What happens when someone causes a serious accident but doesn’t have enough insurance to cover the injuries they caused?

That question played a major role in the biggest personal injury settlement our firm resolved in August. Our client suffered serious injuries after being hit by a vehicle in St. George, but the at-fault driver carried only $30,000 in liability coverage.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the only insurance coverage available.

At McMullin Injury Law, we share our biggest and smallest settlements each month to give people a better understanding of how real personal injury cases work. Injury settlements and their details can be as different as the people involved in them. August’s cases ranged from a serious pedestrian accident in St. George that resulted in a $380,000 settlement to a more moderate Cedar City car accident that resulted in a $9,800 total recovery.

While the injuries and settlement amounts were very different, both cases show how insurance coverage can affect what happens after an accident.

Biggest Settlement of August 2026: $380,000 Pedestrian Accident

Our largest settlement in August involved a 32-year-old working professional who was walking from a store to her vehicle near St. George Boulevard.

As she crossed the parking lot, a driver traveling through the lot failed to see her and struck her.

The collision caused significant injuries. Our client suffered a broken ankle that required surgery, as well as several broken ribs.

With injuries this serious, you might expect the at-fault driver’s insurance to provide substantial compensation. Unfortunately, the driver was carrying only Utah’s minimum liability coverage of $30,000.

The at-fault insurance company ultimately paid its full $30,000 policy limit.

But that left an important question: Where could the rest of the compensation come from?

When the At-Fault Driver Doesn’t Have Enough Insurance

One of the most frustrating realities of a serious car accident is that the person who caused the crash may not have enough insurance—or personal assets—to fully compensate the injured person.

A lawsuit against the driver may sometimes be an option, but obtaining a judgment and actually collecting that money are two different things. If someone has few or no assets, there may be little available to recover personally.

That’s why an experienced personal injury attorney looks beyond the most obvious insurance policy to determine whether other sources of coverage may apply.

In this case, our client had additional insurance coverage of her own.

UIM Coverage Made a Major Difference

Our client had two auto insurance policies that provided underinsured motorist coverage, commonly called UIM coverage.

UIM coverage can become important when the person responsible for an accident doesn’t carry enough liability insurance to cover the damages caused by the crash.

After recovering the $30,000 policy limit from the at-fault driver, our team pursued the additional available coverage.

Our client received another $250,000 from one policy and $100,000 from another.

Combined, the three policy-limit recoveries resulted in a total settlement of: $380,000

This case is a powerful example of why the insurance coverage you carry before a crash can matter tremendously after one.

Many people don’t think much about UIM coverage until they need it. But when a serious accident is caused by someone carrying minimal insurance, your own coverage may become an important source of recovery.

Smallest Settlement of August 2026: $9,800 Cedar City Car Accident

Our smallest case resolved during August involved a school teacher in Cedar City, Utah.

She was driving down Main Street when another driver negligently pulled out of a parking lot in front of her, causing a collision.

Fortunately, her injuries were much less severe than those suffered by our client in the pedestrian accident.

She experienced pain for several months and received approximately $3,200 in chiropractic treatment before recovering.

Her claim ultimately resulted in a $9,800 total recovery.

That included approximately $3,000 in PIP benefits and an additional $6,800 recovery related to her claim, including compensation for the pain and disruption to normal life that she experienced following the crash.

Personal Injury Cases Come in All Sizes

The difference between a $380,000 pedestrian injury settlement and a $9,800 car accident recovery might seem enormous, but settlement amounts are influenced by many different factors.

The severity of the injuries, cost of medical treatment, length of recovery, available insurance coverage, liability, lost income, and long-term effects of an injury can all play a role.

Injured in a Car Accident in St. George or Southern Utah?

At McMullin Injury Law, our team helps people throughout St. George, Cedar City, and Southern Utah understand what comes next after an accident.

Whether you’ve been involved in a major pedestrian accident, a serious car crash, or a smaller collision that has left you dealing with injuries and medical bills, you deserve to understand your options.

A St. George personal injury lawyer can investigate the accident, identify available insurance coverage, communicate with the insurance companies, and help determine the best path forward.

We hope you never need a Southern Utah injury attorney. But if an accident happens, we’re here to help make a difficult situation a little easier and help you work toward getting life back to normal.