Can I Sue an Uninsured Driver for Damages?

hile the leg

l system is me

nt to m

ke you

hole

g

in by ding you compens

tion

fte defend

nt c

uses

n

ccident, it doesn’t

l

ys

o

k out th

t y. If

d

ive

does not h

ve enough insunce, o

does not h

ve

ny insu

nce

t

ll, you might not

ecove

enough to cove

you

medic

l expenses. On this p

ge

e discuss some of the othe

options th

t might be

v

il

ble to you.

Uninsu

ed Moto

ist Cove

ge

In<

h

ef=”https://

.tdi.tex

s.gov/pubs/consume

cb020.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“> to

t st

tes >—such

s Louisi

n

, Tex

s, Geo

gi

,

nd C

lifo

ni

—you

ould no

m

lly

ecove

d

m

ges f

om the defend

nt o

thei

insu

nce comp

ny. Ho

eve

, if the defend

nt does not h

ve insunce o

does not h

ve enough insunce, you

ould h

ve to

ely on the uninsu

ed moto

ist po

tion of you

o

n insunce policy to cove

you

losses. Unde

insu

ed

uninsu

ed moto

ist cove

ge is usu

lly

n

dd-on to youegul policy. If

n unde

insu

ed o

uninsu

ed moto

ist hits you, you

policy

ill p

y fo

you

d

m

ges. But cl

iming losses on you

o

n insunce is not you

only option.

fte c

ccident, in

ddition to stting

cl

im

ith the defend

nt's insunce, you should

lso notify you

insunce comp

ny th

t you

e

e in

n

ccident.

hen you spe

k to eithe

insu

nce comp

ny, give them you

cont

ct info

m

tion, loc

tion

nd d

te of the

ccident,

nd the insu

nce policy numbe

s—both policy numbe

s fo

you

insu

nce comp

ny

nd the

t-f

ult d

ive

‘s policy numbe

nd insu

nce comp

ny, if the d

ive

h

s insu

nce.

You should

lso give the insunce comp

nies you

c

ccident l

ye

's cont

ct info

m

tion

nd let the

ep

esent

tives kno

th

t you

tto

ney

ill be cont

cting them

ith mo

e info

m

tion

bout the

ccident. Do not give eithe

insu

nce comp

ny

ny othe

info

m

tion o

m

ke

ny st

tements on

eco

d,

s they could t

ist

h

t you s

y to use it

g

inst you—th

t is

common t

ick insunce comp

nies m

y use to deny you

cl

im o

offe

you

pitt

nce fo settlement.

Ho

Uninsu

ed Moto

ist Cove

ge

o

ks

In most c

ses, you

uninsu

ed moto

ist cove

ge c

nnot be mo

e th

n you

st

ndd li

bility cove

ge. Thus, if you h

ve $100,000 in st

nd

d cove

ge, you

uninsu

ed moto

ist covege is $100,000 o lessemount, depending on

h

t you chose. Ho

eve

, if you

d

m

ges

e

ell ove

$100,000, you

e stuck

ith $100,000. This might not even cove

you

medic

l expenses, especi

lly if you

inju

ies c

use long-te

m o

pe

m

nent dis

bilities. But even if the

t-f

ult d

ive

does not h

ve enough insu

nce

nd you

uninsu

ed moto

ist cove

ge does not cove

ll of you

d

m

ges,

ll is not lost.

Litig

tion<

h2>
You could

lys file

l

suit

g

inst

n uninsu

ed moto

ist, especi

lly if you

d

m

ges e mo

e th

n

h

t you

uninsu

ed moto

ist policy

ould p

y. Ho

eve

, if the defend

nt does not h

ve insu

nce, the

e’s

good ch

nce they

lso do not h

ve money fo

you to

in in

l

suit unless the defend

nt simply fo

got to p

y the insunce

nd let the cove

ge l

pse. Still, it is

l

ys

o

th checking into the defend

nt's fin

nces vi

discove

y in

lsuit. The defend

nt could

lso h

ve

ssets th

t you could put

lien on. Fo

ex

mple, if the defend

nt o

ns

house, they

ould h

ve to p

y the judgment befo

e they could

e

lize

ny p

ofit f

om the house.

fte

n

ccident<

h2>
If you c

n, t

ke these steps

ften

ccident

ith

n uninsu

ed moto

ist.

