Car accidents are frightening experiences, involving the terrifying loss of control and sometimes painful injuries. Some even result in life-altering disabilities. When the careless or reckless driver who caused the accident doesn’t have insurance, it quickly compounds the distress. Missouri’s fault-based insurance laws require car accident victims to file car accident claims for compensation against the driver who caused the accident. So, what happens when that driver doesn’t have insurance? What are the options for recovery in an uninsured motorist accident in Missouri?
Making a Claim Against Your Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Policy and Other Policies
Missouri requires all drivers to carry at least the minimum auto insurance, including uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance. In a fault-based insurance state like Missouri, if you cannot recover compensation through an at-fault driver’s insurance because they are uninsured, your uninsured motorist coverage provides compensation as long as you report the accident to your insurance soon after the accident date, and notify your insurer that the other driver was uninsured. The coverage should pay out on your compensation claim for your damages. “Damages” in a personal injury claim are the economic and non-economic consequences of the accident.
If you chose the optional addition of collision or comprehensive coverage when you bought your policy, you can recover additional compensation from those parts of your own insurance policy after an accident caused by an uninsured driver.
Filing a Personal Lawsuit Against the Uninsured Driver
In some cases, a car accident victim in Missouri can recover compensation through a lawsuit against the driver who caused the accident. However, this is only a viable option if the driver has substantial assets, and that’s rarely the case if they don’t have insurance unless they accidentally let their policy lapse.
Filing a Claim Against a Third Party
Depending on the circumstances of your accident, you may be able to file a claim against a third party who caused or contributed to the accident. Under Missouri’s pure comparison negligence insurance laws, anyone who contributed fault to an accident is liable for a portion of the damages. After an investigation, if it’s discovered that the manufacturer of a defective vehicle or car part, or a negligent road maintenance or city road planning agency contributed to the accident, an injury victim may be able to recover compensation for their damages through a well-executed third-party injury claim.
What Compensation Can I Recover Through an Uninsured Motorist Claim?
Car accident injuries are expensive as well as painful and sometimes debilitating. A successful claim against an uninsured motorist policy or a liable third party can recover compensation for damages such as the following:
- Property damage to your vehicle
- Medical expenses
- Future medical costs related to the injury
- Lost wages
- Future income loss
- Compensation for pain and suffering and other non-economic damages in individual cases, such as traumatic limb loss or disfigurement
Compensation for non-economic damages cannot erase the injury or pain, but it helps open doors to the best medical care and relieves economic hardship while you focus on your recovery.