Another Driver Hit My Car and Injured Me. How Do I Find Out if He/She Has Insurance?
It seems like the roads in Jacksonville, Florida are getting more and more dangerous and serious accidents are occurring daily. One question that personal injury and wrongful death lawyers often get after an accident is about insurance. What role does insurance play after an accident and how do you find out if the other driver who caused the accident has insurance?
Let's take a typical Jacksonville, Florida car accident as an example. An important initial question is whether the other driver has liability insurance. That is the insurance policy that a driver has to compensate someone if that driver causes a car accident and injures another person. In other words, if you were injured by someone in an accident, that other person's liability insurance is designed for that driver to compensate you for the injuries he/she caused you. The first place to look to see if that other driver has insurance is the accident report prepared by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officer or other responding law enforcement officer. On that accident report, the officer is supposed to document the insurance company and policy number for all drivers involved in the accident.
In Florida, there may be an additional source for insurance coverage after a car or truck accident. In Florida, the owner of a vehicle is responsible for injuries caused by the driver of his/her vehicle. So, if Owner lets Driver borrow Owner's car and Driver runs a red light and crashes into your vehicle injuring you, Owner's insurance policy should cover your damages in addition to Driver's insurance policy.
A third source of insurance coverage in Florida, Georgia and most other states may be the other driver's employer. If that other driver who caused the accident that injured you was working at the time, Florida law says that his/her employer may be responsible for compensating you for your injuries. In that case, you would look to the employer's insurance policy for additional insurance coverage.
Sometimes after an injury accident this insurance information is not readily available. It is not always on the accident report. Additional or excess insurance policies may require more investigation to discover. As a result, if you have been injured in an accident with another car or semi truck or some other way, it is a good idea to contact a personal injury/wrongful death law firm whose attorneys understand the various issues involved in determining all of the available insurance policies so you can be fully compensated for your injuries.
