Auto accidents can be tricky. You were just sitting at a traffic light, minding your own business, when you were rear-ended.
Now, you are injured, disoriented, and maybe on the way to the emergency room. The last thing you want to worry about is who owns the vehicle that hit you.
Nevertheless, you must find out who owns the vehicle that hit you. Many times, the driver is the owner of the vehicle, and if that’s true, consider yourself lucky. The aftermath of your car crash will be much easier because of it.
Uber, Lyft, and Rental Cars Make Matters More Complicated
In today’s world of Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare programs, along with tourist season in Florida, it has become more important than ever to know who owns the vehicle that hit you at the time of the accident.
Special Considerations for Rental Cars
Rental cars especially pose a unique situation. Normally, when law enforcement investigates an accident, they will ask for a driver’s license, registration, and insurance information.
In a rental car accident, however, the owner of the vehicle is the rental car company, and the insurance company is the rental agency’s insurer. Often, the rental car’s insurance policy does not cover our client’s injuries. As such, it is up to the injured individual to ask the investigating officer for not only the rental car’s insurance information but also information about the driver’s personal automobile insurance policy.
Otherwise, we will be forced to track down the negligent driver’s personal automobile insurance information. This takes more time than you can imagine, especially if the driver is from a different state or country. In addition to causing unnecessary complications in your case, this process could delay getting the necessary treatment for your injuries.
All too often, we send out letters to the at-fault driver’s insurance company, and the insured has not notified their personal insurance carrier of the accident because they believed the rental car insurance company would cover it.
This means we must start an insurance claim from scratch, a hurdle that could have been avoided in many instances.
After an Accident, Remember to Ask (If You Are Able)
If you are unfortunate enough to be in an automobile wreck, and you can talk to the law enforcement officer, just ask whether the person who hit you owns the vehicle.
If not, please ask the officer nicely if they can gather the at-fault driver’s personal auto insurance information for you, as well – just in case.
This process may take 30 seconds, but it can save you months of aggravation in the future, particularly if you decide to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver’s insurance claim.
Dellutri Law Group can help you use the information you gathered to recover the compensation you need for medical bills and other accident-related expenses. If you didn’t have a chance to ask the officer for the at-fault driver’s insurance information, we can also help you find the liable party, along with the information and evidence you need to win your claim.
We have been proudly serving clients like you since 1998, and we want to help you deal with the aftermath of your car crash – no matter how complex it is. We also want you to recover the compensation you need as quickly as possible, which is why we wrote this blog!
For communication you can count on and service tailored to your needs, call us at (800) 391-4337 or request a complimentary strategy session online.