WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FULL TORT COVERAGE AND LIMITED TORT COVERAGE AND WHICH SHOULD I HAVE?
If you elect full tort on your auto insurance policy, you are not limited in recovering non-economic damages (for example, compensation for your pain and suffering) if you are injured in an auto accident as a result of someone else’s negligence. If you elect limited tort, you can recover your economic damages, that is, your lost wages and your medical and hospital bills, to the extent they are not covered by insurance. You cannot recover non-economic damages unless you have sustained a “serious injury, which is defined as a death, serious impairment of a body function or permanent serious disfigurement.” Many of the most common types of injuries sustained in auto accidents are generally deemed to not be “serious injuries”. Cervical strain and sprain (“whiplash”) can be very painful and can last months or even years. Yet if you have elected the limited tort option, you may not be able to be compensated for your pain and suffering, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of life, even though
