You would still need to prove responsibility for the accident before you could receive any compensation.
If you have been injured in a car accident that was a fault of another driver, you may qualify for financial compensation. The Arvada car accident lawyers at The Frickey Law Firm can fight for you to receive top dollar for your motor vehicle crash injuries.
The fact that the other driver does not have enough insurance, or even May lack coverage at all, is not a complete bar to your receiving compensation for your injuries. In these cases, you would deal with your own insurance company. If you have purchased uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, you may still receive a settlement check. Specifically, you would have needed to waive your uninsured or underinsured coverage, if you did not sign a waiver, you have the coverage and can be compensated. So just because the other driver does not have coverage or has the state minimum does not mean that your case is worth nothing. Even if the other driver cant be identified, you may still have coverage that will compensate you for your damages and injuries. We are experts in locating coverage, call today for a free case review.
Speak to the experienced Arvada car accident attorneys at The Frickey Law Firm to learn more about how you can be paid for your injuries. We can review your case and help explain your legal options.
Drivers Must Carry Car Insurance, But Do Not Always Do So
Colorado law requires motorists to carry a certain minimum amount of health insurance as a condition for getting behind the wheel of a car. The state minimum insurance levels are rather low, mandating that drivers have the following levels of coverage:
- $25,000 for bodily injury or death to any one person in an accident;
- $50,000 for bodily injury or death to all persons in any one accident; and.
- $15,000 for property damage in any one accident.
Car insurance is becoming even more expensive in Colorado in recent years. Nationwide, the rates of many insurance policies have skyrocketed by as much as 50%, as insurance companies both pay increased costs associated with claims and seek to make more money for themselves. Even though car insurance is a legal requirement in Colorado, many drivers go without it, whether it is to save themselves money or because they want to take additional risks. Those who do purchase car insurance may be opting for bare-bones policies and a lower amount of coverage to economize.
You cannot control who you are in an accident with on the road. You certainly cannot predict the amount of resources and coverage that they have. However, their choices very much affect you because there may not be as much money available to pay for your injuries. There are things that you can do to protect yourself, and buying uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is one of the most prudent steps you can take.
If You Have UM/UIM Coverage, You Can Still Be Paid
In Colorado, there is no legal requirement that a driver purchase uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. However, companies that sell car insurance coverage in Colorado are obligated to offer you the ability to purchase such coverage. The law states that you must be offered the opportunity to buy UM or UIM coverage in the same amount as your primary Insurance policy. In other words, you may need to spend more money to buy these types of insurance, but they are coverages that you simply cannot do without. You cannot shoulder the burden of poor decisions that other drivers make.
First, if the driver did not have car insurance, you may determine whether they were a resident relative that would allow you to file a claim against another member of their household’s policy. If you have been involved in an accident with a driver who did not have insurance in the first place, you would file a claim with your own insurance company against your uninsured motorist coverage. If the accident was with a driver who did not have enough coverage, you would first exhaust the entirety of their policy before you file an underinsured motorist claim with your own insurance company. In both cases, you would still need to prove responsibility for the accident before you could receive any compensation.
Remember that you are still dealing with your own insurance company when you file a claim after an uninsured or underinsured motorist accident. You cannot feel safe or take comfort that you are approaching a friendly face who will take care of you because of your loyalty as a customer. Your insurance company is the same as any other one in that they do not want to pay you everything you deserve because it costs them money. You would still need an experienced car accident attorney to deal with your own insurance company, both to secure your compensation in the first place and to fight for you to get a large enough settlement check.
Contact an Arvada Car Accident Law Firm Today
The Arvada car accident attorneys at The Frickey Law Firm are standing by and ready to help you when you have been injured by the negligence of another driver. Schedule a free initial consultation with a car accident attorney by contacting us online or by calling us today at (303) 237-7373.
Join the conversation!