Uninsured motorist claims can be confusing
At the Brandon, Florida law office of D. Michael Elkins, P.A., a large portion of my practice as an auto accident attorney is devoted to pursuing uninsured motorist claims. An uninsured motorist claim involves seeking compensation for your medical or chiropractic bills, lost wages and pain and suffering if you were injured either by a hit and run driver, by someone who was underinsured, or by someone whose insurance company is now denying coverage for your accident. Unfortunately in today's economic climate the number of persons driving without liability insurance on their vehicles will only increase, as will the likelihood that you will suffer personal injury as the result of the negligence of an uninsured driver.
Depending upon the availability of uninsured motorist insurance coverage, you may be entitled to pursue this type of claim even if you were driving a vehicle owned by someone else or were merely a passenger in someone else’s vehicle.
The law governing uninsured motorist claims can be confusing. As your auto accident lawyer I will determine whether uninsured motorist coverage exists for you and whether you may be eligible to pursue a claim for uninsured motorist benefits under your own insurance policy or the policy of someone else. If you fail to pursue this type of claim, you could be unintentionally leaving money for your injuries lying on the table! Please contact me to discuss your options to pursue an uninsured motorist claim.
Have you been injured in a hit and run accident?
Imagine that your vehicle has been hit from the rear end or sideswiped or that you have been involved in a head-on collision or a car crash at an intersection. What if the negligent motorist fled the scene and you cannot identify that hit and run driver? Obviously being unable to identify the hit and run driver leaves you with no way of knowing whether that driver had any bodily injury liability insurance so the law considers the hit and run driver to be an uninsured motorist.
If you have suffered personal injury in a hit and run accident, you may be able to pursue a claim for uninsured motorist benefits. Please contact me to discuss your options to pursue an uninsured motorist claim.
Did the negligent motorist have some insurance but just not enough to fully compensate you for your injuries?
Consider a different situation in which you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident and the negligent driver did have bodily liability insurance coverage. What if the value of your injury claim is greater than the amount of insurance available from the negligent driver of that vehicle? In other words, what if the value of your claim is $100,000.00 but the negligent motorist was only carrying $10,000.00 of bodily injury liability insurance coverage?
Or what if the negligent driver had bodily liability insurance coverage at the time of your accident but several people were injured in the accident and there is not enough insurance available to fully compensate everyone who was injured? For example, what if the negligent driver had a total of $20,000.00 in insurance available to pay for all injuries in one accident, but there were four persons injured in that accident?
Finally consider a situation where a negligent driver had bodily injury liability insurance coverage at the time of the accident but the accident the driver's insurance company has already paid out all of the available insurance to someone else injured in the accident, perhaps because the other person's injuries were more serious or they simply presented their claim to the insurance company first.
In any of these circumstances the negligent motorist is known as an “underinsured” motorist and you may be able to pursue a claim for underinsured motorist benefits. Please contact me to discuss your options to pursue an underinsured motorist claim.
Has the negligent driver’s insurance company denied coverage for the accident?
Finally consider another situation in which you have been injured in an auto accident. What if the negligent driver had bodily injury insurance coverage but his or her insurance company has now denied coverage for the accident, either because the driver was an unlisted driver under the policy, the vehicle was not an insured vehicle under the policy, the policy had been cancelled, or for some other reason?
In such a situation, the law considers the negligent driver to be an uninsured motorist and you may be able to pursue a claim for uninsured motorist benefits. Please contact me to discuss your options to pursue an uninsured motorist claim.
Is uninsured motorist insurance coverage available to you?
Under Florida law if your automobile insurance policy provides you with bodily injury liability insurance coverage, you are automatically provided with uninsured motorist coverage in the same amount, unless you have signed a particular type of form rejecting this type of coverage or have selected uninsured motorist insurance coverage in a lesser amount.
As your motor vehicle accident attorney I will investigate whether you had this type of insurance coverage under your policy and if not, determine whether you made a valid rejection of it at some point before your accident. The fact is that the your insurance company must prove that you made a valid rejection of uninsured motorist coverage and sometimes a rejection may not have been a valid rejection.
In those rare occasions when your insurer cannot prove that a valid rejection took place, you may be able to pursue an uninsured motorist claim even if you never purchased this type of insurance coverage in the first place! Please contact me to discuss whether under the facts of your own particular case you may be able to pursue a claim for uninsured motorist benefits.
Were you the driver or a passenger in a vehicle owned by someone else who might have uninsured motorist coverage?
There may be some situations where you have uninsured motorist coverage available to you under someone else’s insurance policy but be unaware of it. Such might be the case if you suffered personal injuries while driving, or a passenger in, a vehicle owned by someone else such as a friend, a family member or even an employer.
If the owner of that vehicle had a policy of insurance that provided uninsured motorist coverage, you may be able to present a claim under their policy. Please contact me to discuss whether your presence in someone else’s vehicle might entitle you to pursue a claim for uninsured motorist benefits.
Schedule a Free Initial Consultation
Call 813-699-4896 or contact me online to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Eastern Hillsborough County personal injury lawyer. If I do not recover compensation for you, you will not pay an attorney's fee. I have flexible office hours and am available for weekend and evening appointments. Please prepare for your first meeting with me to discuss your personal injury claim by learning what to bring to your consultation.
D. Michael Elkins, P.A.
1312 East Lumsden Road
Brandon, FL 33511
Toll Free: 866-986-4123 | Phone: 813-699-4896 | Fax: 813-567-1205
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At the law office of D. Michael Elkins, P.A., I represent clients throughout Tampa and Hillsborough County, Florida. My Brandon location makes my office especially convenient for those living or working in Eastern Hillsborough locations such as Brandon, Apollo Beach, Balm, Bloomingdale, Boyette, Dover, Durant, Fish Hawk, Fort Lonesome, Gibsonton, Lithia, Mango, Plant City, Progress Village, Riverview, Ruskin, Seffner, Sun City Center, Sydney, Thonotosassa, Valrico, Wauchula and Wimauma.