Underinsured and Uninsured Driver Accidents
Uninsured Driver Accidents Attorney Morristown, NJ
While all car owners are required under New Jersey state law
to carry insurance, not all do. And since the minimum amount of insurance required to register a car is $15,000, a sizeable number of New Jersey drivers who do have insurance don’t always have adequate coverage to cover losses in car accidents. As a result, if your injuries and losses exceed the coverage amounts of the driver who hit you, you can’t recover medical expenses and lost wages under his or her policy. Since insurers are required to offer drivers underinsured/uninsured coverage, you’ll have to file a claim for the difference with your own insurer (assuming you have underinsured/uninsured coverage). In doing so, however, you enter into an adversarial relationship with your own insurer.
For this reason, it’s important to discuss your case with an experienced personal injury attorney who can assert your rights and protect your interests. If you’ve been injured by an underinsured or uninsured driver, contact our Morristown uninsured accident claims attorneys today. Call us at 973-984-1414.
Uninsured Claims: Why Your Interests Conflict with those of Your Insurer
Assume a driver with only $15,000 of coverage hits and injures you. After your medical bills and other losses are totaled, assume you suffer losses equaling $80,000. Under the terms of your underinsured/uninsured driver coverage, you can recover losses in excess of the at-fault driver’s coverage — in this case, $15,000 — from your own insurer. As a result, if your underinsured/uninsured driver coverage is $100,000, you should be able to recover $65,000 from your insurer. Since insurers are in business to make a profit, paying a sizeable amount of money on an underinsured/uninsured claim is not something your insurer is likely to welcome.
Why It’s Important to Hire an Attorney and Protect Your Interests
The state of New Jersey adheres to the principle of modified comparative negligence. This means if a driver is found to be 51 percent or more at fault, he or she can’t recover damages. If a driver is judged to be 50 percent or less at fault, his or her compensation will be reduced by the percentage of their fault. For example, if your losses equal $80,000 but you’re deemed to be 25 percent at fault, you can only recover up to $60,000.
Consequently, your insurer will investigate the circumstances of your accident to determine if some of the blame can be shifted onto you. Here, your insurer may want to ask you questions, hoping you’ll say something that can be used against you later to justify reducing the amount they have to pay you. In this sense, when you file an underinsured/uninsured claim, your interests and those of your insurer are in conflict. That’s why it’s important to hire an attorney to protect you.
Contact Morristown, New Jersey, Uninsured Claims Attorney
While you may believe you have a good relationship with your insurance agent, it’s important to remember things can quickly change once you file an underinsured/uninsured claim. Don’t be misled or taken advantage of — contact Morristown, New Jersey, uninsured claims attorneys today to learn how we can help you.
The experienced personal injury law firm of Leonard & Leonard, P.A. works hard to protect the rights of families and individuals in cases of personal injury, wrongful death, workers’ compensation, employment law, traffic violations, and civil rights. They serve clients throughout the state, with offices in Union County and Morris County and the surrounding areas of New Jersey, including cities and communities such as Springfield, Summit, Millburn, Union, Newark, Morristown, Morris Plains, Dover, Sparta, Hackettstown, Irvington, Paterson, Bloomfield, Hackensack, Basking Ridge, East Hanover, Mendham, Randolph, Morris Township, Bernardsville, Plainfield, and Elizabeth, NJ.
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