Maison Law represents people who are hurt in rental car accidents due to another driver’s mistake. Our Dinuba personal injury lawyers aggressively seek compensation for our clients from reckless drivers and, in some cases, rental car companies. Please contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation for all local injury victims. It’s a no-risk opportunity to find out what your injury may be worth and how to hold insurance companies fully responsible for recovery costs.
When Should I Contact a Rental Car Accident Lawyer?
If your rental car accident involves only property damage, you should be able to reach a fair agreement with your car insurance company and the rental car company without the help of a lawyer. But when you are seriously injured in a collision and another motorist is to blame, a Dinuba rental car accident lawyer may prove to be an important protection. A serious injury might involve a fractured bone, a neck injury, or head trauma.
When your medical bills run high, insurance companies and insurers who provide protection through rental agreements can look for ways to get out of supporting you. They can try to blame you for an accident you didn’t cause. They may claim that your injuries are far less serious than your doctor says they are.
Your lawyer gathers the evidence necessary to prevent insurers from escaping responsibility. Then your Maison Law representative demands the maximum in support available for your injury.
Who Is Responsible for an Accident Involving a Rental Car?
After a scary collision involving a rental car, victims may wonder whose insurance would be liable for damages and injuries. Are rental car drivers covered? What if you are struck by someone in a rental car? Do they have to have auto insurance?
In some cases, an accident involving a rental car would be resolved much like an accident involving two personal vehicles. Many people who rent cars rely on their normal car insurance to cover them if an accident occurs. Some car insurers fully cover drivers when they rent a car for personal use.
But there are other insurance options that may be purchased or that are included with certain credit cards that can play a role in how an accident is resolved.
These are just some of the insurance choices that could affect how you receive accident compensation:
- Another Driver’s Insurance Policy — If another driver strikes you while you are behind the wheel of a rental car, the driver’s auto insurance provider should be paying for the damage. This would also be true if the other driver is in a rental car and hits your family vehicle. The at-fault driver’s insurance should apply. The other driver’s insurance must cover the cost of repairing or replacing a rental car. The policy should also help you pay your medical bills and replace the income you lose while healing.
- Your Car Insurance — If you caused damage to your rental car, your car insurance may cover the damages. The rental car company would want to repair or replace the car before they lost a lot of profit while the car was unable to be rented out. Many car insurance companies cover policyholders when they drive a rental car for personal use. It’s important to ask what your policy will cover before you sign a rental agreement. This gives you the chance to purchase additional coverage if necessary. Unfortunately, the support would likely come after you’ve had to pay a large deductible.
- Credit Card Coverage – Some credit cards provide accident protection when you charge a rental car. These protections usually repair or replace your rental car up to a certain limit. They might also cover vehicles that have been stolen or vandalized. Credit card protection may not cover the damage to another vehicle or the cost of injury support.
- Your Car Rental Car Coverage – Rental car companies like Enterprise offer many levels of insurance you can add on when you rent your car. There are also 3rd party rental car insurance providers who offer policies. Some cover any damage to a rental car and the damage to another vehicle. Other policies provide compensation to you and any other injured victims. Beware: This coverage may also come with a large deductible you must pay before coverage kicks in for the rest.
- The Rental Car Company – If a rental car company somehow contributed to your accident, your lawyer would demand full compensation for your damages. A rental car business may have given you a car with faulty tires or worn brakes. They may not have warned you of potential dangers in the area. These and other circumstances might leave a rental car company liable for your damages and injuries.
One big advantage of having a skilled Dinuba car accident lawyer handling your case is that your attorney identifies every party that may owe you support after a crash. The other driver, a rental car company, and even your own car insurance provider could be required to help you recover.
The more injury claims you can file, the better the chance that all of your hardships will get covered. It reduces the chance that you’ll be stuck paying recovery bills from an accident you didn’t cause.
What Should I Do After a Rental Car Accident?
After getting struck by a rental car or being struck while driving a rental car, you’ll need all the evidence available to avoid being blamed for what happened. You may have to prove what happened to insurance companies and a rental car company.
The location of your accident will be the best place to secure evidence. That proof can quickly disappear as emergency crews clear the scene. Dial 911. If you are hurt, get checked out by paramedics.
Then, if the scene is secure, and you can move around, get as much photographic evidence as possible. Get pics of the damage to cars, your visible injuries, and the license plates of each vehicle.
Make sure to get contact information from drivers and witnesses. If an officer doesn’t provide it, get driver’s license and car insurance information from all drivers involved.
Also, make sure you notify the insurance companies and rental companies involved.
- Alert the Rental Car Company as Soon as Possible – You might find a sticker inside your rental car that contains a phone number to call in an emergency. The rental car company will probably want to fill out an accident report of its own. Do everything the rental car company asks you to do.
- Alert Your Own Car Insurance Provider – Just like if you were in your own car, you’d want to inform your insurer about your accident.
How Much Is My Rental Car Accident Worth?
A skilled Maison Law Attorney needs to investigate every aspect of your case before estimating what your family could receive. There are a few factors that play a major role in what you can expect. First is how long it takes you to heal from your injury. This will affect the total on your medical bills and how much the at-fault party would be responsible for.
The paychecks you lose while having to be away from your job are considered. A skilled car accident attorney also helps you show the physical pain and the emotional trauma your injury has caused. These non-economic factors help increase the size of the settlement you could receive.
The insurance adjuster will tell you your injury is worth very little or nothing at all. Your lawyer would demand full support for these and many other hardships in a rental car accident settlement check:
- Totals on hospital and rehabilitation expenses for as long as necessary.
- Estimated costs associated with a long-term injury or permanent physical disability that are common with major accidents.
- Support for the emotional anguish suffered. The loss of enjoyment of life due to an injury. The loss of consortium (loss of intimacy with a spouse).
- Support for the hardship of dealing with chronic, physical pain.
- Totals on past and future lost wages due to an injury.
- Property damage.
- Wrongful death benefits. A family who has lost a loved one to a driver’s mistake is encouraged to file a wrongful death claim. This claim asks an insurance company for help with funeral costs. It also seeks to replace the income the deceased would have provided the family in the future.
Contact a Dinuba Rental Car Accident Attorney
Anyone injured in a car accident is given up to two years to file an injury claim. Waiting beyond this deadline would usually result in the case being thrown out and victims left to pay all medical bills out of their own pockets.
Contact Maison Law to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an actual Dinuba rental car accident lawyer. We want to hear what happened to you. We’re going to answer your questions and make sure you are fully aware of the insurance tactics you’ll face. These shady practices are meant to limit the money you receive. Avoiding these pitfalls will be key to earning what’s fair for your car accident injury claim.
If you feel we can help you earn more for your injury, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay us. Maison Law works on a contingency basis. That means we don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our legal fees come out of a settlement an insurance company must pay you.
