If Someone Borrows My Vehicle and Gets into an Accident, Am I Responsible?

People often wonder about lending cars to people and how this affects potential insurance situations in the event of an accident. The truth is there is no easy way to answer this, as it is entirely based on a policy by policy basis. There are many different types of auto insurance and many different ways in which your carrier may have structured your individual policy. However, it is important to realize right away that this means that there are situations where a borrowed car would be covered, as well as the driver, and those where they would not be. This is why it is always safest to contact your insurance provider directly in order to find out what kind of a policy you have in that regard before you lend out your car for the first time.

There are some insurance situations where your insurance will pay for the necessary benefits, but the driver’s insurance can also come into play. There are also situations where, if you do not have someone listed on your policy for the purpose of driving your car, then your insurance may not cover them and you may have to rely on any applicable insurance of the driver instead. This will also be different in states which have no-fault insurance, which can further complicate this kind of manner.

Regardless of the intricacies of insurance, in most states, if the person that you lend your vehicle to gets into an accident and there are injuries involved, you could be held liable because the vehicle is in your name. What this means is that you could be sued for damages if your insurance or the driver’s insurance doesn’t cover all of the damages. A skilled attorney would be a wise choice to call into the matter. You might be involved in a law suit with the injured party, but you may be able to shield yourself from a devastating loss with a good attorney. In fact, that same attorney might even be able to help you recover some of those funds from the individual that got you into the situation in the first place – the person you loaned the car to!

If I Am Injured on the Racetrack, Can I Sue the Track?

Many individuals work in the racing world. NASCAR, Formula One, IndyCar Series (once called CART), A1 Grand Prix, GP2, and various other racing series have achieved worldwide notoriety over the last 20 years. Hundreds of thousands attend the live race, while even more cheer on their favorite driver on television. The high speeds and intricate turns keep fans eyes glued to the track as the drivers cleverly maneuver their vehicle around the track. Unfortunately, accidents in this sport happen in almost every single race. At the average speed of 185, and many drivers surpass that, a driver could face multiple life threatening injuries in the event of an accident.

Unfortunately, drivers that choose to race on practically any given racetrack are said to be “assuming the risk”. This means that the driver realizes that what they are doing is dangerous and potentially life threatening but choose to do it anyway. These drivers usually sign a waiver prior to competing on the track. The waiver releases the track from any responsibility should injuries be incurred by the driver.

Now it all seems to look somewhat cut and dry at this point but looks can be deceiving. There are events that could allow a driver to sue the track, regardless of a signed waiver. For instance, if the track willfully allowed drivers to compete knowing that a portion of the track was in disrepair, the track could be sued.

Think about it; a vehicle traveling at speeds of 200mph hits a buckle in the track. At these speeds, it would be difficult to avoid, let alone control the vehicle once it made contact with the failed portion of track. Now, the owner of the track is supposed to ensure that it is meticulously maintained because they are aware of the speeds that these vehicles will be reaching while on their track, but they did not. The result could be a terrible accident that leaves one or more drivers seriously injured and out of work for nearly an entire year. So would this be a valid lawsuit? Absolutely. The track owner’s negligence deems them potentially liable for damages to not only the vehicles, but the drivers as well, if negligence can be proven.

As is the case with most injury suits, a skilled attorney is always recommended. You can discuss your options freely and find out exactly what you may be entitled to.

A Vehicle Hit Our Home and Injured A Member Of Our Family – Who Pays?

It can be confusing, to say the least, when a legal matter occurs that seems to involve overlapping or conflicting areas of the law or insurance. A perfect example of this is when a runaway vehicle crashes into a home; injuring someone. Many people are immediately confused as to whether this is something that they have to look at home injury insurance for compensation, or towards the auto insurance policy of the driver who crashed into the home. Understanding insurance seems difficult in the easiest cases, and this type of situation would be far from easy.

The truth is that this is obviously going to be the fault of the driver of the car, as your house did certainly not leap out in traffic and smash into the front of a car. That means that you are entitled to potentially sue the driver of that vehicle for the damages sustained as a result of the injuries to your family. This might not sound like a very common situation, but the sad truth is that it happens many more times that you might imagine, and there are auto injury lawyers who have familiarity with this type of case and will certainly be able to help you.

That is the most important thing in a situation like this – that you contact a lawyer who specializes in receiving payments for auto injuries. Whenever someone is injured there are always going to be medical bills, and these can mount faster than you can imagine at times. In other situations, the injury may create a loss of wages or work for someone in the family, something that in these hard times can be incredibly taxing for a family. That is why you need to seek out an attorney to be sure that your family is taken care of if they are hurt due to the reckless actions of another.

My Spouse Was Killed In an Auto Accident but the Person Had No Insurance, What Can I Do?

Unfortunately, when these types of situations take place there become very few options to the people who are struck by these tragedies. If another party is at fault in an accident which kills your spouse, and they have no insurance, you can certainly try to sue them, but you should always seek legal advice in this regard. Many people don't have the means to payout, even if you were to win the suit, so this might not always be the most advisable route for you to take.

However, it is important to think about the things that you can do BEFORE this type of situation occurs, and to make sure that others know about these options in case they should ever find themselves in this kind of a situation. The options available to you, first of all, are always going to be based both on the insurance laws of the state you live in, and the policies which you elect to purchase. As an example, states with no-fault insurance might have other options that we aren't going to present you with here.

