A car accident is one of the most stressing, injurious events that a person can experience. While most people know how damaging a car accident can be physical, fewer people understand how financially devastating it can be, especially if you’re involved in an accident with a driver that doesn’t have car insurance.
Being hit by an uninsured driver in Chicago may leave you without the monetary support you need to repair your car and pay your medical bills. However, after you’ve been hit by an uninsured driver, you do have a few legal options. Here is some information about accidents involving uninsured drivers and advice for hiring a car accident lawyer for assistance with your case.
Underinsured Driver Accidents in Chicago
A more common occurrence than an accident with an uninsured driver is one with an underinsured driver. While underinsured drivers do possess some form of auto insurance, their coverage limit is usually too low to cover the type of extensive damages that result from a serious car accident. Once the underinsured driver’s policy limit has been reached, you will have to either pay remaining costs out of pocket or file a claim with your insurance.
You should be aware, however, that there are certain limits on filing a claim against your own insurance policy. For example, your claim amount will only be enough to cover the remaining damages, nothing more. Also, to be eligible to file a claim, your insurance policy must include underinsured driver coverage and this coverage must be less than the total amount of your policy.
Wrecks Caused by Uninsured Drivers
When you’re involved in a wreck with an uninsured driver, you may be considering filing a lawsuit against the driver. While this may seem to make sense, you usually will not be able to receive the amount of compensation you’re looking for, as uninsured drivers generally lack extensive assets. Instead, you will you need to file an uninsured driver claim with your own insurance policy.
The only requirement for filing an uninsured driver claim is that the fault of the other driver must be clear. If you were responsible for your accident in any way, your insurance company may have grounds to deny your claim.
Filing Your Claim in Chicago
The claims process for uninsured and underinsured driver accidents are essentially the same. As soon as you know the other driver lacks insurance or doesn’t have enough coverage to pay for your damages, you will need to notify your insurance company of your intent to file a claim. At this point, your insurer will investigate the facts of your case, including examining fault, the extent of your damages and any other information needed to calculate your compensation.
When you file either of these claims with your insurance company, understand that you’ve given up your ability to file a lawsuit against your insurer. If there is a dispute about your payout, you will instead be required to undergo arbitration, which generally favors the insurer. Before you submit to an arbitration hearing, be sure to hire a car accident lawyer to fight on your behalf.
Bring Your Case to a Chicago Car Accident Lawyer
After you’ve been hit by an uninsured driver and have suffered damages to your car and your body, you need to get legal advice from the Disparti Law Group Accident & Injury Lawyers. The Disparti Law team is very familiar with personal injury cases involving car accidents, and our car accident lawyers can represent you during an insurance company arbitration hearing.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
