Ask a PI Lawyer

submitted by Hannah T.

The Injury Legal Team’s answer:

You have a couple of options.  The best option would be to make a claim against your own Uninsured Motorist policy, if you have one.  If you’re not sure, call your agent to ask.  If you can access your Declarations Page, or have a copy of it, it may look like this:

Uninsured Motorist coverage will provide you insurance coverage up to your limits if you are injured by a driver who does not have insurance.  In the situation above, the person has Uninsured Motorist coverage up to $100,000 for his/her injuries.  If additional people were in the car, this person would have coverage for everyone up to $300,000 combined, but not more than $100,000 per person.

If you do not have Uninsured Motorist coverage, you could file a lawsuit against the at-fault party for personal money.  But unless there was just a mistaken gap in coverage, if someone cannot afford insurance, they usually don’t have much money.  Also, the at-fault party can file bankruptcy and potentially wipe out whatever judgment you get against them personally.

Feel free to call me and I would be happy to look at your policy to see if you have coverage, and advise you of your best options.

IMPORTANT: This answer and all others on this site are for informational purposes only. None of the information or materials provided are legal advice. None of these answers should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. While we try to give the best answers possible, we are responding to brief questions and there could be many factors not provided that could alter an answer if they were known. Further, while we try to be accurate in responding to a specific question, we do not guarantee accuracy.