Can an Uninsured Driver Hit By an Insured Driver File a Claim?

Being hit by another driver while you are taking every precaution and driving as safely as possible is aggravating. But when you are uninsured, it may be even more dangerous. If you have been injured in a car accident, only to realize that your insurance lapsed, you may be wondering what your legal options and rights are.

In Tennessee, it all depends on your level of fault and the other driver’s level of coverage.

Your legal rights in car accidents

In Tennessee, drivers have both rights and obligations. One of the main obligations is liability insurance. Drivers must carry insurance that provides at least $25,000 of bodily injury per person, $50,000 of bodily injury per incident, and $25,000 of property damage per incident. When you do not carry insurance (or have less than the legally required amount), you are in violation of the state’s financial responsibility law. Tennessee law allows drivers to meet financial responsibility requirements either through insurance or, in rare cases, by posting a $65,000 bond or cash deposit.

This will obviously come to light when you are involved in an accident, so you should expect to be cited and potentially have your vehicle registration suspended. However, you still have rights as an accident victim. A failure to maintain necessary insurance coverage does not mean giving up your right to recover compensation if another party causes a crash.

This is not the case in every state, some states have “no pay, no play” rules. In these states, drivers who do not “opt in” by purchasing insurance are barred from recovering certain types of damages. Tennessee still allows uninsured accident victims to recover compensation from accidents.

Dealing with insurance companies

The issue of comparative negligence may come into play when you begin negotiating compensation with the other driver’s insurance company. Tennessee is one of many modified comparative negligence states. Basically, this means that you can still recover compensation from an accident if you are partially at fault, as long as your share of fault is less than 50%. If you fall below that threshold, your share of compensation is reduced proportionately to your share of liability. If you are 50% or more liable, you cannot recover anything.

As you may have guessed, insurance companies are quick to take advantage of this and use it to avoid paying out what accident victims are truly owed. You should expect them to hit you with an initial lowball offer. They may even claim that this is the only time they will offer anything and that if you do not accept it, they will not offer again. They are also likely to argue that your share of fault is at least 50%, which means you would not get anything in court and should not even take the risk.

Delay tactics are also par for the course with insurance companies. They know that most people cannot go without income or money for medical bills for an extended period of time. Some adjusters hope that if they ignore your calls or give you vague answers for long enough, you will give up and just pay out of pocket. This is an obviously underhanded tactic that takes advantage of victims, but that does not stop insurance companies from doing it.

Pathways to resolution

It may be time to bring in a car accident lawyer who can advocate for you. This is particularly important when you do not have your own car insurance. Insured drivers may rely on collision coverage, UM/UIM (if not rejected in writing), and MedPay. Uninsured drivers, by contrast, lack these policy-based safety nets and must typically rely on claims against the at-fault driver.

Your attorney may take a variety of paths and use different tactics to prove your case, determine the liable party, and demand the compensation you are entitled to. They will likely begin by investigating the fault thoroughly with police reports, witness statements, traffic cam footage, and medical records.

They will also take steps to calculate your total damages so they can demand a fair settlement from the insurance company. Once they have calculated your losses and backed them up with evidence, they can send a demand letter to the insurance company and start negotiating.

Although most car accident claims end in a settlement, there are cases where insurance companies push back a little harder or refuse to negotiate in good faith. When this happens, you may have to take your case to court.

From start to finish, an attorney’s goal is to prevent an insurance company from exploiting the fact that you are uninsured.

What to expect when taking your case to court

Taking a case to court takes significantly more time and preparation than settling out of court, but sometimes, it is the only option. It begins when your attorney files the complaint, suing the at-fault driver for the accident. During discovery, both sides exchange evidence and take depositions. Different forms of evidence may be suppressed, which may force one side to adjust its strategy.

Pre-trial negotiation is common because these cases can settle at any point prior to or during the court process. If no settlement is reached, you will have to go to trial. A judge or jury will listen to the case from both sides, listen to witnesses, and determine whether or not the defendant is at fault. If so, they will determine how much compensation to award the victim.

Choose Rocky McElhaney Law Firm: Car Accident & Injury Lawyers for your car accident case

When you have a car accident claim, you need an attorney who is ready to go to court. Even if your case does not go to trial, it puts you in a much stronger position during negotiations. Call us today or contact us online so that we can talk about your next steps.