Accidents with Uninsured Motorists

cartwrightlaw - March 23, 2023 -

California drivers are required to carry car insurance. Driving without it is punishable by a fine, which increases in amount for repeat offenses. Moreover, drivers are also liable for any injuries and damages they cause to others on the road in a car accident. 

If you or a loved one suffered an injury in an uninsured motorist accident, you should consider the following before surrendering to despair and taking whatever your insurance company offers. 

To register your vehicle in California, you must carry at least $15,000 per person in bodily injury liability coverage, $30,000 per accident, and $5,000 in personal property. But not everyone follows the rules. In that case, they are operating their vehicle illegally. 

UM/UIM Coverage

One way to reduce this risk is to carry uninsured or underinsured driver coverage on your own car insurance. Of course, if you haven’t already done that, its benefit is for your next uninsured driver accident. 

The first thing to do if you’re in an accident with an uninsured driver is to contact an attorney who handles car accidents. Especially if you do not have uninsured motorist coverage, recovering when the driver who caused the accident is uninsured can be complex and difficult to navigate. An experienced attorney can make this process less stressful and more productive for you.

Don’t get into a quarrel with the uninsured driver. That won’t provide insurance coverage and may lead to undesirable consequences. Let the attorneys argue it out.

If you do have uninsured motorist coverage, this is the time when it applies. File a claim with your insurance company against your uninsured motorist coverage. 

Expect the whole process to take time. Insurance companies make their money by taking in as much premium as possible while paying out as little in claims as possible. Thus, the company’s response to your claim may include the following:

• Delay – the longer they take to pay out your claim, the less they are spending. Delaying tactics such as ignoring phone calls and emails are not uncommon.

• Deny – the insurance company may simply say no. However, doing so in bad faith is a serious risk to the insurance company, so the better you have made your case, the more risk they might take in unreasonably denying your claim. This response is another area where an experienced attorney can be of enormous help to you. First, the insurance company will be somewhat less likely to treat an attorney badly and know that the attorney will be aware of bad-faith insurance claims. 
• Defend and Settle – If neither of the above drives you or your attorney away, the insurance company may send an adjuster or agent to start settlement negotiations. As noted above, they prefer to pay out as little as possible, so early offers will likely be far below what you are entitled to. You or your attorney can work to get more reasonable offers out of them. 

You should also be aware – and your attorney certainly will be – that you can sue an uninsured motorist. Unfortunately, most uninsured motorists also lack the assets to pay a judgment if you do win a lawsuit against them. Thus, suiting is probably not your best option.

What to Do

So what should you do? Mostly, you should do the same things you do after any car accident:

• Report the accident and the uninsured driver to the police. You should report all accidents, no matter how minor they may seem.

• Report the accident to your own insurance company, even if you don’t have uninsured motorist coverage.

• Seek medical care, either at the scene if law enforcement calls in medical assistance or as soon as possible at a nearby hospital. Doing this will help establish the seriousness of your claim and can diagnose injuries that you might not have noticed. Seeking medical care will strengthen your claim later on.
• As we said earlier, get yourself a lawyer. Their experience and skill in the motor accident claim area will be invaluable to you.  

What Not to Do

There are also things that you should avoid doing:

• No matter what the context, don’t say anything that can be construed as admitting fault. Don’t commiserate, and don’t apologize. 

• Don’t agree to make a statement without your attorney’s advice. Anything you say can come back to haunt you.

• Don’t settle without a lawyer. A lawyer understands your present and future costs far better than you do due to long experience handling this kind of case. Don’t let your financial need lead you to accept a lowball settlement.
• Don’t discuss your case with anyone else. Don’t apologize, don’t go on social media to talk about your case, and don’t post it anywhere. Anything you say now can come back to haunt you in a trial or settlement negotiation. 

Remember, an attorney can also help you with other sources of income, even in an uninsured motorist context. You may be able to recover from the following:

• Your health insurance – this should at least cover your medical costs, even if it won’t cover much of anything else
• Your medical payments coverage
• Your physical damage coverage
• Any other drivers involved in the accident who may have contributed to it

Retaining an experienced car accident lawyer will help you to discover potential sources of recovery and to have your insurance company take your claim seriously. Having a lawyer shows you are serious about your claim and willing to sue or make a bad-faith claim if the occasion arises.

Contact a California Car Accident Attorney Today

Don’t just wait for the insurance company to develop compassion for your case. If you’ve suffered an uninsured motorist accident, contact us today for a no-cost initial consultation and case evaluation. Now is the time for you to focus on your emotional and physical recovery. Let us worry about your financial recovery from your injury and other damages. Our offices are in Vacaville, Santa Rosa, and Discovery Bay to conveniently help our clients.

