Can I Recover More Than The At Fault Driver Has For Insurance? What is an Excess Judgment?
Yes, you can recover more than the at-fault driver’s insurance limits—but it is often difficult and sometimes not collectible. The key issues are whether there is another source of payment, whether the at-fault driver has assets, and whether the insurance company’s handling of the claim creates additional exposure beyond the policy limits.
The real problem is not whether a court can award more than the policy limits—it can. The real problem is whether anyone can actually pay the amount above those limits.
TL;DR — Recovering more than policy limits in Maryland
- A jury can award more than the at-fault driver’s insurance limits.
- The insurance company typically only pays up to the policy limits.
- The at-fault driver is personally responsible for any excess amount.
- Collecting that excess amount is often difficult or unlikely.
- In limited situations, the insurance company may face exposure beyond limits based on how it handled the claim.
Can I recover more than the at-fault driver has in insurance?
Short answer: Yes, a court can award more than the available insurance coverage.
Detailed answer: Insurance limits do not cap what a jury can award for damages. If the evidence supports a higher number, the verdict can exceed the policy limits. The limitation is not on the value of the case—it is on the available insurance to pay that value.
What is an excess judgment in a Maryland car accident case?
Short answer: An excess judgment is the portion of a court award that exceeds the available insurance coverage.
Detailed answer: For example, if a jury awards $40,000 and the at-fault driver has $30,000 in liability coverage, the insurance company pays $30,000. The remaining $10,000 is the “excess.” That amount becomes the personal responsibility of the at-fault driver, not the insurer under the terms of the policy.
| Scenario | What gets paid by insurance | Who may owe the remainder | Main practical problem |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict is within policy limits | The liability insurer typically pays the full covered amount up to the verdict. | No excess amount is left for the defendant to pay personally. | The main issue is ordinary collection from the insurer, not excess exposure. |
| Verdict exceeds policy limits | The liability insurer typically pays only up to the policy limits. | The at-fault driver is usually responsible for the amount above those limits. | The excess amount may be legally owed but hard or impossible to collect. |
| At-fault driver has reachable assets or wages | The insurer pays its limits. | The defendant may owe the remaining balance directly. | Collection may still require time-consuming garnishment or execution efforts. |
| At-fault driver has little or no reachable value | The insurer pays its limits. | The defendant still owes the excess judgment on paper. | The judgment may be valid but practically uncollectible. |
| Insurer handling creates potential exposure beyond limits | The policy-limit payment may not end the analysis. | Additional exposure issues may arise depending on how the insurer handled defense or settlement decisions. | This is a more sophisticated claim that requires separate factual and procedural groundwork. |
Who pays the amount above the insurance limits?
Short answer: The at-fault driver is typically responsible for the excess amount.
Detailed answer: Once the insurance policy limits are paid, the insurer’s contractual obligation is generally satisfied. The remaining balance is owed by the defendant personally. That shifts the problem from an insurance claim to a collection problem.
Start with the broader Baltimore car accident picture
If you are trying to understand how excess judgments, limited coverage, and collection problems fit into a larger injury claim, start here: Baltimore Car Accident Lawyer.
Can you actually collect an excess judgment from the at-fault driver?
Short answer: Sometimes, but often not.
Detailed answer: Collection depends on whether the at-fault driver has reachable assets or income. Wage garnishment and asset execution are potential tools, but they have limits. If the individual lacks meaningful assets or steady income, the excess judgment may remain unpaid despite being legally valid.
Can an insurance company ever be responsible for the excess amount?
Short answer: In certain circumstances, the insurer’s conduct can create exposure beyond policy limits.
Detailed answer: Where an insurance company fails to properly evaluate, defend, or resolve a claim within available limits when appropriate, issues can arise that extend beyond ordinary policy-limit payment. These situations are fact-specific and require careful development. The claim typically originates with the insured, but there are procedural mechanisms that may allow that right to be pursued in the context of the injury case.
Roadway pages tied to limited-coverage crash problems
When low or missing insurance is already an issue, serious crashes on major corridors can make the recovery problem worse. For more on those Baltimore roadway patterns, see North Avenue, Eastern Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Light Street, and the Baltimore roadways hub.
What is the real risk in pursuing an excess judgment?
Short answer: You may win the judgment but not collect the money.
Detailed answer: Litigation has costs and risks. A jury could award less than expected, or even less than the available insurance. In some situations, an insurer may offer the full policy limits to resolve the claim, and rejecting that offer introduces risk. The central issue is not just what the case is worth—it is what can realistically be recovered.
Local Baltimore case dynamic: limited coverage on high-impact corridors
Short answer: Certain Baltimore accident patterns frequently involve minimal coverage and real excess exposure issues.
Detailed answer: Collisions along corridors such as North Avenue or Eastern Avenue often involve drivers carrying minimum limits. Where multiple people are injured or medical treatment escalates quickly, the available insurance may be insufficient. These scenarios commonly force early evaluation of whether additional coverage layers exist or whether the case will ultimately turn into a collection problem.
Neighborhood pages where uninsured and underinsured crashes often create hard insurance fights
Coverage problems become more practical on busy Baltimore neighborhood corridors where damages can escalate quickly and insurers look hard for ways to limit exposure. See Highlandtown, Fells Point, Butcher’s Hill, Harbor East, and the broader Baltimore neighborhood car accident hub.
Related pages about uninsured, underinsured, and excess recovery issues
These pages address the next questions that usually follow once low or missing coverage becomes the problem: How Do I Make a Claim for Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage?, Am I Entitled To Recover If The At-Fault Driver Doesn’t Have Insurance?, Can I Recover More Than The At-Fault Driver Has For Insurance? What Is an Excess Judgment?, and What Happens If An Insurance Company Does Not Offer Its Policy Limits?.
Related Baltimore Personal Injury Resources:
- Baltimore Personal Injury Lawyer
- What Is My Case Worth?
- Insurance Claim Denial Lawyer
- Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
- Baltimore Work Injury Lawyer
Insurance Claim Denial Issues
Related Personal Injury Topics
Key decisions that can affect your injury claim
How fault affects your case in Maryland
Dealing with the insurance company
- Baltimore Personal Injury Trial Lawyer
- Legal Analysis & Case Studies
- Baltimore Insurance Claims Denial Lawyer
For over three decades, I have battled against the nation’s largest insurance companies, always endeavoring to ensure my clients receive the compensation they deserve. As lead counsel in thousands of cases across Maryland, New York, and Florida, I have recovered millions for clients whose claims were wrongfully denied and delayed. Whether denying fair compensation for a personal injury victim or denying benefits to a homeowner, Insurance companies employ policy exclusions, technicalities, and lowball offers to deny and defeat claims. They also hire very good lawyers to fight you in court. So should you. When an insurance company unfairly rejects a claim, I stop them.
