Car Accident With an Uninsured Driver in Ohio
If you've been injured in a car accident, you want to make sure that the at-fault driver compensates you for your injuries. Immediately after the car accident, one of the first things you should do is notify the local police department and have an ambulance dispatched if necessary. If you are healthy enough to do so, you should go talk with the at-fault driver and exchange your name and contact information. If the at-fault driver indicates to you that they do not have car insurance (which is illegal in Ohio), then ask to see their driver's license so that you can confirm and write down their full name and address. You will also want to get the at-fault driver's phone number.
In Ohio, drivers are legally required to carry a policy of insurance. As a practical reality, not everyone actually carries liability insurance. When that happens you will want to talk to an attorney about your options for collecting for your injuries. If the at-fault driver does not have car insurance, then you will have to look to your own insurance company.
The Difference Between Full Coverage & Liability Insurance
Full Coverage Car Insurance
If you've been in a car accident with an at-fault and uninsured motorist, then you will have to look to your own insurance in order to recover for your damages and injuries. This is why you should get the full coverage automobile insurance. Full coverage car insurance will cover you in case you get in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver.
If the other driver was totally uninsured, then you can look to your own insurance company to recover for your property damage, bills, and other personal injury damages just as you would have looked to the at-fault driver if they had insurance.
If the at-fault driver had minimum coverage car insurance, then there may not be enough insurance to cover all of your medical bills if you were severely injured. In this case, you can look to your own insurance carrier's underinsured coverage to make up the difference between what the at-fault driver's insurance covers and what your property damage, medical bills, and other personal injury damages are.
Liability Car Insurance
If you are in a car accident with an at-fault uninsured driver and you only have liability car insurance, then you are not in an ideal situation. In this situation, unless a unique circumstances arises where insurance coverage can be found through alternative avenues (business commercial insurance or possibly homeowner's insurance), then you will be stuck with all of the bills yourself and no insurance company to pay them.
It is critically important to call the local police to the scene of the car accident so that they can investigate and issue a traffic accident report. Getting into a car accident with an uninsured driver highlights this importance. The traffic accident report is critically important towards showing liability for the at-fault driver. If you've been injured in a car accident in Columbus or the greater Central Ohio area and you only have liability insurance then you will need an attorney to try to do anything about collecting for your injuries. An attorney can work to try to get the at-fault driver's license suspended until they pay you for your damages or an attorney can sue the at-fault driver on your behalf.
Contact An Attorney for a Car Accident with an Uninsured Driver in Columbus and Central Ohio
If you've been injured in a car accident with an uninsured driver, or you've been hurt in an accident with a hit-and-run driver, then you will need to look to your own insurance to recover for your injuries. You can contact an attorney at Harris & Engler in order to discuss your case accident case and what to do about getting into an accident with an uninsured driver. The law firm of Harris & Engler is located in Columbus, and its attorneys help clients with uninsured auto accidents all across Central Ohio.
