he maintained exceptional communication with me, providing every detail and explaining every juncture as they arose. Alex is a dogged advocate but has a big heart as well. I would recommend him to anyone.
You were in car accident.* You are not alone. Each year, over 2 million people are injured in a reported car accident, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In Wyoming, just over a 100 people die each year in car accidents.
The accident itself may have felt like it was happening in slow motion. You saw the other car lose control. It came into your lane. Both of you were moving, but time slowed down. Your vehicle went off the road. Totaled. You were in shock. Maybe you were taken to the hospital. Before the accident, you had plans for the next day, next week, next month. Now, those plans are on hold until you can work your way through the aftermath.
* Some plaintiffs’ attorneys refuse to use the word “accident” in these situations. They believe that characterizing an event as an accident minimizes the other driver’s responsibility. Instead, these lawyers believe, we should call it a car “wreck” to more accurately reflect the opponent’s level of culpability. I understand the argument, but disagree for two reasons. First, people commonly use the word accident without confusion. Second, the other driver probably didn’t mean to hit you or your vehicle. They may have been careless, or negligent, or a bad driver, but they probably didn’t cause the accident on purpose. If they did, that’s called vehicular assault.
There are a lot of moving parts for you and your attorney to track following a car accident. Among other things, to resolve an accident claim you will need to figure out the following: What is the other driver’s insurance picture? What is your insurance picture? Is there damage to your vehicle? What injuries do you have? How long will those injuries take to heal? Will the injuries fully heal? Do your injuries result in lost income? How will your injuries impact your home life, loved ones, and daily activities?
The other driver was required to have insurance. Hopefully, you got a copy of their insurance card at the accident scene, or their insurance information is part of a police report. Once you find this information, you will be dealing with that driver’s insurance company. If you have underinsured motorist coverage or medical payments, then you may also be dealing with your own insurance company. (I’ll explain this in more detail in the insurance section).
You may have gone to the hospital right away. However, injuries may have manifested over the days – and even weeks – following the accident. You will need to get the right medical care for your injuries, and it is important to do so as quickly as possible.
With medical care, comes medical bills. If your treatment is first paid for by your health insurance policy, rather than the other driver’s policy, it is likely that you will end up dealing with medical liens relating to who will ultimately pay for your care.
Sometimes your vehicle will be repaired. Sometimes it is totaled. The insurance company should pay for a rental car while your car is being repaired or while you find a replacement. Unfortunately, this does not always happen.
Car accidents, and any subsequent medical care, often lead to missing work for some period of time. This may mean a loss of income, because if you are not working, you are not getting paid.
Once you start playing phone tag with an insurance company, the game never ends. You are on hold; your claim is transferred, reassigned, needs approval from a supervisor, etc. The process is both time consuming and emotionally taxing.
The serious consequences of being in a car accident can impact your life in many important ways and over a long period of time. Therefore, it is worth taking some time to understand your case. Here is the road map of what you can expect as you navigate a car accident claim.
An attorney with experience handling car accident claims can assist you in working through the many pieces of this puzzle. He or she can work with your insurer and can advocate for you in talking with the other party’s insurance company and their lawyers.
You may also have suffered economic harm as a result of your car accident. Types of economic harm include property damage, lost work and wages, and loss of future income. Essentially, any loss that you can quantify or hire an economist to quantify is an economic harm.
Some examples of an economic hard are: a property damage claim for damage to your vehicle; the value of airline tickets for a flight you missed as a result of the accident or your injuries; wages you did not receive because you were unable to work after the accident; and future earnings or work opportunities you would have reasonably anticipated if not for the accident.
People generally have a good idea of their economic harms once they start making a list of all the ways the accident has affected them. However, until you put a pen to paper, you may miss something. I suggest your start documenting what you have lost by making notes and keep any receipts for costs incurred that are related to the accident in any way.
There are several different types of insurance.
This coverage pays for injuries. If you have been injured, then the other person’s bodily injury/liability policy will pay for your injuries. This is what most people mean when they talk about insurance.
In Wyoming, there are low limits for this coverage. You are required to carry limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. If you were injured by another person and they only had the minimums, then their insurance would pay out $25,000 maximum. If you and a passenger were injured by another person, then they would pay out a maximum of $25,000 to each of you for $50,000 total.
This coverage protects you from other drivers that do not carry enough coverage. If you have $50,000 in injuries, and the at-fault driver only has the minimum coverage to pay out $25,000, then you can recover the remaining $25,000 from your own underinsured motorist policy.