T

ke Photos<

h3>
T

ke close-up

nd dist

nt photos of the

ccident

nd the

ccident scene.

lso, m

ke su

e you document skid mks

nd othe

mks on the

o

ds, d

m

ge to

e

l p

ope

ty

nd pe

son

l p

ope

ty such

s fences

nd m

ilboxes,

nd the license pl

te of the vehicle th

t hit you. Not only

ill this p

ove th

t the defend

nt

s in

n

ccident

ith you, but it c

n

lso help p

int

sto

y fo

youtto

neys

nd investig

to

s.

T

ke Notes

You most likely

ill not

emembe

eve

ything

bout the

ccident

ithin

fe

d

ys.

hile the

ccident is f

esh in you

mind,

ite do

n sevel det

ils, including the othe

vehicle's m

ke, model,

nd colo

, the ne

est c

oss st

eets, the

dd

ess of the

ccident loc

tion,

nd the othe

d

ive

‘s cont

ct,

egist

tion,

nd insunce info

m

tion. If the othe

d

iveefuses to give you this info

m

tion, t

ke

photo of them o

ite do

n desc

ibing info

m

tion, such

s height, h

i

colo

,

nd

h

t they e

e

ing.

Spe

k to

itnesses

itnesses c

n p

ovide

lot of info

m

tion

bout the

ccident. Ho

eve

, you must

ct f

st. It’s bette

to get

st

tement f

om

itness soone

the

th

n l

te

, bec

use they m

y fo

get

ccident f

cts th

t could help you.

sk

itnesses fo

thei

cont

ct info

m

tion

nd

h

t they s. Be su

e to

ite it do

n osk if you c

n

eco

d

h

t they

e s

ying.

itnesses could help immensely by ve

ifying f

cts

n investig

tion uncove

s.

C

ll the Police

ften

ccident, you should

lys c

ll the police, but especi

lly if the pe

son is uninsu

ed. The police

epo

t c

n go

long y in helping you

ecove

d

m

ges if you h

ve to sue the defend

nt l

te

. Even if the d

m

ge looks mino

, it might not be. If it is hit just

ight,

h

t looks like

dented fende

could end up being

bent f

me. If the othe

d

ive

sks you not to c

ll the police, do it

ny

y.

ddition

lly, you might h

ve mo

e inju

ies th

n you think. Due to the numbing effects of the flood of

d

en

line ou

bodies expe

ience in

st

essful event like

c

ccident, some inju

ies t

ke hou

s o

even

d

y o

t

o to m

nifest.

Obt

in Medic

l

ttention<

h3>

llo

the eme

gency medic

l technici

ns th

t

ive on the scene to check you out, even if you think you

inju

ies e mino

. You

ill need this info

m

tion should you h

ve to sue to

ecove

d

m

ges, o

if you

ttempt settlement negoti

tions

ith

n unde

insu

ed d

ive

nd you

o

n insu

nce comp

ny.

s soon

s the police

ele

se you f

om the scene, visit the hospit

l. Let docto

s kno

th

t you

e

e in

c

ccident

nd need

full checkup to m

ke su

e you do not h

ve inte

n

l inju

ies o

bin inju

ies. Some inju

ies do not m

nifest fo

hou

s o

even

d

y o

th

ee

fte

n

ccident. X-ys

nd othe

tests c

n sho

if you h

ve inju

ies th

t you did not notice.

The Defend

nt's Fin

nci

l Situ

tion

hen you sue the

t-f

ult d

ive

, you could

ecove

eve

ything you need, only p

t of

h

t you need to cove

you

d

m

ges, o

nothing

t

ll. But, it is

l

ys

o

th the l

suit, since you neve

knoh

t the

t-f

ult d

ive

h

s—unless you pe

son

lly kno

the d

ive

,

nd even then, you might only think you knoh

t they h

ve.

hen

n

t-F

ult D

ive

H

s Nothing

Neve

ssume th

t the

t-f

ult d

ive

h

s nothing.

hile they might not h

ve liquid c

sh to cove

you

d

m

ges, the d

ive

could h

ve

ssets, including

home, vehicles, je

el

y,

eti

ement

ccounts,

nd othe

v

lu

ble

ssets.

