If you are in a car accident with another driver, but that adverse driver does not have assets or insurance, you may struggle to cover your damages. Without insurance coverage, you may have no way to pay for your medical expenses. If you are in a severe car accident in Maryland, you may desperately need medical treatment. You may have fractured bones, loss of blood, or a host of other common injuries. If these injuries are not promptly treated, you may have to bear the pain for months, years, or even the rest of your life. It is unfair when you do not cause the accident but must pay the consequences anyway. Fortunately, you may be entitled to make an uninsured claim in a Maryland car accident.
To do so, you should speak with a Maryland car accident attorney to discuss the next steps and protect your right to make a claim.
Finding a source to recover from for a personal injury claim can be one of the most challenging parts of your case. It is not worth your time to file suit against a defendant and win just to be unable to recover from the negligent tortfeasor. Fortunately, even if the defendant does not have coverage, you may still use your coverage. While some claimants are nervous about using their coverage if they did not cause the accident, it is critical to note that this will not increase your insurance rates. If you did not drive negligently, they have no basis for doing so. Further, this is why you pay for insurance, to begin with, to protect you in the case of an accident.
An uninsured claim in a Maryland car accident can compensate you for your injuries. Call our office today for a free consultation at (202) 331-7227.
Below, we discuss the two scenarios where you can make an uninsured motorist claim in a Maryland car accident. However, note that some qualifications are necessary to make the claim. First, you cannot have been at fault. If you are at fault, you can still use your insurance for your property, but you cannot cover your injury claim. Moreover, you can expect your insurance premiums to rise. Additionally, you must have an active policy applicable to the accident.
When the adverse driver is clearly at fault but does not have insurance, this is the classic instance when you can make an uninsured claim in a Maryland car accident. Uninsured motorist coverage is designed for this exact moment. It is a benefit to carrying insurance. In theory, you should receive the same compensation as if you were collecting from the negligent driver. This is because your case only has one value in a negligence action. However, the exception is that you may only have one policy to draw from in this scenario. If you collect from the negligent driver, you can maximize their policy and collect from your own by making an underinsured claim. You cannot make an underinsured claim on your policy if you are already making an uninsured claim.
Moreover, it is critical to understand that your insurer is not on your side the way they may try to tell you. They still will make poor settlement offers that need to be negotiated, much like if we were trying to settle with an adverse insurer. But suppose they make an offer that is clearly below what your case is worth. Who do we sue? We do not sue the tortfeasor because they still do not have money or coverage. Instead, we sue your insurance company for a breach of contract. We allege that they breached the insurance contract they executed with you to pay you fair compensation for your injuries up to a given limit. We do not sue your insurer where the accident happened, but typically, we do so in the state where the contract was executed.
A hit-and-run is treated similarly by insurance companies as when the tortfeasor has no coverage. The basics of your case are the same as above. For whatever reason, the person who hit you does not have insurance available to you. This may be because they fled the scene. It may be because they hit you in a stolen vehicle, rendering coverage inapplicable. Whatever the case is, a hit-and-run accident where the tortfeasor flees the scene activates your uninsured claim in a Maryland car accident.
Just because the negligent driver who struck your vehicle stops, pulls over, and decides to speak with you does not mean they have car insurance. While car insurance is required to drive a vehicle, not everyone adheres to this law. Undeniably, a driver without insurance is subject to criminal sanctions. However, this does little to help compensate you for your injuries. An insurance company that has yet to be paid will not suddenly be on the hook for a negligent driver’s accident just because some company is supposed to be. Accordingly, your best bet remains to pursue an uninsured claim in a Maryland car accident with the assistance of a skilled Maryland car accident attorney at Gelb & Gelb.
There are several things you should consider doing after an accident with an uninsured driver. Ultimately, your best course of action will depend on your situation and the severity of your injuries. However, below are general guidelines to refer to and consider.
We rarely recommend pursuing this option. The reason is simple. Let’s suppose that your case is worth $50,000. Now imagine that you hire a car accident lawyer, and we file suit against the negligent driver, and we win. If the adverse driver does not have car insurance, we will try to collect the judgment we won against the defendant. The problem is, most likely, that the defendant does not have the money to pay the judgment. In our 70 years of practice, we have attempted this option in severe cases where no insurance was available to help a client. Unfortunately, after winning a sizeable judgment against the defendant, the defendant could not afford to pay.
The unfortunate reality is that those who cannot afford to pay for car insurance or choose not to are often the same people who cannot afford to pay a $50,000 judgment. Accordingly, it is a better option to file an uninsured motorist claim than to sue an uninsured driver.
If you want to pursue an uninsured claim in a Maryland car accident, contact the attorneys at Gelb & Gelb, P.C. today for a free consultation. Our skilled lawyers have handled car accident cases in Maryland since our founding 70 years ago. Since then, we have handled thousands of car accident cases. We have handled nearly every imaginable scenario and are poised to give you the best possible chance at recovery.
Call our office today at (202) 331-7227.
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