Every day our attorneys meet car crash victims. Many of these people are safe drivers with clean driving records. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Having uninsured motorist insurance can be your lifeline if you find yourself in this situation.
In 2021, 400,431 vehicle crashes occurred in Florida, resulting in 252,562 injuries and 3,707 fatalities . This comes out to more than 1,000 car accidents per day. Moreover, Florida ranks 6th in the nation in the number of uninsured drivers, with 20.4% of Florida drivers uninsured . This means that there is a good chance that if you are in a car accident, the driver who hit you is uninsured.
Even if the driver has insurance, it may not be enough. Florida requires drivers to carry $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) insurance and $10,000 of property damage liability (PDL) insurance. Since Florida is a no-fault state, you use your own PIP coverage to cover the first $10,000 of medical bills and lost wages regardless of who is at fault. If you have been badly injured in a car accident, $10,000 may not even cover your hospital bills, let alone the costs of lost wages, ongoing therapy, rehabilitation, medication, or other expenses. In all states other than Florida and New Jersey, drivers are required to carry bodily injury liability (BIL) insurance to cover the medical expenses for the non-at-fault driver and passengers in a car crash. In Florida, all insurance companies are required to offer BIL insurance, but drivers are not required to purchase it as part of their policy. So, even if the driver who hit you meets the legal definition of being insured, they may not have purchased BIL to cover your injuries.
What now? How do you receive compensation to cover the costs of your injuries? You can try to sue the negligent driver personally. However, if they did not have enough money to purchase insurance or only purchased the minimum amount of insurance and no BIL insurance, chances are they will be unable to personally pay for your expenses. This is when you need uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage.
If you are in either of these situations and you have purchased uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage, you can receive compensation from your own policy for medical bills, lost wages, nursing care, medical devices, and even costs for retrofitting your home to accommodate any disabilities resulting from the accident. You may be eligible to receive compensation for emotional distress and mental anguish as well. Uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage is your safety net if you find yourself in a serious car accident with someone unable to pay your bills.
At Rader Law Group, we see first-hand the devastation that a car accident can cause. We encourage all drivers to protect themselves by investing in an uninsured / underinsured motorist policy. If you have been involved in a car accident and want to know your rights, contact us today for a free consultation.
Rader Law Group, LLC
With decades and decades combined experience, the attorneys at Rader Law Group understand the meaning of Justice. Our one and only mission is to get each client the justice he or she deserves; our team of attorneys never back down when we know our client is right.
We offer our clients the compassion and guidance they need as they work through trying times in their lives. The balance of working relentlessly for our clients combined with our caring approach has helped us achieve a fantastic record of success with our clients. We get our clients the justice they deserve.
At Rader Law Group, You matter. Your justice matters. Your Justice Starts Here. 954-913-2273.