We focus on personal injury law, so we know how to get fair compensation for you when you’ve been hurt in a car accident. Our San Antonio personal injury attorneys are dedicated to advocating for accident victims and helping them get on the road to recovery.
Getting compensation for your injuries can be complicated. You need an experienced team of passionate attorneys in your corner. Stand up for your rights by calling George Salinas Injury Lawyers today at (210) 225-0909 for a free consultation and learn more about your legal options.
What George Salinas Injury Lawyers Can Do To Help With Your Uninsured Motorist Claim in San Antonio
If you’ve been in a car accident and the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance, you may think you’ll be left holding the bag for your medical expenses. At a time like this, you need a San Antonio car accident lawyer you can trust. We can help you navigate the uninsured motorist claims process.
You’ll also need protection against the insurance company responsible for paying your claim. Don’t be fooled—they are not on your side. They’ll try to lure you in by offering you a quick settlement for far less than what is fair.
With George Salinas Injury Lawyers in your corner, you can rest assured that we won’t let them take advantage of you during your most vulnerable time. We can level the playing field for you by:
- Examining every aspect of your car accident
- Hiring car accident reconstruction experts to make sense of how the accident happened
- Determining who was at fault for the accident and identifying their insurance company
- Helping you through the uninsured motorist claims process if the at-fault driver is uninsured
- Negotiating with the insurance company to get you the best possible recovery
Insurance companies know that George Salinas Injury Lawyers come to the negotiation table prepared. When it comes time to negotiate a settlement, we know the value of your case, and we won’t compromise that for the sake of a hasty settlement.
The stress of your physical injuries is enough. You don’t need the additional stress of worrying about your mounting medical bills or lost income. Call us today for a free consultation to find out how we can take that worry off your plate.
What to Do After a San Antonio UI/UM Accident
If you are involved in a San Antonio accident with a driver who is underinsured or who is uninsured, it is very important that you alert your own auto insurance company immediately.
If the driver with too little insurance, or with no insurance, was the cause of the accident, that driver is the one who should be paying you for your losses. The at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability and property damage liability should provide you with compensation to “make you whole,” or cover all of your crash-related damages.
If that driver is unable to do that, either because they have no insurance or because they have too little coverage, then you risk being left with uncompensated out-of-pocket losses. However the good news is that as long as you have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, that should not happen. Your insurer will stand in and cover costs, up to your policy limits, that the other driver should have paid.
You do need to comply with your own insurer’s policies though, which usually include reporting an accident right away and making a prompt damage claim as soon as possible. Alerting your insurance company as soon as possible following an accident gives the insurer a chance to conduct any necessary investigations. It also strengthens your argument that you are hurt as badly as you say and that the other driver was the cause of your injuries.
In some cases, a driver without the proper insurance will try to claim that they can pay you directly and you shouldn’t report the accident. Don’t let them convince you not to report the crash as they may not have the money they’d need to compensate you and you could jeopardize your ability to take advantage of your own insurance benefits.
In addition to reporting the crash to your insurer, there are also some other steps that you should take after a UI or UM accident. Many of these steps are the same ones you’d take after any other crash because they are instrumental in helping you get the money you need and deserve. For example, some of the things that you should do include:
- Call the police: The police can make a crash report about the incident, which should help you to prove who was to blame for the incident and who should be required to compensate you. The police may also cite the other driver for driving without insurance.
- Exchange information with witnesses: You should get contact details and information about what witnesses observed as this could also help you to make your case and show both the cause of the accident and the extent of your damages.
- Exchange information with the other driver: The other driver may have some insurance coverage that can pay for part of your damages, or the other driver may have enough money that it would be worth going after them personally to get paid for your damages. You’ll want to be sure you have a way to contact the other motorist in all circumstances.
- Get medical help. If the crash may have caused you injury, you should be checked out by a doctor immediately. Your doctor can document your injuries to reduce the chances there will be a dispute about their validity or seriousness. Your doctor can also help you to treat any hidden or unexpected injuries that may not have caused immediate symptoms but that can still threaten your health.
It’s also a good idea to work with a San Antonio uninsured motorist accident attorney in the aftermath of your accident. Your attorney can help you decide on the best path toward maximizing the chances of getting full recovery when the person who hurt you doesn’t have enough insurance coverage to pay for your losses.
How Can I Get Compensated for My Injuries if the At-Fault Driver Is Uninsured?
