Unsignaled Left Turn: Comparative Fault and a UIM Claim in Portland
Alex, a Portland delivery driver, carries a personal auto policy with liability limits of 50/100/25, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage at 50/100, $5,000 in medical payments, and collision with a $500 deductible. In November he turns left across Congress Street and is struck by a pickup. The police report notes Alex never signaled and that the pickup driver was doing 52 mph in a 35 mph zone. Alex's medical bills are $87,000 and his documented lost wages are $6,000; no future treatment is projected. The pickup driver carries Maine minimum limits, and his carrier has offered $22,000 of its $50,000 per-person limit, asserting Alex is 40% at fault. Alex's own carrier has already paid $5,000 in med pay. Alex believes his UIM coverage should pay him the full $50,000 on top of the settlement. Maine is a tort state with no no-fault PIP benefits. You are the adjuster handling the UIM claim for Alex's carrier.
1. Evaluate the tortfeasor carrier's 40% fault assertion and its $22,000 offer.
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Maine applies modified comparative fault under 14 M.R.S. §156: the claimant's damages are reduced in proportion to his own negligence, and a claimant whose fault equals or exceeds the defendant's recovers nothing. Two data points drive the allocation here - Alex turned left across traffic without signaling, and the pickup was 17 mph over the posted limit. An unsignaled left turn is a heavy fault factor; excessive speed affects perception-reaction and stopping distance and is the kind of fact that moves a jury.
A 25% to 40% allocation to Alex is defensible. Test the offer against the math:
- Damages $93,000 at 40% fault = $55,800 recovery.
- Damages $93,000 at 30% fault = $65,100 recovery.
- The $22,000 offer is 44% of the pickup driver's $50,000 limit.
So even on the tortfeasor's own fault theory, its own insured's limit supports a recovery near $55,800, and a jury that put Alex at 33% would support $62,300. The offer is low. That does not make it bad faith - a liability carrier owes its duty to its own insured, not to Alex, and Alex cannot compel a higher tender. What it does mean is that the file needs an independent evaluation, not adoption of the other carrier's number.
2. Calculate the UIM exposure, including how the tortfeasor payment and the med pay payment interact with the limits.
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Build it in layers and read the policy's "limits of liability" and "reduction" clauses before quoting a figure.
- Gross damages: $87,000 medical + $6,000 wage loss = $93,000.
- Apply comparative fault (use 40% for illustration): $93,000 × 60% = $55,800.
- Credit the tortfeasor payment: $55,800 − $22,000 = $33,800 of uncompensated loss.
- Test the UIM limit: Alex's UIM limit is $50,000, and $33,800 is inside it, so the limit does not cut the claim down. On a 30% fault analysis the gap is $65,100 − $22,000 = $43,100, still within $50,000.
- Apply med pay. Maine policies typically reduce UIM amounts by med pay paid or payable, with a reimbursement right. If Alex's form does, the net new money is $33,800 − $5,000 = $28,800, and the carrier holds a $5,000 reimbursement interest in the tort recovery.
The collision deductible does not apply to a UIM payment - UIM is not collision coverage. If the fault allocation is later adjusted upward, or the tortfeasor pays more, the UIM payment drops dollar for dollar; get a trust agreement or loan receipt so the eventual settlement does not erase the subrogation interest.
3. What investigative and communication steps should you take before paying, and how do you handle Alex's consent to settle with the tortfeasor?
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Investigate the fault split independently. Obtain the police report and any reconstruction, the pickup driver's statement, scene geometry and sight lines, and any telematics or ECM data. Take a recorded statement from Alex focused on signaling, turn path, and speed. Do not simply ratify the other carrier's 40%.
Test the special damages. Confirm the medical bills are reasonable and related, order the records, and check for prior back or neck treatment. Verify the $6,000 wage loss with employer records and confirm no collateral-source duplication.
Control the release. Alex must not sign a release that extinguishes the UIM claim without written consent. The policy conditions UIM on the carrier's consent to settle and typically requires prompt notice of a tentative settlement; the carrier's response is either consent with a preserved subrogation interest or an advance of the UIM money in exchange for assignment of the claim. Put the consent position in writing so a late-discovered settlement does not become a coverage dispute.
Communicate the computation. Send Alex and his attorney a written breakdown showing damages, fault percentage, tortfeasor credit, med pay offset, and the resulting UIM figure, with an invitation to supply the records that would move the fault allocation. A file that shows an independent evaluation and a documented calculation is defensible both to the insured and to the Bureau.