If I was hit by a drunk driver, what do I do next?

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If I was hit by a drunk driver, what do I do next?

The other driver was drunk and collided with the rear my SUV while my nephew was stopped at a red light. A police report was filed but I don’t know what to do next because due to some financial problems I had not paid my insurance for that month so the accident occurred while i wasn’t covered. I want to know what can i do? and will it affect the fact that my nephew was never covered by my insurance (by the way the only thing the police did was give her a ticket)?

Asked on November 25, 2011 under Accident Law, California

Answers:

L.P., Member, Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

Thank you for submitting your question.
While you did not pay your insurance premium for one month, you may still be covered under your previous policy.  You may want to contact your insurance agent and ask what happens to your coverage if there is a one month lapse.  Also, as long as your nephew was not a regular driver on your policy, and that you gave him permission to drive your vehicle, he would be considered a covered permissive driver for this accident. 

If your insurance company will cover this incident, then that will make the answer to this question much easier.

You could also reach out to the driver that hit your vehicle and attempt to have your bills paid through their insurance carrier.  If their insured driver was drunk and rear ended your vehicle, it is likely that their insurance carrier will accept 100% liability for this accident.  Their defense cannot be that your vehicle did not have insurance at the time, and that your vehicle should not be on the road.

As far as the ticket is concerned, you could contact your police department and ask that the charges against the drunk driver be consider and that more serious charges get brought against the drunk driver.  Sometimes the state gives a ticket for penalties that they know the driver will plead guilty to, instead of bringing charges that might not stick and have the driver walk free and clear. 

For further assistance, you could contact a personal injury attorney in your area and the police department that arrived on scene. 

 


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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