Texas is an “at-fault” car accident state. This means that the driver who caused the accident is responsible for compensating you for your injuries. Because of this, state law requires all drivers to have car insurance.
The law also sets forth the minimum amount of insurance coverage each driver must have to cover the cost of accidents they cause. These minimum coverage amounts include:
- $30,000 for bodily injury or death of one person – If a driver injures someone, their bodily injury liability coverage will pay up to $30,000 for that person’s losses.
- $60,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more people in a single accident– If multiple people are hurt in a motor vehicle accident, the insurer will pay a total of $60,000 to compensate all of the victims.
- $25,000 for property damage per accident – This will go towards covering damage to the property of others that a policyholder causes.
Failure to have the required insurance is a bad idea. You can face substantial fines, suspension of your driving privileges, and be held 100% liable for the injuries you cause. Most Texans carry the required insurance. In 2019, only about 8.3% of all Texas motorists were uninsured.
But what happens if you’re hurt in a car accident that was caused by a driver who doesn’t have insurance? The good news is that you may still have options to get compensated for your injuries.
If you have uninsured motorist coverage in your own policy, you have some protection against uninsured drivers who caused the accident that resulted in your injuries. In that case, you would file a first-party insurance claim with your own insurer.
The Texas Department of Insurance has also explained that insurers must provide you with the option to buy underinsured motorist coverage when you purchase a policy. If you decide that you do not want this coverage to be in place, that’s your choice — but you are going to have to opt out of the protection in writing.
Drivers who don’t have the required coverage can get into legal trouble. They can also be responsible personally for paying for losses they cause to others if they become involved in a car accident. A victim can still make a claim against them, and can try to recover from their personal assets.
Some drivers do choose to buy more than these protections, which is advisable to provide protection for assets. Unfortunately, some other drivers buy only the minimum or no coverage at all.
If you are involved in a crash with a driver who has only the required coverage or who didn’t even buy the mandated insurance, then you are looking at an underinsured or uninsured accident situation. This is where you’d turn to your own insurer to stand in as long as you did not opt out of buying the coverage that protects you in these situations.
If you’ve been injured in Texas because of the negligence of an uninsured driver, George Salinas Injury Lawyers will sit down with you and go through every detail of your insurance policy. We can help you through the claims process to maximize your compensation.
Who Pays for Car Accidents Caused by Uninsured Drivers in Texas?
When a car accident is caused by an uninsured driver, hopefully the crash victims will have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and their own insurance company will cover the bills. Their insurer can stand in for the insurance company of the driver who should have been responsible for covering their losses.
A crash victim can also try to hold the uninsured driver personally liable but this only works if that driver has enough income to pay them or has assets that could be used to satisfy a judgment. Since this often is not the case, going after the at-fault driver personally is typically not going to work well.
Sadly, if someone has no uninsured motorist coverage and can’t get any compensation from the driver who harmed them, then they may face serious out-of-pocket losses as they may get stuck with the bills. This is why it is important for everyone to have comprehensive coverage in place including protection against getting in a crash with an uninsured driver.
George Salinas Injury Lawyers can help those involved in a crash with an uninsured motorist to explore all of their options for recovering compensation. Give us a call today to talk with a San Antonio uninsured motorist accident attorney who will work hard to find a way to get your injuries covered.
What Does Uninsured Motorist Coverage Pay For?
Texas doesn’t require you to carry uninsured motorist coverage, but it’s generally still a good idea. Depending on the specific uninsured motorist coverage in your policy, it may cover the following costs:
- Medical expenses
- Property damage, including damage to your car
- Reduced income or loss of income
- Funeral expenses
When faced with this situation, having an experienced personal injury firm like George Salinas Injury Lawyers can really pay off for you. You will have to provide your insurance company with your medical records and bills and document the value of your claim.
They may try to avoid paying you anything by blaming you for the accident. When you didn’t cause the accident, we’ll fight tirelessly for you and protect you against false claims that you were at fault.
Call George Salinas Injury Lawyers for a Free, No-Obligation Consultation About Your Car Accident
Getting hurt in a car accident is hard enough. But when the driver who caused the accident is uninsured, it can make things much more stressful.
Put our experience at George Salinas Injury Lawyers to work for you by calling us today to schedule your free consultation. Our San Antonio uninsured motorist claim attorneys can help you understand your rights under your car insurance policy and formulate a legal strategy to get every dollar to which you’re entitled.