Brooklyn Municipal Liability Lawyer

Brooklyn Municipal Liability Lawyer

What happens after a crash with an uninsured New York driver?

Drivers in New York have a reputation for being aggressive, and the traffic itself is famous for being heavy. Crashes can back up traffic for blocks, making them inconvenient for everyone in addition to harmful for the people involved in the wreck.

Serious collisions damage vehicles or make them permanently unsafe to drive. They can also leave the people in the vehicles with lasting injuries, ranging from traumatic brain injuries to spinal cord injuries.

Usually, the insurance of the driver who caused the crash will cover the majority of somebody’s losses, if not all of them, after a collision. However, if you get into a crash with a driver who does not have insurance, you might be in a difficult situation.

How serious is your risk for a crash with an uninsured driver?

New York is among the best states in the nation when it comes to the number of drivers who consistently maintain insurance on their vehicles. According to an analysis of car insurance data from 2019, New York is 48th in the nation for uninsured drivers, with just 4.1% of drivers uninsured at any given time.

Almost one in 20 drivers will not have insurance on their vehicles, which means your chances of a crash with an uninsured driver are much lower than in other states, but the risk is still there. If the driver who causes your wreck turns out not to have an active insurance policy, you may need to take an alternative approach to secure compensation for lost wages, medical bills and the cost to repair your vehicle.

What are your options for compensation?

The first thing to determine is whether you have coverage on your own policy that could help you. If you already added uninsured or underinsured driver coverage to your liability policy, you can make a claim for any losses not covered by the at-fault driver’s insurance. However, making an uninsured driver claim against your own policy will likely increase your rates.

The alternative may be to file a civil lawsuit against the driver responsible for the crash. A lawsuit can allow you to seek the same damages you could claim from your insurance, but without affecting your future costs.

Learning about what happens after a crash with an uninsured driver can help you better react if you find yourself in this unusual but unpleasant situation.