Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

New car no insurance accident

I went to a dealership with $2500 on a thursday. They asked if i had insurance, I said yes, I handed them my allstate insurance card that had my moms and my name on it. I signed a couple of papers, and I left the lot. I did not add the car to my insurance because it was 8pm and the deal was not set that I was going to get that specific car I might get a different model, they said to wait till monday. On Sunday Night coming home from work around 12:30 AM, and what I assume to be a drunk driver ran me off the road. The police came and I was rushed to the hospital. Now, the problem was, the person on the insurance card was my dad, Im insured but only under cars that are under my moms name. My father is not part of this family. My insurance wont cover the accident because they say I was not an insured driver. The dealership never verified that I was insured, and I figured everything was A OK. the bank never processed the loan, so the dealership is telling me the total value of the car is 15,000 and they want me to pay half of that ammount to settle this. I have around 3,000 of medical bills plus I need to come up with 5,000 dollars for the car, what can I do?


Asked on 4/04/06, 2:35 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Re: New car no insurance accident

You have two insurance coverage problems. First, the dealership who financed the car has insurance to protect it, and the story about "the bank wouldn't finance the loan" is BS. Secondly, normally an accident such you describe would be covered by your own "uninsured motorist" insurance. Normally if you have insurance, a car you buy is automatically covered for 24 hours (but you were srill extremely foolish not to obtain an insurance "binder" before driving off the lot). Two problems here. You could go after the uninsured motorist insurance claiming you should have been covered. Whether you would succeed depends on a careful reading of the policy. Your other problem will be getting anybody to believe there was another driver (as opposed to your having driven off the road yourself). Finally, you will need a lawyer to deal with all of this, and most lawyers would charge money up front considering the long odds against you. Best of luck and I bet you never ever again buy a car without getting an insurance binder in advance.

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Answered on 4/05/06, 12:51 am


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