Our Attorneys Help Victims Seek Successful Uninsured Motorist Accident Claims In California
Every motorist needs to understand that California law strictly requires them to maintain a minimum amount of liability insurance. This car insurance is required to ensure that drivers can cover the losses of victims if they cause a collision. Despite the law, a significant amount of drivers in our state fail to have insurance. Let our uninsured motorist accidents law firm explain:
Often, drivers acquire the insurance they initially need to have for licensing reasons. They then allow the policy to expire due to higher insurance premiums charged in California compared to other states. Even if somebody can not afford their insurance, they often take the chance and drive anyway. Driving without insurance can result in major problems if they cause harm to others while driving.
If you did not cause an accident, you should never have to pay for your losses out-of-pocket. Especially if it's just because someone else violated the law! A lot of individuals find themselves in this exact situation when they are in a collision with an uninsured motorist.
Luckily, if this happens to you, an experienced attorney can assist you.
A firm experienced in filing an uninsured motorist accident claim with your own insurance company to seek coverage of your losses.
Uninsured Motorist Claims In California
If you get hurt by a motorist without insurance, you may breathe a sigh of relief when you know that you have UM insurance coverage. However, your insurance company does not automatically send you a check in this instance. Quite the contrary, in fact, as these claims can be surprisingly difficult.
You might be aware that insurance companies are first and foremost corporations that mainly care about their bottom lines. To maximize their earnings, they try to minimize the amount they pay on each and every claim. You might believe that because you pay your own provider premiums every month, they will be more cooperative and forthcoming with your UM or UIM payment. This is not the case in the majority of situations.
The harsh reality is that insurance companies are just as hard to work with when it involves their own policyholders. Every dollar they pay on your claim is a dollar out of the insurance company's pockets, so you can expect them to require you to prove your claim fully and that they will dispute your claim any opportunity they get. It is vital to have an extremely skilled UM lawyer form First Law Group managing your claim.
In order to prove your UM claim, you will have to demonstrate the following:
- The other motorist acted negligently and caused your accident and injuries
- The other driver had no insurance or inadequate insurance to cover your losses
- The value of your uncovered damages
You need to prove the negligence of the other motorist much like any other type of car insurance claim.
This means you have to prove:
- The motorist had a duty of care (which is to drive in a reasonably safe way).
- The driver breached that duty in some way, which may consist of distracted driving, drunk driving, speeding, or violating other traffic laws.
- The motorist's breach of the duty led to the collision and your injuries.
You need to additionally provide evidence of the value of your claim. This may include providing medical bills, pay statements, statements from medical or occupational experts, and more. Proving responsibility for the crash and the amount of your losses can be more difficult than you think. Our law firm knows how to collect and present the necessary evidence to support your UM or UIM claim.
How Insurance Companies Challenge UM/UIM Claims
Even if you believe you have a totally legitimate claim, you might be stunned when you get a very low settlement offer or an outright denial. Insurance adjusters have many tactics to dispute these claims, including the following:
- Denying that you have uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance coverage under your plan.
- Disputing that the other driver was negligent and responsible for the accident.
- Challenging whether a hit and run driver actually physically contacted your vehicle or claim you were responsible for the collision.
- Trying to minimize your recovery by asserting you were partially responsible for the crash.
- Attempting to lower your settlement by challenging the extent of your injuries, the necessity of your medical treatment, or whether you had to miss work.
- Claiming you could have received less expensive medical care somewhere else.
- Suspecting whether you require future medical care or time off work.
- Doubting the pain and suffering you experienced as a result of your injuries.
- Questioning whether all of your injuries came from the accident in question.
When your insurance company protests and makes a lowball offer or rejects your claim, you need a serious supporter that will not back down. At First Law Group, we frequently take on major insurance companies to negotiate the offers our clients are entitled to, and we will not hesitate to file a lawsuit against your insurance company if needed.
At First Law Group, we really care about our community and we are driven by our passion for clients. Our personal injury lawyers in Glendora, California are always available to take your call. For a Free Consultation, call us at (626) 888-8264, or visit our website: FirstLG.com
