How do I recover my costs if I am injured by an uninsured motorist?
There are two possible situations where insurance may be inadequate to cover your damages from a vehicle accident:
- Your No-fault Insurance Coverage: If you are injured and have the Florida legal minimum coverage, your insurance company will only pay 80% of your actual medical costs and 60% of your lost earnings. These amounts are payable up to policy dollar limits, regardless of who caused the accident, but depending on your policy the total payment may be insufficient.
- The Other Driver was Uninsured: The other driver caused the accident, but was uninsured and there is no policy to pay the additional, uncovered amounts of your damages.
If the other driver caused the accident and was uninsured, then you may be paid the additional amount of damages from your own insurance company, but only if you purchased uninsured motorist benefits with your own policy. However, not everyone elects this voluntary coverage. In some cases, even if you have uninsured motorist coverage, your insurer may attempt to deny full payment.
Pursuing civil damages against the uninsured motorist may be an option
Driving without insurance in Florida is illegal, and there are serious repercussions for the driver, including criminal charges and drivers license suspension. However, this does little to offset your costs and damages, so our accident attorneys are committed to filing a personal injury suit on your behalf as a last resort to recovery. If the uninsured motorist caused the accident, then failure to have adequate coverage is a clear breach of their duty to other drivers on the highway. We file a civil case and attempt to obtain a judgment to access the driver’s assets and wages to fulfill your right to full compensation.