Uninsured & Underinsured Motorists Attorney in Denver
Many Coloradans drive without insurance despite laws requiring all drivers to have auto liability insurance. Colorado ranks among the 10 states with the highest percentage of drivers with no car insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute. If you have sustained injuries in an accident caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver, you may have questions about how to pay your medical bills and cover your other losses. You may have options for pursuing compensation. However, you will need a strong legal advocate on your side to receive fair treatment from the insurance companies.
Let our Colorado uninsured motorist attorneys help. The uninsured motorist attorneys at The Wilhite Law Firm bring decades of legal experience helping Denverites and handling injury claims involving uninsured motorists. The Wilhite Law Firm has a proud heritage of pursuing justice for accident victims. Our Denver personal injury attorneys have the knowledge, tenacity, and resources to seek maximum compensation for your injuries caused by an uninsured motorist or an underinsured motorist.
Uninsured Motorist Lawyer in Denver, CO
Auto liability insurance is required in Colorado. But according to the Insurance Information Institute, uninsured motorists account for 16.2 percent of all drivers on the road in Colorado. Uninsured motorists may face stiff fines and have their license confiscated if caught driving without insurance. But if you have been injured by an uninsured motorist, you may need to seek compensation from your own insurance company. You may need a knowledgeable accident attorney to advocate on your behalf.
An experienced uninsured motorist lawyer at The Wilhite Law Firm can provide guidance about the steps you need to take after a crash caused by a driver with no insurance or minimal insurance. Our attorneys are committed to helping people who have been injured through the negligence of others seek the compensation needed to rebuild their lives and move forward.
What is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?
Uninsured motorist insurance (UM) protects an automobile owner who is hit by a driver who was driving without auto insurance.
Colorado law requires insurance companies to offer uninsured/underinsured motorist protection (UM/UIM) as part of each auto insurance policy they sell. Unless you have specifically rejected the uninsured motorist coverage in writing when purchasing an auto insurance policy, then you likely have UM protection.
Uninsured motorist policies also cover accidents involving hit-and-run drivers, if the driver flees and remains unidentified. You should be sure to report to police that you were struck by a hit-and-run driver. A driver or pedestrian who is injured by a hit-and-run driver may obtain coverage for injuries through the uninsured motorist coverage of his or her auto insurance UM policy.
What is Underinsured Motorist Coverage?
Many drivers carry only the minimum amount of auto liability insurance required by Colorado law. In a serious accident, the minimum coverage limits may not be enough to cover the cost of your medical bills for the treatment of serious injuries and property damage.
Underinsured motorist insurance (UIM) provides additional coverage for injury victims in this situation. If you are injured by another driver who did not have adequate insurance to cover your injuries, UIM will cover the difference between the other driver’s liability insurance bodily injury limits and your underinsured motorist policy limits.
You are well advised to carry UIM coverage and UM coverage to protect you and your family in the event you are injured by a careless driver who cannot pay for the damage he or she has caused.
How Can The Wilhite Law Firm’s Uninsured Motorist Lawyers Help?
If you were injured by an uninsured motorist or an underinsured motorist, you may need to file a claim with your own insurance company for compensation related to injuries caused by an uninsured motorist. Your UM policy essentially takes the place of the insurance the uninsured driver should have had.
Insurance companies make a profit by limiting the amount they pay out in claims. Even though you may have a valid UM or UIM claim, your insurer is unlikely to pay voluntarily the full amount you should receive for damages caused by an insured or underinsured motorist. The insurance company wants to limit the amount it pays to settle claims.
The insurance company may try to deny your claim, delay payment as long as possible, or pressure you to accept a settlement that is a fraction of what your claim is actually worth. You may not have a clear understanding of what your claim is worth without the guidance of an experienced lawyer. Our attorneys can review the facts of your accident, review your present and future medical needs related to the injury and provide an estimate of the value of your case. We can prevent you from being taken advantage of by an insurance company.
It often takes legal action or tough negotiation by a dedicated personal injury attorney at The Wilhite Law Firm to get an insurance company to make a full settlement of an uninsured motorist claim. Having an experienced attorney representing you tells the insurance company that you are serious about being treated fairly.
We will conduct a thorough investigation of the accident, interview witnesses, make contact with law enforcement, and search for any adjacent surveillance camera tapes that might have captured your accident. It is important to move quickly to gather evidence such as security camera footage before it is discarded.
What Should I Do After an Accident With a Denver Uninsured Motorist?
Here are six steps you should take after a car accident involving an uninsured driver or underinsured driver.
- Exchange registration information with other drivers.
- Report the crash to the police and get a police accident report.
- Take photos of the accident scene and of your injuries.
- Obtain medical care for your injuries and for others needing treatment.
