Liability insurance is a requirement in Pennsylvania for car owners. Unfortunately, there are all too many people who break the rules anyway. Getting into an auto accident with someone without insurance coverage can make a bad situation worse. A logical way to protect yourself from this predicament is to add uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to your own auto insurance policy as a precaution.
UM/UIM insurance coverage may also cover you in the event of hit-and-run accidents when the at-fault driver is unknown. In instances of severe bodily injuries, especially extensive pain and suffering, your coverage might be insufficient to recompense your auto accident monetary damages and losses. Under some circumstances suing the uninsured motorist, assuming their identity is known, may be worth contemplating.
Furthermore, suing for car accident injuries could be your only option when you don’t have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in place. As a side note, the at-fault driver and the car owner may not be the same, so compensation via insurance may be available from the latter rather than the former. Therefore, all of those involved or potentially involved in the accident must be carefully vetted from a legal responsibility perspective.
A Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer can spearhead the entire often-complex insurance process from accessing your no-fault coverage to submitting an uninsured motorist claim to suing an uninsured driver for damages if the circumstances suggest that the latter would be worthwhile.
Is it Worth Suing an Uninsured Driver in Pennsylvania?
Many clients or potential clients wonder whether you can sue an uninsured motorist and whether that would be worthwhile. If your medical bills are far-reaching, and your property damage is substantial, legal action may be a plausible recourse against someone without insurance coverage.
As a practical matter, though, if the at-fault driver or at-fault party is unemployed or has little or no assets, i.e., judgment proof, a victory in a court case may merely be ceremonial.
Although a reasoned analysis of the at-fault party’s prospects is necessary, that party could become creditworthy in the future. Your legal counsel can advise as to what post-judgment remedies are or might be realistic.
Civil judgments in Pennsylvania are initially valid for five years (and can be extended). Your lawyer can try to collect a civil judgment in the form of wage garnishment or bank account attachment if the driver is working or subsequently has gone back to work. Separately, judgment liens on real estate are good for 20 years.
As a side note, if you are seeking money damages up to $12,000, you might consider using the uninsured driver in Municipal Court.
What Should You Do if the Other Driver in a Car Accident Does Not Have Insurance?
As outlined on this website for car accidents in general, there are several immediate steps you should take, which include documenting the accident scene and exchanging contact information with the other driver who may have no insurance or whose insurance coverage may have lapsed.
Initially, you should call 911 before anything else.Vehicular accidents involving death, injury, and/or damage to a vehicle such that it cannot be driven without further damage and requires towing must be investigated by law enforcement.
In Philadelphia, emergency services may not always respond, though, if they categorize an accident as non-serious. If that scenario applies, file an accident report yourself with a Philadelphia police district headquarters as soon as possible to formally establish that an accident occurred.
In addition to your health, you should prioritize hiring an experienced Lawyer to protect your car accident rights if you suspect or know for sure that the other driver is uninsured.
Your attorney will handle all insurance company-related communications insofar as an uninsured at-fault driver is concerned including submitting an uninsured motorist claim to your own insurer under the terms set forth in your policy as explained more fully below.
As your insurance claim unfolds, your lawyer will analyze the facts and circumstances to ascertain whether it is worth suing an uninsured driver.
Filing an Underinsured Motorist Claim
Underinsured motorist claim comes into play if the at-fault driver has insurance but has failed to take out enough of it to cover your losses. Again, the most effective and efficient way to file such a claim is through legal representation, i.e., letting your attorney manage the entire process.
The protocol for an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim is generally the same.
Your legal counsel will review the intricacies of your policy coverage and then trigger the underinsured motorist provisions and provide formal notification to the insurer of same, if indeed Filing an Underinsured Motorist Claim makes sense.
In addition to all the documentation that you have provided, your lawyer will gather additional evidence as necessary to establish legal fault and your damages, including complete medical records, to validate the shortfall in the at-fault driver’s coverage and then negotiate with your insurer on your behalf.
Your insurance company stands in the shoes of the uninsured wrongdoer, which means, however, your insurer could become an adversary in this context. As such, fighting the insurance company after a car accident in this regard may, in some instances, require your attorney to sue the insurer to obtain a fair uninsured/underinsured motorist payout absent a fair settlement.
Uninsured/underinsured coverage also potentially allows you to Recover Lost Wages after a Car Accident. Property damage is not covered, however.
Should I Sue the Uninsured Driver Who Caused My Accident?
As discussed above, suing an uninsured motorist is a decision that you and your legal counsel jointly make. It largely depends on the extent of your damages and whether the at-fault motorist or car owner actually has any assets, now or in the future, that can be executed upon.
Again, suing an uninsured driver for damages or not requires a logical assessment of the situation.
How Can a Lawyer Help After an Accident with an Uninsured Driver?
Our Personal injury lawyers have handled thousands of cases where an uninsured/underinsured driver has crashed into a client.
With our in-depth knowledge of insurance law and insurance company tactics, we can manage the entire insured driver insurance claim process as spelled out above, including exploring your legal action options, such as an uninsured motorist lawsuit, to obtain the monetary accident damages that you deserve.
Your uninsured motorist coverage, if you’ve bought it in advance, also covers you if you are a passenger, a pedestrian, or out riding a bicycle when the accident happened, so we can render the same services if you’ve been victimized in one of those incidents. Contact us to schedule a free consultation.