A 73-year-old woman was walking through a Walmart parking lot in Palm Springs when a car struck her and knocked her to the pavement. She spent three weeks in the hospital and two more in a rehabilitation facility. Her case resolved for a $450,000 underinsured motorist settlement in California, paid through her own auto insurance policy rather than the at-fault driver's. The at -fault driver’s insurance company paid that driver’s $50,000 automobile liability policy limit.
That single fact surprises a lot of people. You don't have to be sitting in a car to use your own car insurance. At Barry Regar A Professional Law Corporation, we handle these claims often enough to know that most Palm Springs drivers have no idea their underinsured motorist’s coverage can protect them when they are not driving their car but are instead a pedestrian. Here is what happened, and what it means if you are ever in a similar spot.
What Happened in This Palm Springs Parking Lot Accident
She was walking through the parking lot when a car driven by an elderly woman lost control, for reasons that were never established, and struck her. The impact knocked her to the pavement.
She was hospitalized for approximately three weeks, then transferred to a rehabilitation facility, where she stayed for another two. The claim was resolved with the insurance companies involved, which is what usually happens when the at-fault driver turns out to be underinsured.
A pedestrian hit by a car in a California parking lot has the same legal protections as a pedestrian hit on a public street. The parking lot didn't change the analysis here at all.
Her Injuries, and How She Is Doing Now
She fractured her lower spine. She also suffered a punctured lung and broke three ribs.
Those are the kinds of injuries that keep a 73-year-old woman in a hospital bed for weeks rather than days, and they are why she needed another two weeks of rehabilitation after she was discharged.
She has since recovered from the acute injuries. What she was left with is some residual pain in her low back that is still symptomatic, though thankfully it isn't disabling. That's not a full recovery, and it isn't a permanent disability either.
What Is Underinsured Motorist Coverage in California?
Underinsured motorist coverage, usually shortened to UIM, is built into most California auto insurance policies. It steps in when the driver who caused your injuries carries liability insurance, but not enough of it to pay for what you actually lost.
Every auto liability policy sold in California has to include this coverage unless the driver turns it down in writing. Most people never sign that waiver, which means most Californians already carry the protection without realizing it. We've written before about how uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage works in California in general terms. This article is about how it played out in one specific case.
The coverage exists for situations exactly like this one, where the at-fault driver's insurance falls well short of what a serious injury actually costs. Three weeks in a hospital and two more in rehabilitation add up fast, and a policy built for minor fender-benders doesn't stretch that far.
Can I Use My Own Car Insurance If I Was Hit While Walking?
Yes. This is the part of the story that catches people off guard.
California's underinsured motorist law spells out who counts as an “insured” in an auto policy, and the person named on that policy is on the list with no requirement that she be in a car at all. A spouse and relatives living in the same household are covered too, the statute says, “while occupants of a motor vehicle or otherwise.” That last phrase, “or otherwise,” is what keeps the coverage from stopping at the car door. The coverage can follow you whether you're driving, riding as a passenger, or walking through a parking lot.
Our client was struck while walking nowhere near her car, and her UIM coverage still applied. It's one of the least understood areas of California auto insurance law, and it's the reason this claim was possible. If you were struck as a pedestrian anywhere in the Coachella Valley, the same principle likely applies to you.
Why Didn't the Insurance Company Pay the Full $500,000 Policy Limit?
Because California law let her own insurer subtract what the at-fault driver's insurer had already paid. Her UIM limit was $500,000. The other driver's carrier paid $50,000. Her carrier paid the remaining $450,000, and she collected the full $500,000 of protection she had bought.
*This result reflects the facts of one client's case. Past settlements don't guarantee or predict the outcome of a different claim, and what anyone recovers depends on their own coverage and their own injuries.
Can a Lawyer Reduce a Medicare Lien After a Settlement?
Often, yes. In this case, that reduction was one of the most valuable parts of the result.
Our client was a Medicare beneficiary. While her claim was pending, Medicare paid less than $50,000 toward her injury-related medical bills, even though the billings themselves were extensive. What the law calls a Medicare conditional payment, and what everyone in the personal injury world calls a Medicare lien, gives Medicare a right to be repaid out of a later settlement for the same injuries.
We negotiated that lien down to approximately $15,500 from what Medicare had actually paid for our client’s medical treatment. That lien reduction doesn't happen automatically just because you hired a lawyer. It takes an experienced personal injury lawyer knowledgeable in the Medicare recovery area willing to work through Medicare's recovery process to reduce their lien.
How Much Underinsured Motorist Coverage Should You Have?
Enough to cover a serious injury on your own, because your UIM limit is the ceiling on what you can recover when the driver who hits you is underinsured.
The driver in this case carried a $50,000 policy. California requires drivers to carry at least $30,000 in liability coverage for injury to one person, so this driver had bought more than the law demanded, and it still left almost nothing for a badly hurt 73-year-old. Plenty of drivers buy the minimum and nothing more, and a policy at that level can satisfy the law while leaving a victim with real injuries almost no recovery.
How Barry Regar APLC Supports Pedestrian and UIM Claims in Palm Springs
Over more than 40 years handling personal injury claims in the Coachella Valley, we've learned that underinsured motorist claims must be considered when we represent a seriously injured Palm Springs accident victim who was injured by a driver who carried a low limits automobile liability insurance policy.
We are AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell and rated 10.0 Superb on Avvo, and we're members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. We take personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, so there are no fees or costs until we win your case, and consultations are always free.
If you were hurt as a pedestrian in Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, Indio, or anywhere else in the Coachella Valley, and you aren't sure whether your own insurance can help, that's worth asking about before you sign anything an insurance company puts in front of you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if I'm hit by a car in a parking lot?
Get medical help first, even if you feel fine standing up. Some injuries, a punctured lung among them, aren't obvious right away. After that, get the driver's information and insurance details if you can. Ask any witnesses to wait for police, and take photos of the scene. Then call your own insurance company promptly, since delays can complicate a UM/UIM claim later on.
Does Medicare have to be paid back out of my injury settlement?
Generally, yes, if Medicare paid any of your injury-related medical bills before your settlement. Medicare has a legal right to be reimbursed from the settlement for what it paid. That doesn't mean you repay every dollar it spent; the amount owed can often be reduced, as it was in this case.
Do I have to settle with the at-fault driver before I can make a UIM claim?
Usually, yes. California law requires the at-fault driver's liability limits to be paid out first, with proof of that payment given to your own UIM carrier, before your underinsured motorist claim can move forward. That is exactly the sequence that played out here: the $50,000 liability payment came first, and the $450,000 UIM settlement followed.
How long do I have to bring an underinsured motorist claim in California?
California generally gives you two years from the date of the accident. But that deadline works differently from the one for an ordinary injury lawsuit, and it has real exceptions. Don't try to calculate your own. Call and let us check it for you.
Connect with us at (760) 440-5643 for a free consultation about your underinsured motorist claim.