Lutherville Uninsured Driver Accident Attorney
Getting into a car accident is bad enough. Finding out that the person who caused the crash does not hold car insurance can add frustration and stress to an already unpleasant and potentially devastating experience. Drivers are required by law to have a minimal amount of car insurance coverage. Of course, some drivers fail to abide by this law and get behind the wheel without any insurance at all.
If you were injured in a car crash caused by an uninsured driver, you still have options to collect compensation for your injuries. Your insurance company is required to provide you with uninsured motorist coverage. In the event of a crash with an uninsured driver, your uninsured motorist policy can be used to pay you the compensation that you would otherwise have acquired from the other driver.
These claims often pit the insured driver against his or her own insurance company. Because of this, it is important to have legal representation. Contact the experienced car crash attorneys at Berman | Sobin | Gross LLP today at 410-769-5400 to discuss your options for recovering the compensation that you need.
What will uninsured motorist coverage include?
If you were injured in a car crash with an uninsured driver, your uninsured motorist coverage will step in and act as if the uninsured driver maintains the coverage. The amount of coverage will depend on your policy. You are only required to carry the minimal amount of uninsured driver coverage. Because of this, your policy may only include up to $30,000 of coverage per person injured in the crash up to a total of $60,000 for all injuries occurring in the crash and $15,000 to cover property damage related to the collision.
If you selected a policy with higher uninsured motorist coverage, you would be in a better position. Check your policy to determine the amount of coverage you are carrying.
What if the driver only carried a minimal amount of insurance?
Car crashes with uninsured drivers involve two different situations. The first situation occurs when a driver fails to obtain insurance and causes a car accident but stays at the scene. In such a case, you know who caused the crash, but that person does not have insurance, and likely does not have the assets needed to cover the costs of your injuries. In the second scenario, you do not know who the driver is because they fled the scene of the crash. In these collisions, called hit-and-runs, your uninsured motorist policy will also cover your costs.
There are other cases where the other driver does carry insurance, but your injuries cost more than the minimum coverage provided in the policy. In such cases, your uninsured motorist policy or your underinsured motorist policy may be able to cover the difference. However, the amount of the policy that you hold typically must exceed the policy of the other driver. In other words, you cannot stack your policy on to the uninsured motorist’s policy. If your injuries amount to $40,000 and the underinsured motorist only has 30,000 in coverage, your policy will only apply and cover the extra $10,000 if your policy provides $40,000 in coverage or more. The exception to this is if you hold “enhanced uninsured motorist coverage,” in which case, the policies can stack.
What if my insurance company will not pay the full amount of my claim?
In many cases, drivers who are injured by uninsured motorists find that their insurance company is unwilling to pay the full cost of their injuries. If you are in this situation, you are not forced to take the settlement offer made by your insurance company. You will have the option to attend arbitration regarding your claim. You can hire an attorney to represent you and negotiate your claim with your insurance company. If you choose an arbitration hearing, the process is a little bit like a mini-trial where your attorney will be able to present evidence backing your claim and your actual amount of damages.
Should I sue the uninsured driver?
You might also be able to file a lawsuit against the uninsured driver. In many cases, filing a lawsuit against that person will not yield any results. This is because most of the time if a driver does not have car insurance, they also lack the assets that could help cover the cost of your damages. However, there are exceptions to this as well, and your attorney will be able to discuss whether filing a lawsuit against the other driver makes sense, given the facts of your case.
Call Berman | Sobin | Gross LLP if You’ve Been Hit by an Uninsured Driver in Lutherville
If you were injured in a car accident with an uninsured driver, contact Berman | Sobin | Gross LLP today at 410-769-5400 to discuss your claim with an experienced Lutherville, Maryland car crash attorney.
