i was invlolved in a hit and run i am the passenger and am injured i would like to know my rights ...

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i was invlolved in a hit and run i am the passenger and am injured i would like to know my rights

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DakotaLegal's picture

You actually have three major

You actually have three major options. First, you have rights against the criminal who left the scene of the accident. Second, you have very strong rights against the driver of the car who was driving you…which probably going to be based on their insurance coverage and your relationship with them. Third, you have a right to try and make a claim under your own insurance…sometimes even your homeowner’s policy (but not usually): the point is to ask. If your auto insurer says no, ask to see the fine print of why they won't cover you. If they do say you're covered under your own policy, ask them if they would try to increase your premiums. Here’s a sample of an uninsured motorist complaint, filed in a Sacramento court… http://www.saccourt.ca.gov/forms/docs/cv-132.pdf.

Be sure to keep a medical record, showing all costs. Keep a journal describing your aches and pains, nightmares and discomfort. Don’t wait too long to bring an action, because you may find your claim is “time barred.” You’ll see one limit is 180 days in the uninsured court form link above.

Let’s look at just a couple of the many types of cases where injured passengers have made claims for their injuries. You can decide which kind of case is the most similar to your situation.

Does Some Insurance Cover Your Injury? Let’s look at insurance other than uninsured coverage. One important factor is going to be the relationship you have with the driver: co-worker, family, friend, relative? You can ask for a copy of the driver of the car in which you were hurt to show you a copy of the policy. They might refuse (short of being sued). This is often a source of friction, so I’d suggest you first ask the name of the insurance company itself…that way, if you have a falling out with the driver, you can get the policy from the company itself. A driver’s auto insurance will cover many different types of injury, just as long as the vehicle accident occurred as a result of some typical; “use” of the vehicle. Some insurance companies have avoided liability if a vehicle isn’t running or was simply parked when the incident occurred. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1239989.html.

Family Members. It’s not clear whether you as a passenger are in any way related to the driver. Some of the toughest cases come about when family members are riding together, but do not live together. Fortunately for injured family members, courts are getting kind of tough on insurance companies that add “restrictive language” to uninsured coverage policies. One common decision in favor of an injured passenger stopped an insurer from avoiding liability, based on the fact the 21-year-old daughter was no longer a member of the insured driver’s household. Gregory L. Butterfield V. Norfolk & Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Co., Docket No. Cum-03-223, decided September 30, 2004. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/me-supreme-judicial-court/1057173.html.

Hopefully, these examples will also help you present a case to a lawyer or state agency. Unfortunately, many of the most experienced trial lawyers may not see the investment in time as worthwhile. But be confident in your case, because there are lawyers (especially talented new lawyers) who want exactly this kind of case. But keep up hope…since this involves an insurance issue, there’s always a chance that you have some claim for violation of basic rights under California’s insurance rules, protecting consumers. You can get information from either the California Insurance commissioner http://www.insurance.ca.gov/ or the consumer affairs department of the California Attorney General http://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general.

The California Bar Association will also help match your case with someone who is willing to take on the risks of never finding the hit and run driver: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/LawyerReferralServicesLRS.aspx.

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DakotaLegal's picture

You actually have three major

You actually have three major options. First, you have rights against the criminal who left the scene of the accident. Second, you have very strong rights against the driver of the car who was driving you…which probably going to be based on their insurance coverage and your relationship with them. Third, you have a right to try and make a claim under your own insurance…sometimes even your homeowner’s policy (but not usually): the point is to ask. If your auto insurer says no, ask to see the fine print of why they won't cover you. If they do say you're covered under your own policy, ask them if they would try to increase your premiums. Here’s a sample of an uninsured motorist complaint, filed in a Sacramento court… http://www.saccourt.ca.gov/forms/docs/cv-132.pdf.

Be sure to keep a medical record, showing all costs. Keep a journal describing your aches and pains, nightmares and discomfort. Don’t wait too long to bring an action, because you may find your claim is “time barred.” You’ll see one limit is 180 days in the uninsured court form link above.

Let’s look at just a couple of the many types of cases where injured passengers have made claims for their injuries. You can decide which kind of case is the most similar to your situation.

Does Some Insurance Cover Your Injury? Let’s look at insurance other than uninsured coverage. One important factor is going to be the relationship you have with the driver: co-worker, family, friend, relative? You can ask for a copy of the driver of the car in which you were hurt to show you a copy of the policy. They might refuse (short of being sued). This is often a source of friction, so I’d suggest you first ask the name of the insurance company itself…that way, if you have a falling out with the driver, you can get the policy from the company itself. A driver’s auto insurance will cover many different types of injury, just as long as the vehicle accident occurred as a result of some typical; “use” of the vehicle. Some insurance companies have avoided liability if a vehicle isn’t running or was simply parked when the incident occurred. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1239989.html.

Family Members. It’s not clear whether you as a passenger are in any way related to the driver. Some of the toughest cases come about when family members are riding together, but do not live together. Fortunately for injured family members, courts are getting kind of tough on insurance companies that add “restrictive language” to uninsured coverage policies. One common decision in favor of an injured passenger stopped an insurer from avoiding liability, based on the fact the 21-year-old daughter was no longer a member of the insured driver’s household. Gregory L. Butterfield V. Norfolk & Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Co., Docket No. Cum-03-223, decided September 30, 2004. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/me-supreme-judicial-court/1057173.html.

Hopefully, these examples will also help you present a case to a lawyer or state agency. Unfortunately, many of the most experienced trial lawyers may not see the investment in time as worthwhile. But be confident in your case, because there are lawyers (especially talented new lawyers) who want exactly this kind of case. But keep up hope…since this involves an insurance issue, there’s always a chance that you have some claim for violation of basic rights under California’s insurance rules, protecting consumers. You can get information from either the California Insurance commissioner http://www.insurance.ca.gov/ or the consumer affairs department of the California Attorney General http://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general.

The California Bar Association will also help match your case with someone who is willing to take on the risks of never finding the hit and run driver: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/LawyerReferralServicesLRS.aspx.