Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Car Accident

Do you mean the insurance does not cover the driver of your car that was involved in the accident? Or do you mean that the insurance will not cover you for the claim of the injured person?

Re: Car Accident

Mr. Nelson is correct that if you had any insurance coverage at all it would have to include liability for injury to third parties. Get your coverage page and look to see what you are paying for. If you want through an insurance agent and he did not sell you what you asked for, the insurance company may not be able to deny that you were covered. With coverage comes a free defense counsel; you have to co-operate with them but they will do all the work in the case and pay damages up to the limits of your insurance policy. They may very well go after the other person for the property damage to your vehicle if that is included in your insurance policy. They will not sue on your behave for your own bodily injuries, sot of medical treatment or lost wages. But if you did not have insurance coverage, you can only recover out of pocket expenses such as wage loss, medical bills, car damage. Your license could be revoked if you had no insurance. Were you doing work for someone while the accident occurred, as then their insurance might cover you and you could have a Workers' Compensation claim that would cover your medical bills and part of your wage loss if any. You might want to call the other person's lawyer and find out what they are claiming, but do not give them any information because you may be seeking an attorney. If you have coverage but the other person has minor damages, you might want to settle the case with your own money and not have your insurance premiums rise. But you need to supply us with more information before any solid advice can be offered on that.

Re: Car Accident

You either have proper minimum level of PL/PD liability coverage for people and property ['third parties'] you injure, or you are in violation of CA law. Make sure you discuss this situation with your insurance agent/company. If they tell you that you had no such coverage, then what were you paying for? It is the primary coverage needed, in second place comes Uninsured Motorist coverage to cover you and your car from damage by people that run into you without having coverage.

If the other guy was at fault, none of this matters, make your claim against him [pray he was insured]. If you were at fault [maybe got cited by police], and if there are injuries you are going to get sued for because you had no insurance, feel free to contact me for legal defense; you're going to need it.

Re: Car Accident

I find it hard to believe that you didn't know about the legal requirement that all motorists must have liability insurance. Maybe you can read the "California Driver Handbook" during the six months you will be riding the bus. As to lawsuits, unless the other party was badly injured, his or her attorney could well lose interest when they find out you were uninsured. Also, sometimes the best defense is a good offense, so consider suing in small claims court for your property damage.