If someone injures you, and your insurance doesn't cover it, can't you sue them? If you do and they can't afford it, can you put them into debt? Seems reasonable rather than you going into debt for medical bills?
Have fun collecting that 20% of their minimum wage paycheck for the rest of their life to pay off your injuries, car damage, and lawyer fees. Assuming they don't just get paid under the table or work as a contractor.
And if they move to another state, have fun transferring your judgement over there and trying to find their bank accounts and employer(s). It's like getting blood from a stone. It's easier and cheaper to just pay a tiny bit more in insurance premiums.
A significant amount of people are judgement proof, aka they have no significant assets or income eligible to seized or garnished to pay for debts. Plus you alone bear the legal costs of obtaining a judgement to begin with.
You can sue them, and you may win, but the trouble is collecting the money. They might simply not have any money. Or they may have it, but won't make it easy for you to find it. Meanwhile, you still need to pay your medical bills.
Most carriers offer Uninsured/Underinsured coverage. I think it's mandatory by some states or maybe the carrier. The idea is to make you whole regardless of the other person's coverage limit. Not sure how effective it is in practice.
In many states, uninsured coverage only applies if you can prove they are uninsured. In my case, they totaled our car, sent us to the hospital, and drove off. Thus it was no-fault for me but I had to pay my deductible. Cop: "this is pretty typical".
No effort was put into finding them, even though there are cameras at every intersection. Through my own effort I got a grainy photo from a local business, but not good enough to see the plate. Until the police actual police and there are consequences for people, things will only get worse.
Sure. And they can get their own lawyer, and you have to pay your own lawyer, and the case will likely settle for something, and at best you'll get only the fraction of their assets minus lawyer fees that isn't subject to seizure - probably a tiny fraction of what you'd get minus the uncertainty, drama, and delays of just getting things like high under-insured motorist coverage, or long term disability insurance. I don't think once someone declares bankruptcy after you sue them into the ground that you can wring out much more.
Yes, they will owe you $x and you will still owe the hospital $x - but that's often not very useful, as they don't have any money (and you do).
You may desire to transfer the debt onto them, but the hospital will absolutely not accept that. Why would they? If a bank owed you $1 million, and they said "oh, now Jim owes you that money, not us" you would similarly refuse.
