FAQs: Paying for Funeral Bills after a Car Accident

Q. If someone dies in a car accident, does insurance pay the funeral bills?

A. Partially. The New York No-Fault insurance death benefit amount for funeral bills is only $2,000. Additional money to pay funeral costs is available from the other sources mentioned here.

New York No-Fault Insurance Death Benefit

The $2,000 New York No-Fault insurance death benefit is available for the following types of accidents: car accidents, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle accidents, when someone is killed when struck by a car, truck, or bus. The New York no-fault insurance death benefit is not available to motorcyclists and passengers on a motorcycle but is available to pedestrians hit by a motorcycle.

The Defendant and the Defendant’s Insurance

The defendant and the defendant’s insurance are responsible for all damages and costs, although a lawsuit might need to be started to get money from the defendant, and can take a long time.

Additionally, the defendant’s insurance may have Med Pay insurance that can be used to pay for costs.

Lawsuit Settlement Cash Advance

The money needed to pay for a funeral can be obtained immediately with a cash advance on a lawsuit settlement.

The money plus interest owed to the cash advance company can be included in a lawsuit against the person or company responsible for causing the death of someone killed in an accident, so the high-interest rate of a cash advance may be paid by the defendant.

Please call us, and we will be happy to let you know how we can get money from other sources to pay the funeral bills and how we can help you.

Q. How much does a funeral cost in New York?

A. The average cost of a funeral in New York is approximately $8,000-$12,000. If someone else was even partially at fault for the car accident, call us, and we can arrange to get the additional money you need to pay for the funeral.

All of the minimum amounts regulated by New York insurance laws are significantly less than they should be and have not kept up with inflation. This is certainly one of them because the cost of a funeral today is far more than $2,000.

Q. Does the insurance for the car which caused the accident pay for the funeral?

A. The owner and driver of the car which caused the accident or is partially at fault for causing the accident are responsible to pay all damages, including funeral costs. However, while it might be possible to get the insurance company to pay for the funeral upfront, it’s usually not likely.

When a wrongful death case is settled, the New York Surrogate’s Court will issue an order stating that the funeral bills must be reimbursed from the settlement to the person who paid them.

Q. The accident was a Hit and Run. Will insurance still pay for the funeral?

A. Yes. The estate is entitled to receive money when there is a hit-and-run accident, and there is also a $2,000 death benefit for funeral bills. Call us immediately because there is a very short time deadline to file a claim.

A claim with the New York state crime victims compensation fund may also be filed when the death was caused by a crime such as a hit-and-run accident, drunk driving, drag racing, or a stolen car.

Q. Does the $50,000 no-fault insurance coverage pay for the funeral?

A. No. The $50,000 minimum no-fault coverage and optional increased coverage (OBEL) pay for medical and other bills. See what no-fault pays for in New York.

Q. No-fault won’t pay for the funeral because the $50,000 no-fault limit was paid

A. The $2,000 death benefit is in addition to the minimum $50,000 PIP (Personal Injury Protection) available from no-fault insurance in New York State. Insurance company claim representatives have tried to tell me that the $2,000 comes out of the $50,000 minimum PIP, but this is incorrect.

When a State Farm claims representative sent a letter stating they were paying $2,000 out of the $50,000 PIP, I used that to our advantage to get State Farm to pay a total death benefit of $4,000 for funeral bills.

Q. What New York law states that No-Fault insurance has to pay for the funeral?

A. Article 51 of the New York Insurance Law § 5103. Entitlement to first-party benefits (a) (4) states, “The estate of any covered person, other than an occupant of another motor vehicle or a motorcycle, a death benefit in the amount of two thousand dollars for the death of such person arising out of the use or operation of such motor vehicle which is in addition to any first-party benefits for basic economic loss.”

Consequently, if all of the minimum $50,000 PIP no-fault benefits have been paid out and there is no money left, do not let the no-fault insurance claims representative tell you that they cannot pay you the $2,000 death benefit because there is no more money. But your lawyer should be taking care of these problems for you.

Q. Will New York No-Fault insurance pay funeral bills for a motorcycle accident?

A. No. Motorcyclists and passengers on a motorcycle are excluded by law from no-fault insurance, but we can get you the money you need to pay funeral bills. We’re known as the best motorcycle lawyers in New York!

A pedestrian killed by a motorcycle is covered by New York no-fault insurance.