- Report the uninsured motorist accident to your insurance company.
- Consult with an experienced lawyer who handles uninsured motorist claims.
After an accident, you should exchange license and insurance information with other drivers involved in the accident. Drivers in Colorado are required to carry proof of their auto insurance coverage in the vehicle.
You should report the accident to the police and wait for the officer to arrive and complete an accident report. Do not let an uninsured motorist talk you out of calling the police, even if the driver promises to pay you out of pocket for your damages. You will have no way of collecting payment if the driver changes his or her mind after leaving the scene. Without a police report of the accident, there will be no official record of who caused the accident. It will be your word against that of the other driver.
Take photos of the accident including damage to vehicles and your injuries. Take a photo of the license plate of the other driver’s car.
Seek medical care. A doctor’s record of your injuries will provide important documentation of your injuries related to the accident.
Report the car accident to your insurer promptly.
Contact a Colorado uninsured motorist lawyer to discuss your legal options.
Uninsured (or underinsured) motorist coverage is insurance provided to cover an individual who has been involved in an accident with someone that either has no insurance or does not have adequate insurance to pay for the full amount of damages suffered. Jurisdictions often require that uninsured coverage be provided as a part of all motor vehicle insurance policies.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage Lawyers
What makes a driver uninsured or underinsured? Obviously, someone driving without any auto insurance at all would be categorized as uninsured. However, an individual may still be considered uninsured if his or her plan does not allow for full coverage of the injuries for which he or she is legally responsible. Uninsured motorist coverage is intended to protect policyholders and their passengers who were injured by the fault of an uninsured individual. If it can be shown that the uninsured party is not at fault, uninsured/underinsured provisions of an insurance policy will not apply and the injured parties may not recover for their injuries under that theory.
If you or a loved one were injured in a motor vehicle accident and the at-fault driver does not have insurance, it is important to speak to a personal injury attorney in Colorado to answer your questions and discuss your legal options.
Persons Included in Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage provisions may differ from state to state. In most jurisdictions, the covered persons may include the insurance policy holder, family members who live in the same home as the insured, passengers in the vehicle when the accident occurs, pedestrians injured by the vehicle, and/or the driver of the vehicle during the accident. Other jurisdictions may have coverage exclusions regarding the policyholder’s family members if the family members possess their own insurance policy. However, in these jurisdictions, the insured’s policy may not exclude family members in certain circumstances.
Likewise, state laws may determine if employees are covered under their employer’s uninsured or underinsured policies. In some states, employees are covered by their employer’s insurance policy if they are injured in a motor vehicle accident while in the business of the employer. This may mean driving their own automobile as a part of their job or at the direction of their employer; these state laws regard the employee’s personal vehicle as engaged by the employer. However, according to other state statutes, employees injured while using their own vehicles will not be covered under their employer’s corporate insurance policy, even if the employee is driving for business purposes. The fact that the employee was using his or her own automobile excludes that employee from the definition of the insured (corporate employer) that is covered by the insurance policy. To learn more about persons included and excluded by uninsured motorist coverage insurance policies, speak to an attorney in your state about your situation and the applicable laws.
Recovery for Your Injuries
Individuals covered by an uninsured/underinsured motorist policy may be compensated for their personal injuries, not injuries to personal property. The injuries suffered and costs incurred by the injured party may differ depending on the circumstances surrounding the accident and the severity of the injuries sustained. Some examples of recovery may include reimbursement for medical costs, future healthcare treatment costs, lost wages, loss of future income, pain, and suffering, loss of companionship, and (in some cases) wrongful death. Damages will differ based on the injuries and the laws in your state, please speak to a Denver personal injury attorney to learn more about recovery for your injuries.
Preparing to Meet with Your Personal Injury Attorney
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Contact a Denver, CO UM/UIM Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured by an uninsured driver or a driver whose insurance is not sufficient to pay for your medical bills and other losses, speak to a personal injury lawyer at The Wilhite Law Firm. We offer a free, no-obligation consultation to review the details of your accident and explain your legal options.
If you have been in a car accident, you probably have some questions about what your insurer or the other driver’s insurer will cover and what your legal rights are. Every accident has specific factors that make it unique. The legal team at The Wilhite Law Firm has compiled answers to common questions about insurance issues involving car accidents.
The attorneys at The Wilhite Law Firm bring decades of legal experience to helping Coloradans pursue successful resolutions of injury claims. The Wilhite Law Firm has a distinguished heritage of seeking justice for Coloradans who have been harmed through the negligence of others. Our Colorado personal injury attorneys have the experience, tenacity, and resources to pursue maximum compensation for your injuries from insurance companies.
For answers to your specific questions about your legal rights in pursuing an insurance settlement after a car accident in Denver, please contact The Wilhite Law Firm.