I tell everyone to get Uninsured or Underinsured coverage. I have seen too many cases where the at-fault driver has the minimum coverage and the accident victim has significant injuries. Underinsured Motorist coverage is typically only a small charge more. If you do not have Underinsured Motorist coverage, stop reading now. Go sign up and come back.
These policies cover property damage. If the other person damages your property (for example, they total your new car or run over your fence post), you can recover for that property damage under this policy.
A med pay policy covers medical payments, regardless of who was at fault. If you have this coverage and go for a ride in an ambulance, then med pay will pay for it. These limits are typically low—maybe $5,000 to $10,000.
This policy pays for property damage to the vehicle that is caused by things other than a car accident, such as theft, fire, or falling trees. There is typically a deductible for this coverage. It is a good idea to have this if your vehicle is financed or would be expensive to repair.
This is a bit like an uninsured motorist policy to cover your vehicle. If an at-fault driver damages your vehicle in a collision, your collision coverage will pay for your repairs or replacement costs. If you financed your vehicle, then the lender likely required you to carry this.
An umbrella policy protects above and beyond your auto insurance policies. You are typically required to have at least $300,000 in coverage to be eligible for an umbrella policy. An umbrella policy may provide $1-2M or more in coverage. Homeowners and higher net worth individuals should carry umbrella coverage.
Assume the person who hit you has a $300,000 auto bodily injury policy, a $1M umbrella, and that we can prove that the monetary value of your injuries is $500,000. In that case, you could settle for the policy limits of the auto bodily injury policy and get the remaining $200,000 from the umbrella policy.
Note: In most cases, these insurance policies do not stack. Under the example with a $300,000 bodily injury policy and $1Mumbrella, you generally cannot recover $300,000 from the bodily injury policy AND $1M from the umbrella policy for a total of $1.3M. You are limited to $1M total from both policies. Sometimes a clever attorney can find a way to stack the policies. You will not know unless you look.
Umbrella policies protect people with assets. From our previous example, assume the other driver has a $300,000 auto policy but they do not have an umbrella. Instead, they have a 401K retirement account with $200,000 in it. The insurance company can write the policy limits check for $300,000, and the injured person can go after the 401K to be made whole. Often you will not know whether they have additional assets without filing a lawsuit, hiring an investigator, or both.
Driver 2 can recover $25,000 from Driver 1, plus $75,000 from his own UIM policy, and possibly Med Pay.
$100,000 Coverage
$5,000 Coverage
$100,000 Coverage
Driver 1 can recover $100,000 from Driver 2’s policy and possibly $5,000 from Med Pay.
$100,000 Coverage
In most car accident cases, someone has a lien against the money recovered. Typically, whoever fronts the cost of medical treatment has a lien, although a tow-truck company can also have a lien. For example, you incur $10,000 in medical bills from an accident. You have health insurance through BlueCross BlueShield of Wyoming (BCBSWY) and $5,000 in medical payments coverage through your own auto insurance carrier. When you go to the hospital for $10,000 in treatment, your health insurance policy covers $5,000 and your med pay policy covers the other $5,000. Both BCBSWY and your med pay policy will have a lien for the $5,000 that they spent on your care, assuming they did their paperwork correctly.
Let’s say your attorney gets you a settlement from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. At that point, you will likely have to repay BCBSWY and your med pay policy from the settlement proceeds. Your attorney should negotiate your lien with those parties.
If Medicare or Medicaid paid for your medical treatment, then they will have a lien even if they do not notify your attorney or the auto insurance carrier. In some horror stories, they come back years after a case settled and demand to be repaid. In my experience, dealing with Medicare or Medicaid liens adds at least six weeks to getting a case resolved.
If you have unpaid medical bills, your attorney should notify the provider and ask them to wait until the case settles for payment. There are certain laws and rules about when a hospital or medical provider can demand payment but a hospital will typically wait until a case settles before sending you to collections. If you are worried about unpaid bills after a car accident, an attorney can communicate with healthcare providers and billing companies on your behalf to notify them that a claim is ongoing and to make sure your bills will not be sent to collections.
We travel to courthouses throughout Wyoming and Eastern Idaho. We represent clients in Jackson and from Rock Springs to Cheyenne. In Idaho, we tend to stick to the Counties and towns near the Snake River. We also have a robust practice in Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
To learn more about our law firm, the areas that we serve, and our legal services, please call our law firm directly or send us a message online at your convenience. We work on a contingency fee basis for personal injury claims and offer free consultations. We are here to serve you!