If you have a family member who was killed in a car accident in New York, we will take care of all of these problems for you.

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What to Know Before Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer

Before we tell you how to hire a personal injury lawyer, we’ll help you figure out the five most important things you want when you hire a personal injury lawyer.

All personal injury lawyers in New York give a free consultation, charge a 1/3 fee, and do not charge a legal fee if they don’t get you money.

So, what do you really want when you hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in New York?

1. Personal service – you don’t want a senior partner coming to see you with a retainer, and then after they have your case, all you can do is speak with a paralegal.
2. Asking questions when convenient for you – You’ll have questions from time to time, but you may have a job and may be unable to call or text your personal injury lawyer during the day. You will want a personal injury lawyer you can call or text at night and on weekends.
3. Bigger settlements – You want a personal injury lawyer that gets bigger settlements.
4. Faster settlements – You want a personal injury lawyer that can settle your case as quickly as possible without wasting time.
5. Money right now – You may or may not need money right now. If you do need money anytime before your settlement, you will want a lawyer who can get you and is willing to get you a lawsuit cash advance.

Poll Survey

17 Questions To Ask Before Hiring a Personal Injury or Accident Lawyer

1. Does the lawyer provide a free consultation without any obligation from you? Hire a lawyer who provides a free consultation without obligation.
2. Does the law firm practice in any other field other than personal injury? Hire a law firm that only does personal injury.
3. Has the lawyer had cases with your type of injury and accident? For instance, most personal injury lawyers have little or no experience representing motorcyclists. If you had a motorcycle accident, you should hire lawyers experienced with motorcycle accidents in New York. We don’t work on asbestos cases, so we would refer a client with mesothelioma to a law firm specializing in asbestos cases.
4. Does the law firm have a track record of successful personal injury settlements and verdicts?
5. Will the lawyer take your case on contingency, meaning you don’t have to pay any legal fees unless your case is successful? In New York, your legal fee should be 1/3 of what your lawyer gets you and only paid at the end of your case out of the money collected for you. See our fees, expenses, and services.
6. Will the lawyer represent you for collision damage to your car or motorcycle? If yes, will there be a legal fee for the money collected for your collision damage? We do this for free when we represent someone injured in a car or motorcycle accident.
7. Will the lawyer advance all case expenses so you don’t need any money?
8. Will you be charged for legal research, fax, copying, postage, travel, computer storage, case file data backup, case file archiving, storage fees, shredding, telephone, and other similar charges?
9. Will you be responsible for paying any case expenses if the lawyer does not get you money?
10. Will you be charged interest on the money advanced for case expenses?
11. Will the lawyer ask you to get your accident report, medical records, or other documents? Hire a lawyer who will do everything for you.
12. Will you be able to call or text your lawyer, not a paralegal or secretary, when you have a question that you prefer to ask the lawyer? Hire a lawyer who is willing to speak with you personally when you have a question.
13. Will you be able to call or text your lawyer after hours? We let our clients text or call our cell phones 7 days/nights!
14. Will you be able to see your lawyer anytime after your free consultation without charge?
15. Does the law firm ever represent defendants? Hire a law firm that does not represent defendants and only represents plaintiffs. We never have nor will represent defendants!
16. If you have Medicaid or Medicare to pay your medical bills, will your lawyer prepare in advance to settle the Medicaid lien or Medicare lien against your personal injury settlement so it doesn’t hold up payment to you?
17. If you have health insurance through a large employer, it is probably an ERISA health insurance plan which will have a lien against your personal injury settlement to recoup what they paid for your medical bills. What will your lawyer do about that? How much of your personal injury settlement does your lawyer think you will get?

How to Evaluate a Personal Injury Lawyer

Look at the Personal Injury Lawyer’s Website

Look carefully at several pages on the personal injury lawyer’s website before hiring a personal injury lawyer.

This is a chat transcript from someone who found our website page about Medicaid liens, Is a Personal Injury Lawsuit Worthwhile If I Have Medicaid?

Visitor: “wish I had seen this site before I got my settlement. My lawyer told me about medicaid holding up my payout, I would never have used medicaid had I known. I have an injury lawsuit, and yesterday we setttled. I asked how long before I can see a check and he said since I used medicaid for 4 therapy sessions, he had to report it, and it can take up to 150 business days to resolve. They hold up an entire setetlement for $1800??”

