Thousand Oaks Uninsured Motorist Lawyer

Janns Marketplace, a major retail hub of Thousand Oaks, is always packed on a Friday night with moviegoers, gamers, shoppers, and diners. As you make your way through the packed parking lot, you finally find a spot and start to pull in. But the car next to the open spot suddenly—and quickly—decided to back out without even looking first, hitting the driver’s side of your car hard. It all happened so fast, but you knew right away there was something wrong with your neck and you felt your collarbone go snap.

Your only consolation was knowing that the other driver’s insurance would cover it all, not knowing at the time that he was actually driving without insurance. Turns out, you still may be covered from your own insurance. But things can get a little tricky when you’re hit by an uninsured or underinsured motorist, which is why you’ll want to contact a Thousand Oaks uninsured motorist lawyer to help get you paid.

Below we’ll discuss how uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance works, challenges that are unique to uninsured motorist claims, and common types of auto accident injury claims.

Motorists are required by California law to have liability insurance in the event other motorists or passengers are injured or have property damage due to your negligence. If you don’t carry adequate insurance coverage, you could face fines or have your automobile impounded. If you cause an accident but have inadequate liability insurance, the California DMV can suspend your license for up to four years.

You’re also required to carry coverage for uninsured and underinsured motorists, since not everyone follows the law. So that accident in the parking lot should be covered by your own insurance policy’s uninsured motorist policy.

You’re required to carry the following to cover injuries and property damage caused by an uninsured or underinsured motorist:

• Bodily injury: $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident minimum
• Property damage: $3,500 minimum

This doesn’t mean that your insurance company is motivated to pay you a high settlement, so they may offer a settlement agreement right away, typically one that’s lower than your actual damages. Until you speak with your Thousand Oaks uninsured motorist lawyer, though, you may not have a complete picture of your total damages. That neck injury could be serious but you won’t know right away and other symptoms may show up only later.

Also, it’s important to understand that California law allows insurers to deduct any amount paid by the at-fault driver’s insurance company (or out-of-pocket). So, if your claim is for $300,000 and the other party’s insurer maxes out at $75,000—leaving a balance of $225,000—your insurer may subtract the $75,000 you’ve already been paid and reimburse you just $150,000.

That’s why you’ll want to work with a skilled attorney who understands how the process works and knows how to get the best possible settlement for your injury claims. We know how to not only make the strongest case for you but also to defeat any arguments your insurance company may have.

Whether the other driver was properly insured should have no bearing on the actual damages you claim. Medical costs and other expenses related to your bodily injuries, in addition to lost wages, are some of the more obvious damages you’ll claim. However, injuries often affect other areas of our lives that may not at first realize. A good attorney will understand what it’s worth in a claim.

Other damages that are often claimed in car accident claims include:

• Disfigurement or permanent disability
• Pain and suffering
• Diminished future earning potential
• Loss of consortium (intimacy and affection)

Although most accident claims are settled out of court, the goal is to compile as strong of a case as you can in order to reach an agreeable settlement. If you’re doing this without an attorney, you may be short changing yourself. Once a settlement is accepted, you won’t be able to claim additional damages if you’ve overlooked something.

While it’s good to know that you’re own insurance company has your back if an uninsured motorist causes an accident that results in an injury, you’re not guaranteed a positive outcome. Due to a number of factors, these types of claims require a lot more finesse and tend to benefit enormously from the help of a Thousand Oaks uninsured motorist lawyer. If you’ve been injured by a negligent driver lacking adequate coverage, talk to the legal experts at the Law Offices of Gary K. Walch, a Law Corporation today. We take all our cases on a contingency fee basis meaning that we don’t get paid until we get you paid—give us a call today to learn why we are who to call when dealing with a Thousand Oaks no insurance car accident!