Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Claims

California Uninsured Motorist Attorney

If you have suffered injuries from a car accident, motorcycle accident, bike accident or as a pedestrian, and the responsible party does not have insurance or has a small insurance policy, we can help you recover a high value settlement or verdict as long as you have uninsured motorist coverage under your own auto policy.

It is not unusual for people to have an accident with a car where the other driver just runs away or does not have insurance. What should you do if you encountered this circumstance? You could pursue the uninsured driver but most people who drive without insurance, do not have much to recover from or could file for bankruptcy if you obtain a judgment against them.

There is an easy solution to this dilemma if you (or someone you live with) have uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on your (their) own auto insurance policy.  The UM insurance company pays when the other driver does not have any insurance.  Without any penalty to you and without your insurance rates going up, you are able to make a claim against your own insurance company for the damages you suffered as a result of the accident.  Never worry about making a UM claim as it is not a gift from your insurance company to you.  For years, you have been paying this type of premiums just to be covered in case an accident happens and the other person is uninsured or underinsured.  Now that the accident has happened, it is expected that you would use your UM coverage.  Again, be assured that your insurance premiums will not go up as a result of making a UM claim as many states, including California, prohibits the insurance companies to increase your premium if the accident was not your fault .

If you were an innocent passenger, you may also use the Uninsured Motorist insurance of the owner of the vehicle you were in, without any penalty whatsoever to the owner.

Most of the time, the UM coverage of your auto or the automobile of the person you reside with also kicks in if you were a pedestrian or bicycle rider.

If any of the above circumstances are applicable to you, contact us for a free consultation. Together, we will check your policy coverage carefully and advise you of your rights.

The interesting thing about Uninsured Motorist coverage, is that unlike the responsible party’s insurance policy if they had one, your own insurance company owed you a duty of good faith.  This means that they are not supposed to nickel and dime you on your settlement.  If your own insurance company wrongfully handles your UM claim, you may be able to bring a separate action against the insurance company for the bad faith handling of your claim and collect punitive damages.

IT MATTERS TO HAVE A LAWYER WHO CARES

When people are injured by someone else’s negligence, the biggest damages from which they suffer are pain, emotional distress and mental suffering.  Having a lawyer who really cares matters to our clients.   Nina Brahman became a lawyer to help people in need of justice.  To her, every case is not about money but about achieving justice for those who need it most.  With that goal in mind, our law firm exerts its finest efforts to achieve the best results under the circumstances.  Feel free to contact us for a free consultation.

NO RECOVERY, NO FEE IN PERSONAL INJURY CASES

During our free initial consultation, we will apprise you of relevant facts and applicable laws to your case and together, we will decide if you wish for us to handle your case.   If we mutually decide to work together, we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we only get paid for our services if we recover any monetary amount on your behalf.

YOU ARE THE BOSS, WE ARE YOUR AGENTS

 Unlike many other attorneys who think they know best, we realize that your Uninsured Motorist case is unique to you.  Therefore, we never make important decisions on your case without first consulting with you.  We always keep our clients apprised, welcome our clients to be involved and consult them before making any important decisions. 

CAUTION

In all cases, a lawsuit must be filed or arbitration requests before the “statute of limitations”, which simply means an expiration date provided by law.   This “expiration date” may be different for each case  and for each jurisdiction. To ensure that your rights are intact, please call or contact us right away to discuss your case and/or schedule a free initial consultation.