What to Look For on a Personal Injury Lawyer’s Website

You can usually evaluate a personal injury lawyer and answer the questions above by looking at the lawyer’s website. You can learn a lot by looking at an attorney’s website.

Go through several pages of the lawyer’s website and look for the following:

1. If the lawyer offers a free consultation, it will say so on the website.
2. Look at the areas of law practice listed. There should be a menu button showing the areas of law practice. Does the lawyer practice in areas other than in the field of personal injury, such as criminal, matrimonial, real estate, etc.? Each of those fields of law is a complex field that constantly changes. When I started working, I also took criminal cases to help pay the bills. I was very good at it, but I soon stopped doing criminal defense to concentrate on personal injury. There’s too much continuous learning to do in more than one field of law. If I want to excel in personal injury, I can’t work in other fields.
3. What are the specific types of personal injury cases they have had? There are sub-specialties in personal injury law practice. Do you have the kind of accident they usually work on? For instance, has the lawyer had a lot of motorcycle cases if you had a motorcycle accident?
4. If the lawyer will take your case on contingency, it will say so on the website.
5. If the lawyer will advance all case expenses, it will say so on the website.
6. Look at the articles on the lawyer’s website. Do you think the lawyer is knowledgeable after looking at the pages and articles?
7. Look at the reviews on the lawyer’s website.

How to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in New York?

Now that you know how to hire a personal injury lawyer, we hope you’ll call us for a free consultation.

Call the 1-800-HURT-911® New York Personal Injury Lawyers, where you can have it all. You can always speak with one of the Founding Partners, Rob Plevy and Phil Franckel, and get a bigger settlement!

Reviews of 1-800-HURT-911® New York Personal Injury Lawyers

Read reviews written by other clients of the personal injury lawyer. Please read our personal injury reviews.

Does the personal injury lawyer have reviews from other personal injury lawyers? Please read our reviews from other personal injury lawyers.

Articles Related to How to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer

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How to Compare Personal Injury Lawyers in New York

How Do You Know If You Can Trust Your Personal Injury Lawyer?

When Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Can I Settle My Personal Injury Case Without a Lawyer?

Do I Need a Lawyer If I Am Being Sued for an Accident?

See more FAQs

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Many personal injury lawyers tell you what to do after an accident. We also tell you what to do after an accident and what to do after a motorcycle accident. Call 911, then call 1-800-HURT-911®. But this article will tell you what NOT to do after an accident, which is not obvious!

8 Things Not to Do After an Accident

1. Don’t take a recommendation from someone at the accident scene to see a lawyer or doctor. A recommendation from a friend is ok.
2. Don’t take money from anyone to see a lawyer or doctor.
3. Don’t speak to anyone who calls you (usually the day after your accident) about medical treatment, even if you think it’s the hospital because it’s not!
4. Don’t speak to anyone who contacts you about a lawyer.
5. Don’t speak to an insurance company that isn’t your insurance company.
6. Don’t speak to your insurance company before you call a lawyer.
7. Don’t sign any release without a lawyer reviewing it.
8. Don’t use an insurance company collision damage app.

When Someone at the Accident Recommends a Lawyer or Doctor

You may be approached at an accident by someone you think is a lawyer or recommends a lawyer. He/she may also recommend a doctor.

Never speak to anyone at the accident who you think is a lawyer because the person is really an illegal “runner” who will illegally sell your case and information to a lawyer and a doctor. If you do, you will become a victim of fraud.

When Someone Offers You Money to Go to a Doctor

You may be offered money, often as much as $1,500 to $3,000, to see a doctor and sign up with a personal injury lawyer. It may sound like a good deal, especially since you need to see a doctor anyway. But don’t do it.

If you do, you will find out later why it was a horrible mistake to take money from a doctor willing to commit a crime.

What Not to Do: DO NOT talk to anyone or accept money from anyone.  DO NOT agree to go to a doctor recommended by someone at an accident or who offers you money! Find out why taking money from a runner can ruin your personal injury case and cost you tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars later.

Is it illegal for anyone to pay you money to see a doctor or to sign up with a lawyer? Yes. Lawyers who illegally pay for cases are committing a crime and only care about making a quick buck for themselves. If you really need money right now, we can get you a settlement cash advance.

