“Tell Them You Mean Business”

800-WIN-WIN1

Image of Robert Vaughn
Personal Injury Cases – Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
Legal News and Personal Injury Publications provided by The Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone

Car Accident Claims When An At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance

Posted on | October 7, 2013 | Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone

Our Boston uninsured motorist lawyers at the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone know that many car accident victims incur significant monetary losses and that this damage should be covered by the at-fault motorist or other responsible party.

The costs of an accident are usually paid not by the driver personally, but by the at-fault driver’s car insurance.  In fact, the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association reports private insurance companies pay around 50 percent of all costs associated with motor vehicle crashes. Sometimes, however, the driver who caused the crash doesn’t have the insurance coverage the law requires. If you have been in an accident and the at-fault driver has no insurance, there are three primary options available to you.

Option 1: Make a Claim With Your Own Insurer if the At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance

Drivers in Massachusetts have to buy $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident uninsured motorist coverage.  These are the same minimums required for bodily injury liability policies.  The purpose of requiring uninsured motorist coverage is to make sure no one is left financially ruined if an at-fault driver causes a collision with no insurance.

This is typically the best choice for most individuals harmed by an at-fault driver lacking auto insurance. In such cases, you are filing a claim against your own insurance carrier and should not expect that company to be looking out for your best interests. Consulting an experienced Boston car accident attorney is the best course of action.

Option 2: Determine if Someone Else Was to Blame

In some cases, more than one person is responsible for an accident. If there was another driver who contributed to causing the wreck, or if there was a defect in the road or in the vehicle, then your attorney may be able to take legal action against someone other than the uninsured driver.

The ability to find a third party besides the at-fault driver with no insurance is going to vary depending upon the situation.

Option 3: Make a Claim Against the Driver Personally

A injured victim through their attorney can file a lawsuit and sue the driver personally if the motorist caused a crash. When the jury decides the case and awards damages, or if the defendant decides to settle, then the injured victim will recover the money directly from the defendant.

This is a viable option if the at-fault driver has significant assets. But it's a much trickier proposition if the at-fault driver has little. While you could win in court, the old saying that you can’t get blood from a stone is applicable here: Simply put, you can’t make someone pay money they don't have. You could try to get liens placed on the driver’s property or garnish their wages if a court decides they have to pay your claim, but it might take a long time to collect what is owed.

If you are hurt in a collision and the at-fault driver has no insurance, you still have options for getting car accident compensation. Call 1-800-WIN-WIN-1 to schedule a free consultation with a car accident lawyer at the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone

What Are the Risks if an At-Fault Party Has No Insurance?

Posted on | October 7, 2013 | Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone

The law in Massachusetts requires motorists who are more than 50 percent responsible for serious accidents to compensate injured victims or surviving family members of those killed in the collision. Unfortunately, car accident injuries can be very expensive to treat, and few people can afford to cover costs out of pocket. This is why Massachusetts also requires every driver to have at least $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage.

The problem is, not everyone complies with these laws. In fact, USA Today reports that around four percent of Massachusetts drivers are going without the required coverage.  At the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone, our uninsured driver accident lawyers serving Boston, Worcester, Springfield and all of Massachusetts know it can be a financial disaster for all involved if the at-fault party has no insurance.

Risks for an Accident Victim if the At-Fault Party Has No Insurance

If the at-fault party for a car accident has no insurance, the victim who was injured in the crash can obtain compensation for the accident through the uninsured motorist coverage of his own auto policy, through a household member's policy, or through the insurance company of the car he was in when the accident happened. Massachusetts law mandates that drivers purchase $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident uninsured coverage (the same minimums as for liability coverage). The purpose of these policies is so that the injured car accident victim can recover money even if the driver to blame has no insurance or assets. The insurer will essentially stand-in for the at-fault driver.

This seems to solve the problem of an at-fault party having no insurance, but there are still some issues accident victims face. For example, the victim’s insurer might not offer to pay the full amount of compensation for injuries and losses that resulted from the accident or the uninsured coverage may not adequately compensate victims for their injuries.

If the insurer doesn't pay the claim as required when an accident victim makes a claim with his or her own insurance company (as he would in an uninsured motorist claim), the injured party is limited to pursuing a bad faith cause of action against his insurance company. In other words, he can sue the insurance company only for an unreasonable failure to offer a fair payout.

Bad faith claims against an insurer can be more technical and harder to handle than a traditional personal injury claim against a driver who causes a car wreck, making it harder for an accident victim to recover full compensation for losses than if the driver responsible for the crash had insurance.

Risks for An At-Fault Driver Who has No Insurance

When an at fault party has no insurance, that driver is at risk as well.  He could be personally sued by injury victims. This means he’d be responsible for covering all of the legal bills for defending the lawsuit and compensating the victim if the plaintiff won and the driver was found to be liable for the crash. This could be financially devastating. For a spinal cord injury that causes paraplegia, for example, the medical expenses could run over $1 million for the first year and close to $200,000 per year after that.  The driver who is ordered to pay this amount to an injured accident victim would likely be unable to pay and could face financial ruin.

If a driver hurt you and the at fault party has no insurance, you still have options for getting car accident compensation. Call 1-800-WIN-WIN-1 to schedule a free consultation with a car accident lawyer at the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone.