St. Louis Rental Car Accident Lawyer

When a rental car agency rents to you, they expect the car to return in the same condition in which it left the agency. Unfortunately, not all trips in rental cars go as planned. A rental car accident in St. Louis is frightening, especially when it causes serious injury. The distress often continues long after the accident, when the unique challenges of a Missouri car accident claim for a rental car arise during the claim process. Reach out to our St. Louis rental car accident attorney for assistance with your claim.

What Damages Can I Recover If Someone Else Caused My Rental Car Accident?

Because Missouri is a fault-based insurance state, you can file a claim for your damages against the driver who caused the accident. This requires you to prove their liability with evidence showing that they violated their duty of care to you by careless or reckless actions behind the wheel. A St. Louis car accident lawyer is the best way to document clear and compelling evidence of liability to recover your rental car accident damages, including the following:

• Property damage costs for repairing or replacing the rental car
• Medical expenses
• Future medical costs
• Lost wages
• Future income loss or diminished earning capacity (in cases of disability)
• Compensation for pain and suffering

In some cases, additional damages apply, such as loss of limb, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, or wrongful death benefits to a surviving family member if a rental car accident results in a fatality.

What If I Chose the Rental Car Insurance?

Rental car insurance is a good example of the common human phenomenon of never believing it will happen to you. Many people decline the additional expense of optional rental car insurance, often because they’ve already spent money on traveling and wish to cut costs. Fortunately, if you selected the optional rental insurance, it may cover more than just damage to the rental car. Many policies included in rental car agreements cover damage to other vehicles in an accident and medical expenses for injury victims.

What Happens If I Opted Out of the Rental Car Insurance and Had an Accident?

If you didn’t choose to add rental car insurance to your contract, you may still have options such as the following:

• The credit card you used to rent the car may include rental car insurance, since this is a common perk offered by major credit cards
• If you carry collision or comprehensive coverage on your personal auto insurance policy, it often covers rental car accident damage
• If the other driver was at fault for the accident, you can file a claim for property damage to the rental car and your medical expenses against their auto insurance

Under Missouri’s pure comparative negligence laws, when another driver is at fault for your accident, they are liable for the damages, including to a rental car. The at-fault driver’s insurance company must cover your accident-related expenses.

How Can a St. Louis Rental Car Accident Attorney Help?

All accident claims involving significant damages are complex in fault-based insurance states. Having an accident in a rental car adds additional challenges. Call the experienced St. Louis personal injury lawyers at Miller & Hine to learn about your rights and responsibilities after a rental car accident in St. Louis.