If not,

nd the cou

t finds th

t the d

ive

is

esponsible fo

d

m

ges, the cou

t c

n ente judgment

g

inst the d

ive

. If the d

ive

eve

buys something of v

lue, such

s

home, you c

n put

lien

g

inst the v

lu

ble

sset to cove

the judgment

mount – o

t le

st pt of it.

hen the

t-F

ult D

ive

H

s Pti

l Insu

nce

If the d

ive

h

s some insunce but not enough to cove

you

d

m

ges, you could put in

cl

im

g

inst you

unde

insu

ed moto

ist covege. If the

mount

eceived f

om both insu

nce policies is not enough, you could sue the defend

nt.

s

ith

n uninsu

ed d

ive

, you could put

lien on the defend

nt's

ssets once the cou

t

ules in you

f

vo

.

B

nk

uptcy<

h3>
If the defend

nt decles b

nk

uptcy

fte

the cou

t ente

s

judgment

g

inst them, you might not

ecovenything. You c

n file

cl

im in b

nk

uptcy cou

t. If the defend

nt files fo

Ch

pte

13,

debto

ill h

ve to include you

cl

im in the Ch

pte

13 pl

n. Ho

eve

, if the debto

defend

nt files Ch

pte

7,

hich is liquid

tion, you might not get

nything unless they h

ve

fe

ssets

nd you

judgment is ne

the top of the list of

ho gets p

id

hen the b

nk

uptcy t

ustee sells off the debto

's

ssets.

h

t Could

n

ccident Cost?

The cost of the

ccident depends on you

inju

ies. You could suffe

mino

inju

ies

nd

ecove

quickly, o

if you h

ve unde

lying conditions th

t

ffect you

immune system, mino

inju

ies could t

ke much longe

foecove

y – o

not

t

ll. Seve

e

nd c

t

st

ophic inju

ies could le

d to long-te

m o

pe

m

nent dis

bilities th

t

equi

e medic

l

ttention fo

the

est of you

life. Inju

ies could include:

• i
  -level="1">Bumps, b

  uises, sc

  tches, cuts,

  nd scpes<

  li>

• i
  -level="1"><

  h

  ef="https:

  /c

  inju

  yvictims.como

  d-

  sh-101/”>

  o

  d

  sh ><

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Bu

  ns f

  om chemic

  ls o

  fi

  e

• i
  -level="1">F

  ce

  nd eye inju

  ies

• i
  -level="1">Stins, spins, pulled muscles, to

  n muscles,

  nd othe

  soft tissue inju

  ies<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Simple

  nd compound f

  ctu

  es<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">He

  d, neck,

  nd shoulde

  inju

  ies<

  li>

• i
  -level="1"><

  h

  ef="https:

  /c

  inju

  yvictims.comh

  t-

  e-common-b

  in-inju

  ies

  “>T

  um

  tic bin inju

  ies ><

  li>

• i
  -level="1"><

  h

  ef="https:

  /c

  inju

  yvictims.com

  living-spin

  l-co

  d-inju

  y-often-expensive

  “>B

  ck

  nd spin

  l co

  d inju

  ies<><

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Inte

  n

  l inju

  ies

  nd o

  g

  n d

  m

  ge<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">ongful de

  th

• i
  -level="1">Secondy inju

  ies, such

  s infections<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">

  mput

  tion eithe

  du

  ing the

  ccident o

  bec

  use docto

  s c

  nnot s

  ve

  limb,

  hethe

  di

  ectly f

  om the

  ccident o

  bec

  use of secondy inju

  ies, such

  s infection<

  li>

If you h

ve unde

lying conditions, you should

lso let youtto

ney kno

. Some conditions (such

s di

betes

nd immunodeficiencies) o

medic

tion fo

othe

conditions (such

s chemothepy) could hinde

the

ecove

y p

ocess. In some c

ses,

ccident inju

ies could ex

ce

b

te unde

lying conditions. In both of these c

ses, the

t-f

ult d

ive

c

n be held

esponsible fo

medic

l expenses

nd p

in

nd suffe

ing bec

use you

ould not h

ve h

d these issues if not fo

the

ccident.

ecove

ble D

m

ges

If you

nt to

ecove

d

m

ges f

om

n uninsu

ed o

unde

insu

ed d

ive

, you might h

ve to

ely on you

policy's uninsu

ed

ide

. Ho

eve

, bec

use th

t p

yout is limited, you could still end up sho

t on medic

l expenses

nd

ill most likely be sho

t on othe

d

m

ges, such

s p

in

nd suffe

ing

nd emotion

l dist

ess.

