What happens if you are injured in a car accident and the negligent party does not have insurance?

Depends! If you have underinsured/uninsured motor vehicle coverage on your policy, then you may be able to make a claim against your insurance carrier for the injuries you have suffered.  If you have chosen to decline this coverage or have selected coverage that would not adequately cover your injuries should you get into an accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver, then you are putting yourself at risk.

Imagine you are sitting at a stop light and suddenly you are rear ended by another driver.  As a result of this accident your car is smashed into a tree and totaled.  Thereafter, fire rescue arrives and uses the jaws of life to cut you out and ultimately you are taken to the hospital.  As a result of this accident, you not only suffered physical injuries, but missed several weeks of work that resulted in lost pay.

So you hire a lawyer and it turns out the person who hit you only had $10,000.00 in bodily injury coverage.  This alone may only cover your hospital stay.  What about the lost wages?  What about your injuries?  What about the pain and suffering?  Who is going pay for it?  Trust me, your chance of collecting beyond the insurance coverage of the person who hit you would be incredibly difficult.  In some circumstances you can go after an insurance carrier for bad faith, but let us assume that is not this case.

In this situation, if you have underinsured/uninsured motor vehicle coverage, then your insurance carrier would be able to step in.  However, it is important that you have enough coverage.  Think about what your life is worth.  What would it cost you if you could not work for several months or needed months of rehabilitative care?

So you see my point.  Make sure you have coverage because once you get into a bad car accident and hire a lawyer; it only makes it worse when there is insufficient insurance coverage. 

If you have been involved in a Car Accident, Trucking Accident or suffered any other personal injury, then call me on my cell phone today,  (888) 450-4909 or email me now, mdp@wadsworth-law.com.

No Recovery, then no Fees or Cost