Florida Injury Attorney Blawg
Many people, including some personal injury lawyers, believe that UM insurance always provides coverage when the insured is not at fault and there is no other insurance to cover the losses. This is wrong.
When the driver of an uninsured or underinsured (UIM) vehicle causes an accident, UM/UIM should kick in to compensate for losses such as wage loss, medical expenses, and pain and suffering. This is prescribed by Section 627.727(1) Florida Statutes, which provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
No motor vehicle liability insurance policy which provides bodily injury liability coverage shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state with respect to any specifically insured or identified motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this state unless uninsured motor vehicle coverage is provided therein or supplemental thereto for the protection of persons insured thereunder who are legally entitled to recover damages from owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease, including death, resulting therefrom. (Italics provided)
Crashes without the wrongdoing of another driver do occur. Our office was recently retained by a woman who struck a tree after swerving her car to avoid hitting a dog that had suddenly entered the roadway. She sustained severe whiplash and a blow to the head which caused her to lose consciousness. She was rushed to the hospital by ambulance and admitted for testing and overnight observation. Her car was totaled. The accident was not her fault.
This nice lady carried the following coverages under her motor vehicle insurance policy: Bodily Injury, and UM/UIM. Of these various coverages, PIP is the only one that applied. Because she did not have Collision coverage, insurance was not available to pay for the loss of her own vehicle.
UM does not apply because the statute provides that the crash has to be caused, wholly or partly, by “owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles.” This crash did not involve such a motor vehicle.
Neither the dog nor its owner, if any, were anywhere to be found after the crash. Had an owner with insurance or other financial means been found, we might have considered seeking a recovery against that person for failing to maintain control of the dog.
Our client has renter’s insurance. We have requested the policy to determine if there is coverage for this loss.
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Contact us toll free at 866-785-GALE or by email (jgale@jeffgalelaw.com) for a free, confidential consultation to learn your legal rights.
Jeffrey P. Gale, P.A. is a South Florida based law firm committed to the judicial system and to representing and obtaining justice for individuals – the poor, the injured, the forgotten, the voiceless, the defenseless and the damned, and to protecting the rights of such people from corporate and government oppression. We do not represent government, corporations or large business interests.
While prompt resolution of your legal matter is our goal, our approach is fundamentally different. Our clients are “people” and not “cases” or “files.” We take the time to build a relationship with our clients, realizing that only through meaningful interaction can we best serve their needs. In this manner, we have been able to best help those requiring legal representation.