What can you do if you have an accident with an uninsured driver?

An unfortunate fact that we all encounter at various times is that not everybody upholds their end of the bargain in the social contract of life. Sometimes, this failure is an irritant, like the product manufacturer that makes a consumer good that fails because of poor design or shoddy workmanship or the plumber who fails to properly fix the leaky pipes under your house. But sometimes it constitutes a much more serious breach that results in physical harm or property damage to you.

For Florida drivers, an unpleasant reality that the law-abiding must face is that this state is a mecca for uninsured motorists. Despite state laws requiring drivers to carry auto insurance, some studies estimate that at any given time as many as one in four of the other drivers around you carries no car insurance. This poses a considerable risk that at some point you may come into unwanted contact with one of them.

Assuming that you are one of the law-abiding drivers, you likely have uninsured motorist coverage on your car insurance. This may suffice if you get into a "fender-bender" with an uninsured driver, but it begs the question of what happens if the accident is more significant, particularly if it results in injury to you or to a passenger in your vehicle.

The law makes remedies in civil court available to you if the uninsured driver caused the car accident. You can file a lawsuit for money damages based on negligence, but this raises other nagging questions: If the other driver seemingly couldn't afford to pay for insurance, how will he or she be able to pay for your injuries, and how can you afford to pay for an attorney to recover damages.

At the Law Offices of Brent C. Miller, we cannot say whether the other party can afford to compensate you for your injuries, but we might be able to provide you with a way to explore your legal options without having to beggar yourself.