When a Hospital or Doctor Calls You and Asks You to Come In

You may receive a call on the day of the accident or the day after the accident from someone claiming to be calling from the hospital or medical clinic telling you to come in for a follow-up appointment. This is not the hospital calling!

This is a scam run by a medical clinic, similar to the one mentioned above, when someone pays you money. You can ruin your personal injury case if you go to the medical clinic. Find out why someone calling you from the hospital or medical clinic is a scam.

What Not to Do: HANG UP THE PHONE! DO NOT go to the clinic. Do not make an appointment. If you need to see a doctor, go to your own doctor. If you need emergency medical treatment, go to the emergency room at a hospital. If you do not know a doctor to see, we will be happy to give you the names of doctors near you.

When Your Insurance Company Calls You

After an accident, you will either receive a call from an insurance company claims representative or call your insurance company yourself.

The claims representative will be very nice to you, and so sorry to hear about your accident and injury. It may feel nice to know that your insurance company cares. But, guess what, they don’t!

Your insurance company only wants to get the information they can use to reduce the amount your claims will cost them. The insurance company even has manuals telling the claims representatives what to say to you.

We have a copy of an extensive Allstate manual telling claims representatives what to say to you to see if you are committing insurance fraud or to determine if there is anything Allstate can do to avoid paying the claim.

When you speak with anyone at your insurance company, your call will be recorded, and what you say will probably hurt you, even if you think you’re smart enough to know what to say.

You will be asked about your accident and how it happened, as well as about your injuries and how you are feeling. The insurance company doesn’t really care how you are feeling. If it’s the No-Fault insurance company, they want to manage your medical treatment, so it doesn’t cost them a lot of money.

What Not to Do: DO NOT speak to anyone at your insurance company before speaking with a personal injury lawyer. If you receive a call, simply say, “I can’t speak right now, and I will call back.” Then, call us 7 days/nights for a free consultation with no obligation.

When you fill out claim forms, you may not include important information and may include information that can hurt you. When you call us, we will speak with your insurance company for you, and we will fill out and file all of the insurance company claim forms that they require.

When Someone Else’s Insurance Company Calls You

The other insurance company will also try to call you to get information to protect them by reducing the value of your claim. They will say they just want to hear your story about how the accident happened.

Telephone conversations with insurance companies are always recorded. The insurance company trains claims representatives to obtain the information they need to reduce or eliminate your claim.

There are many tiny details in the law that they know, and you don’t, which can ruin your claim. For instance, in a hit-and-run accident, they always ask you if you were cut off. If you say yes, they will deny your claim.

What Not to Do: NEVER speak to anyone at someone else’s insurance company, and NEVER give a statement!

It’s possible that the claims representative will say that you don’t need a lawyer that they will treat you fairly, and that attorney’s fees will cost you a lot of money. This is absolutely not true. While research by insurance companies has shown that, on average, people can get 3 1/2 times more money with a lawyer than without a lawyer, most personal injury lawyers can probably get you 5-10 times more money.

Insurance companies would love for you to be unaware of your rights. However, it’s unlikely that a claims representative will tell you that you don’t need a lawyer because it’s illegal. But Allstate was criminally convicted after doing that. It saved them so much money that, apparently, they did it again and were criminally convicted a second time.

Don’t Sign a Release Without a Lawyer

Don’t sign a release for collision damage without a lawyer reviewing it. Signing a release will terminate your rights. You may agree to terminate some of your rights but will be unpleasantly surprised later to find you terminate all of your rights. Read about what you should know before signing a release or depositing a check for collision damage.

Should I use an Insurance Collision Damage App?

We recommend that you do not use an insurance company collision damage app and that you bring your car to your body shop. To find out what you need to do before you use your insurance company’s collision damage app, read Should I Send a Photo of My Car Damage for an Insurance Estimate?

Bonus – 4 Additional Things NOT to Do After an Accident

1. Don’t assume you do not have a fracture or broken bone after an accident if you’re told at the emergency room that you don’t and you have a lot of pain.
2. Instead of going to urgent care, go to the emergency room, preferably by ambulance.
3. Don’t assume you don’t have a case if you call a personal injury lawyer who either doesn’t want your case or doesn’t seem interested in your case. Call us!
4. Don’t discuss your personal injury case with your friends and family. Even before your case settles, they will ask you to borrow money on your personal injury case. When your case settles, you will likely get a lot of money, and they will come out of the woodwork to borrow money.

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