No-Fault State vs At-Fault State

No-Fault State

Drivers in no-fault states are required to carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) in addition to their bodily injury and property damage liability coverage. If you are injured in a no-fault state, your PIP will cover the costs of your injuries. It doesn’t matter who is at fault. The at-fault party’s insurance will pay the other party’s property damage however.

In order to bring a lawsuit in a no-fault state your injuries have to be considered severe. This can be established one of two ways. First, each state defines severe injury. For example, Kentucky is a no-fault state and it defines “severe” as being a broken bone, permanent disfigurement, permanent injury, or death. The second way to establish a severe injury is by a threshold. Kentucky’s threshold is $1,000 in medical bills.

At-Fault State

If you are injured in an at-fault state, such as Ohio, it is the insurance of the driver at-fault who will pay the cost of your medical bills and injuries. Typically your insurance premiums will be lower in at-fault states because driver’s are - in theory - incentivized to be more careful on the road. However, claims tend to take longer in at-fault states due to the fact that the question of who was at fault needs to be investigated and determined by the insurance companies. Further, you are not entitled to recover anything in an at-fault state if you are determined to be 51% or more at fault.

Who Determines Who is at Fault?

Initially, insurance company adjusters will determine who they believe is at fault. If there is a disagreement regarding who was at fault or how much each party contributed to the accident, the injured party can file a lawsuit. It then becomes the decision of a jury as to who was at fault.

What is a Choice No-Fault State?

Kentucky, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are choice no-fault states. Drivers can choose to have a no-fault policy or an at-fault policy. However, in Kentucky and New Jersey, if a driver does not choose one or the other, the policy defaults to a no-fault policy.

No matter what type of state you live in your choice in who you hire as your personal injury lawyer is a very important one. Contact your award-winning personal injury team at TK Law for a free consultation today.