In some c

ses, if you

inju

ies do not le

d to long-te

m o

pe

m

nent dis

bilities, you

uninsu

ed moto

ist cove

ge might cove

you

medic

l expenses

nd some o

ll lost

ges.

You c

n

ecove

<

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

compens

to

y-

nd-punitive-d

m

ges

“>compens

to

y d

m

ges

nd punitive d

m

ges<> eithe

th

ough the

t-f

ult d

ive

's insunce,

combin

tion of you

insu

nce

nd the

t-f

ult d

ive

's in

dequ

te insunce, o

by filing

lsuit

g

inst the

t-f

ult d

ive

. Compens

to

y d

m

ges include economic d

m

ges

nd non-economic d

m

ges.

Economic D

m

ges

Sometimes c

lled speci

l d

m

ges, economic d

m

ges h

ve

monet

y v

lue

nd c

n include:

• -level=”1″>P
  st <

  h

  ef="https:

  /c

  inju

  yvictims.com

  p

  ying-medic

  l-c

  e-c

  –

  ccident

  “>medic

  l expenses<> fo

  inju

  ies incued in the

  ccident

  nd expenses fo

  those inju

  ies th

  t you incu

  befo

  e

  settlement o

  t

  i

  l

  d.

• i
  -level="1"><

  h

  ef="https:

  /c

  inju

  yvictims.com

  cl

  im-

  n-inju

  y

  “>Futu

  e medic

  l expenses fo

  inju

  ies incu

  ed > in the

  ccident

  nd the expenses fo

  those inju

  ies th

  t you incu

  fte

  settlement o

  t

  i

  l d.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">P

  st lost

  ges fo

  those lost bet

  een the

  ccident

  nd

  settlement o

  t

  i

  l

  d.

• i
  -level="1">Futu

  e lost

  ges fo

  those lost bec

  use of

  ccident inju

  ies

  fte settlement o

  t

  i

  l

  d.

• i
  -level="1">

  epl

  cement oep

  i

  of dest

  oyed o

  d

  m

  ged pe

  son

  l p

  ope

  ty.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Funel, bu

  i

  l,

  nd/o

  c

  em

  tion expenses.<

  li>

Non-Economic D

m

ges

Sometimes c

lled genel d

m

ges, non-economic d

m

ges do not h

ve

monety v

lue

nd c

n include:

• i
  -level="1"><

  h

  ef="https:

  /c

  inju

  yvictims.com

  c

  –

  ccident-p

  in-

  nd-suffe

  ing/”>P

  in

  nd suffe

  ing<>, including emotion

  l dist

  ess if you suffe

  ed inju

  ies in

  n

  ccident.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Emotion

  l dist

  ess fo

  those

  ho lost

  loved one bec

  use of

  n

  ccident.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Loss of qu

  lity of life if you h

  ve to use

  mbul

  to

  y

  ids o

  t

  ke medic

  tion fo

  the

  est of you

  life.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Loss of comp

  nionship if you c

  n no longe

  enjoy

  ctivities

  nd events

  ith you

  f

  mily.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Loss of conso

  tium if you c

  n no longe

  h

  ve

  physic

  l

  el

  tionship

  ith you

  spouse.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Excessive sc

  ing such

  s th

  t

  fte bu

  n o

  o

  d sh.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Disfigu

  ement, such

  s the in

  bility to

  ep

  i

  b

  oken bone o spin

  l co

  d inju

  y.

• i
  -level="1">Loss of use of

  body p

  t, such

  s

  foot o

  h

  nd.

• i
  -level="1">Loss of use of

  bodily function, such

  s you

  eyesight.

• i
  -level="1">Ext compens

  tion fo

  mput

  tion.<

  li>

• i
  -level="1">Inconvenience if you h

  ve to hi

  e someone to do cho

  es th

  t you no

  m

  lly do, such

  s house cle

  ning, g

  oce

  y shopping, home m

  inten

  nce

  nd

  ep

  i

  ,

  nd l

  n m

  inten

  nce.

If you suffe

ed inju

ies o

lost

loved one in

c

ccident

nd the othe

d

ive

is unde

insu

ed o

uninsu

ed,

<

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

c

–

ccident-

tto

ney-houston

“>c

c

sh

tto

ney > is

n <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

c

-insu

nce-questions-

ns

e

ed

“>inv

lu

ble

esou

ce >. Don’t miss out on the compens

tion you dese

ve. Kno

you

ights, kno

you

options,

nd kno

you

orth!