What Insurance Companies Do Not Want You To Know If You Are
Injured In Connecticut–And Are Not A U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident
Regardless of your legal status
you can bring an insurance claim for injuries sustained in a car accident.
By James A. Welcome
It is surprising how often this question comes up. Connecticut, like New York and Massachusetts, has a very diverse population. Residents of our state come from all parts of the globe. There are countless undergraduate and graduate colleges in Connecticut and we are fortunate to have international students attend schools here. We are also a dense population and accidents do happen. Connecticut like virtually every other state in the uniondoes not allow discrimination against noncitizens or undocumented workers when they seek compensation for their injuries that were sustained in an automobile accident. Generally, the only requirements that a driver must have in Connecticut are a driver’s license, registered vehicle, and car insurance. Permanent Residents and undocumented workers are treated the same as a citizen of the United States when it comes to seeking compensation from another person who caused their injuries through negligence in a car accident. The same principle also applies to injury sustained on a property such as an unsafe condition on a sidewalk or parking lot or even against a city or town. It just does not matter.
I have also been asked a related question regarding whether undocumented workers who do not have their own health insurance can obtain medical treatment when they been injured in car accidents. This also should not matter so long as the other driver who caused your injury had his or her own car, or liability insurance. Again, whether or not you have insurance should not matter. You are entitled to bring an insurance claim to seek money, or compensation, for injuries that were caused by someone else’s negligence. This means in plain language that if you are a driver or a passenger in a motor vehicle and if you are injured in Connecticut in a motor vehicle accident you should not have to pay out of your own pocket for medical treatment for those injuries. You should not have to pay your own insurance co-pays or deductible. You should not have to pay out of your own out-of-pocket co-pays. You should also not have to go bankrupt if you have sustained serious injuries the other person’s insurance company will pay for you whatever your legal resident status is in Connecticut.
You should be aware of some tricks that insurance companies will try to pull once it is clear that you need to bring an insurance claim against the company of the driver who caused the car accident. You may be asked for your Social Security number. There is no need for an insurance company to have your Social Security number. Your Social Security number is issued by the federal government. It is not issued by the state of Connecticut, and not the insurance company. Therefore it is not the insurance company’s business. It has no relevance on whether you are entitled to receive payment for your injuries and pain and suffering in Connecticut. Whether or not you have a Social Security number means nothing and do not let yourself be intimidated into answering this question if you do not want to.
There are many other scenarios and likely more questions that I have not answered here regarding one’s legal resident status in Connecticut and the right to receive compensation for personal injury. You do not have to fight for your compensation on your own you should consider contacting an experienced attorney who will assist you through this process. Whether you are a citizen or noncitizen if you have questions regarding injuries that you sustained in a motor vehicle accident you should contact Attorney James Welcome to make sure you are treated fairly and to make sure that you do not get stuck with thousands of dollars in medical bills out of your own pocket when you weren’t the one who caused the accident.