Would you be surprised if I told you that it’s possible to get paid on your car accident injury claim even if the at-fault driver did not have insurance? Well, it is possible and I was able to get a recent client, Andrew, paid on his injury claim despite the at-fault driver having no insurance whatsoever. Let me tell you the story of my past client, Andrew.
Andrew’s Story
Andrew was in a motor vehicle accident where the other driver came into Andrew’s lane of travel and struck Andrew’s vehicle. The other driver was clearly at fault. However, unfortunately, the other driver had no insurance on his vehicle and was likely what we call ‘judgment proof.’ When someone is judgment proof, it means that person lacks significant income or property, and therefore even if you won your injury case in court, you likely cannot collect from a judgment-proof person.
Since Andrew was in a car accident caused by a likely judgment-proof person, it put Andrew in a bad spot because he had suffered injuries in the car accident, in which he sustained damages including medical expenses and pain and suffering.
Initial Consultation
I recall speaking with Andrew shortly after his accident. He sounded a bit hopeless but thought it was still a good idea to speak with a lawyer even though the other driver had no insurance on his vehicle to cover Andrew’s injuries. And Andrew was correct. It was wise he gave my office a call.
I asked Andrew if the vehicle he was driving was insured. He said yes and advised that he was driving his mom’s vehicle. I then asked if he knew if the insurance covering his mom’s vehicle had uninsured motorist coverage. Andrew wasn’t sure if his mom had such coverage.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
To confirm, I requested the declarations page of the insurance policy from the insurance company that insured the vehicle. The declarations page identifies the kinds and amounts of coverage you have and how much it will cost you. Once I obtained a copy of the declarations page, I found out that the vehicle had uninsured motorist coverage on it. This was great news for Andrew.
Uninsured motorist coverage protects those who occupy the vehicle from bodily injury caused by an at-fault driver. When I first told Andrew the news, he was hesitant at first to file an uninsured motorist claim with his mom’s insurance company. He did not want his mom’s insurance payments to increase.
Kentucky Statute Protection
Andrew and his mom did not have to worry about their insurance company raising their insurance premium rates. In Kentucky, a statute disallows insurance companies from raising insurance premium rates if their insured files a claim under the policy, such as an uninsured motorist claim, as long as it is determined that they are not at fault for the accident. Many other states have similar statutes. Since Andrew was not at fault for the accident, he and his mom had nothing to worry about.
Pursuing the Claim
With this assurance, Andrew was on board with pursuing the uninsured motorist claim. My office then collected Andrew’s medical records and bills. I sent a written demand letter along with all the evidence we had gathered to the insurance company demanding that they pay out the uninsured motorist policy limits.
After considering our demand and reviewing the materials I had sent over, the insurer agreed to pay out its policy limit of $100,000. Since Andrew also got $10,000 in personal injury protection benefits to go towards his medical expenses, his total recovery amounted to $110,000. Andrew was thrilled.
When he first spoke with me, he was unsure if I would be able to help him at all. But thankfully, his mom had purchased uninsured motorist coverage on the vehicle so we were able to get him compensated for his injuries.
The Importance of Uninsured Motorist Coverage
I highly recommend that all vehicle owners make sure they have uninsured motorist coverage on their insurance policy. With so many drivers out there driving without any insurance whatsoever, it is wise to get as much uninsured motorist coverage on your vehicle as possible to protect you and those you love, like Andrew’s mom did.
Filing a Lawsuit
It’s great to have uninsured motorist insurance on your automobile, but just because you have such coverage on your automobile, it does not mean your insurance company is just going to take it easy on you and just agree to pay out the policy limits to you. No. In many cases, you must file a lawsuit to get fair compensation, even if you’d have to do so against your own insurance company to get all the uninsured motorist insurance coverage you are entitled to.
To learn more about why it may be a good idea to file a lawsuit in your case, you should watch this video about to pop up right here where I explain why, in many injury cases, you must file a lawsuit to get fair compensation.
Lastly, if you’ve been injured in a car accident, slip or trip and fall incident, or dog attack incident in Kentucky, remember: don’t wait; call Tate.
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