California drivers are required to carry car insurance. Driving without it is punishable by a fine, which increases in amount for repeat offenses. Moreover, drivers are also liable for any injuries and damages they cause to others on the road in a car accident. 

If you or a loved one suffered an injury in an uninsured motorist accident, you should consider the following before surrendering to despair and taking whatever your insurance company offers. 

To register your vehicle in California, you must carry at least $15,000 per person in bodily injury liability coverage, $30,000 per accident, and $5,000 in personal property. But not everyone follows the rules. In that case, they are operating their vehicle illegally. 

UM/UIM Coverage

One way to reduce this risk is to carry uninsured or underinsured driver coverage on your own car insurance. Of course, if you haven’t already done that, its benefit is for your next uninsured driver accident. 

The first thing to do if you’re in an accident with an uninsured driver is to contact an attorney who handles car accidents. Especially if you do not have uninsured motorist coverage, recovering when the driver who caused the accident is uninsured can be complex and difficult to navigate. An experienced attorney can make this process less stressful and more productive for you.

Don’t get into a quarrel with the uninsured driver. That won’t provide insurance coverage and may lead to undesirable consequences. Let the attorneys argue it out.

If you do have uninsured motorist coverage, this is the time when it applies. File a claim with your insurance company against your uninsured motorist coverage. 

Expect the whole process to take time. Insurance companies make their money by taking in as much premium as possible while paying out as little in claims as possible. Thus, the company’s response to your claim may include the following:

• Delay – the longer they take to pay out your claim, the less they are spending. Delaying tactics such as ignoring phone calls and emails are not uncommon.

• Deny – the insurance company may simply say no. However, doing so in bad faith is a serious risk to the insurance company, so the better you have made your case, the more risk they might take in unreasonably denying your claim. This response is another area where an experienced attorney can be of enormous help to you. First, the insurance company will be somewhat less likely to treat an attorney badly and know that the attorney will be aware of bad-faith insurance claims. 
• Defend and Settle – If neither of the above drives you or your attorney away, the insurance company may send an adjuster or agent to start settlement negotiations. As noted above, they prefer to pay out as little as possible, so early offers will likely be far below what you are entitled to. You or your attorney can work to get more reasonable offers out of them. 

You should also be aware – and your attorney certainly will be – that you can sue an uninsured motorist. Unfortunately, most uninsured motorists also lack the assets to pay a judgment if you do win a lawsuit against them. Thus, suiting is probably not your best option.

What to Do

So what should you do? Mostly, you should do the same things you do after any car accident:

• Report the accident and the uninsured driver to the police. You should report all accidents, no matter how minor they may seem.

• Report the accident to your own insurance company, even if you don’t have uninsured motorist coverage.

• Seek medical care, either at the scene if law enforcement calls in medical assistance or as soon as possible at a nearby hospital. Doing this will help establish the seriousness of your claim and can diagnose injuries that you might not have noticed. Seeking medical care will strengthen your claim later on.
• As we said earlier, get yourself a lawyer. Their experience and skill in the motor accident claim area will be invaluable to you.  

What Not to Do

There are also things that you should avoid doing:

• No matter what the context, don’t say anything that can be construed as admitting fault. Don’t commiserate, and don’t apologize. 

• Don’t agree to make a statement without your attorney’s advice. Anything you say can come back to haunt you.

• Don’t settle without a lawyer. A lawyer understands your present and future costs far better than you do due to long experience handling this kind of case. Don’t let your financial need lead you to accept a lowball settlement.
• Don’t discuss your case with anyone else. Don’t apologize, don’t go on social media to talk about your case, and don’t post it anywhere. Anything you say now can come back to haunt you in a trial or settlement negotiation. 

Remember, an attorney can also help you with other sources of income, even in an uninsured motorist context. You may be able to recover from the following:

• Your health insurance – this should at least cover your medical costs, even if it won’t cover much of anything else
• Your medical payments coverage
• Your physical damage coverage
• Any other drivers involved in the accident who may have contributed to it

Retaining an experienced car accident lawyer will help you to discover potential sources of recovery and to have your insurance company take your claim seriously. Having a lawyer shows you are serious about your claim and willing to sue or make a bad-faith claim if the occasion arises.

Contact a California Car Accident Attorney Today

Don’t just wait for the insurance company to develop compassion for your case. If you’ve suffered an uninsured motorist accident, contact us today for a no-cost initial consultation and case evaluation. Now is the time for you to focus on your emotional and physical recovery. Let us worry about your financial recovery from your injury and other damages. Our offices are in Vacaville, Santa Rosa, and Discovery Bay to conveniently help our clients.

Our successful case results are a reflection of the values and virtues we believe in and uphold at Cartwright Law Firm. Nothing stops us from pursuing justice on behalf of those who need it.

Robert E. Cartwright Jr.
Founder and Managing Partner