However, there are many states which offer a specialized type of insurance that protects you specifically against being in an accident with a person who is uninsured or underinsured. Not all states offer this type of insurance but, in those that do, it is seriously worth considering. The added cost is well worth it because the consequences can be much worse if you ever find yourself in a situation where that type of insurance would have been useful and you elected not to take it. Save you and your family that trouble by always carefully investigating what options you have to protect against damages and injuries caused by uninsured drivers in your state. There may also be different degrees of these policies such as those which do include specific death benefits.

My Husband Was Hit By a Drunk Driver and I Cannot Support Our Family on My Income Alone

It is an unfortunate part of the reality of the automobile age that people are frequently hurt and even killed in car accidents. The emotional devastation a severe injury or death can have on a family are indescribable to one who has not experienced it themselves, and no amount of money can make some of those hurts go away. However, the financial pressures that such a situations can place on a family are huge, and even if they laws cannot remove the emotional suffering itself, there are laws in place to help provide people who are hurt, or who have loved ones hurt, in this manner to receive financial compensation.

Drunk driving is certainly not going to make a person exempt from you receiving damages from the accident, and if anything may leave them more culpable, as it is a serious crime in every state. It is possible for an auto injury lawyer to seek financial recompense for you and your family. This includes money which will cover the cost of any medical or funeral expenses, as well as lost wages and other financial losses.

The ability to seek payment for lost wages can be incredibly important for some families. Imagine the situation of a stay at home parent with one working parent, a single income family, especially if they have more than one child. Now, if that working parent become injured and can no longer support the family, the outlook could be incredibly grim for that family if they had no way of trying to receive support. That is why if your spouse is hurt in an auto accident, you should always seek legal help right away, as an attorney will let you know what legal recourse you have available to you in terms of seeking payment not only for the medical expenses but also for loss of income.

What States have Helmet Laws?

The helmet laws in the United States for Motorcycle riders are set by the individual states. The only national law that comes into play is the fact that, when a state requires a rider by law to wear a helmet, they must wear one which is sanctioned by the department of transportation as being a safe enough helmet to meet the safety guidelines.

As the helmet laws are set from state to state, they can be quite different from each other. However, it is safe to say that most states have at least some form of a helmet law. The only states which have no law whatsoever governing the wearing of a helmet while on a motorcycle are Iowa, Illinois, and New Hampshire. All other states have some form of a motorcycle helmet law.

From there, the motorcycle laws can be divided into two groups, those which require ALL riders, regardless of age, to wear a helmet at all times when riding a bike and those which require only riders of a certain age to wear a helmet. The universal helmet states, which have laws that force every motorcycle rider to wear a helmet, include Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Nebraska, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

All of the states which have not already been mentioned have some kind of partial helmet law. Typically, these require that everyone under a certain age must wear a helmet, while for those over the age limit are left to their own judgment. States are divided into two different ages for helmet laws. Some states require all riders 17 and under wear a helmet, such as Arizona, while other such as Arkansas require that all riders 20 and under wear a helmet at all times when riding a motorcycle.

Tips for an Auto Accident

Having a car accident can be traumatizing. Well after the initial shock of impact, much of an accident victim’s anxiety comes from worrying about potential injuries, the state of the damaged vehicle, and dealing with an insurance company. Record keeping is an essential part of minimizing this anxiety. In any legal matter, the strength of your case depends on the nature of your evidence. Dealing with your insurance company is a legal matter, and so the document gathering and record keeping process is essentially the same.

The first step in the record keeping process begins immediately after your accident. Always record all information about the accident, including the date/time, the location, a description of events, a description of damage to your vehicle, and a description of damage to the other vehicle. It is now exceedingly common for drivers to own smart phones with cameras built into them. If you happen to have one of these at the time of your accident, take pictures of both cars, the location where the accident took place, and any other evidence (such as skid marks on a road).

It is also important to take down the contact information for the driver of the other car. This should include his/her name, address, driver’s license number, phone number, and the extent of any injuries caused by the accident. Additionally, before you leave the scene of the accident, note the contact information of any witnesses to the crash. Write down their names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, phone numbers, and any relevant additional information.

After you leave the scene of the accident, when you can get to a proper camera, it is important to take pictures of any injuries you may have suffered. Pictures are difficult to argue with, and they concretely demonstrate the severity of an accident. This is especially important if you have to undergo any surgery due to accident injuries. Some lawyers even recommend taking video of yourself in cases where everyday tasks have become more difficult due to your accident injuries. Sometimes demonstrating the complication that these injuries have brought to what used to be a simple task, such as doing laundry, can be a powerful way to relate the severity of an accident to insurance claims adjusters and jurors.

If your insurance company requires you to see a physician to have your injuries evaluated, always request your full medical file from the physician’s office. Keep your own records of all visits to your own physician and any specialists you may see. Also keep track of all billing for these visits and how the costs were covered.

Finally, when you speak with your insurance company, keep a record of all phone conversations. This record should include the date and time of the phone call, the topic that was discussed, and any agreements that were made. It should also include the name of the person speaking with you, and any reference numbers they provide you for these conversations. Keeping these comprehensive records make it more difficult for insurance companies to deal with you unfairly. Should your claim go to trial, this record keeping will also be very useful for the attorney representing your interests to build a compelling case.