Car Accidents Involving Rental Cars in Fresno

Maison Law represents people who are hurt in rental car accidents due to another driver’s mistake. Our Fresno 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 only involves 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 Fresno 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 in a Rental Car?

When a reckless driver rams your rental car and your car is damaged or you are hurt, your accident claim would likely resolve much like if you were in your own vehicle. The at-fault motorist’s car insurance would be responsible for repairing the car and offering support to pay for your injury recovery.

However, when a rental car is involved. There may be several insurance companies covering the aftermath. The rental car company may also be involved in determining liability.

The options will depend on the type of damage your accident results in:

Property Damage Only

• Another Driver Responsible – 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. Beware! Even when another driver is responsible, you could still have to pay for repairs so the rental company can restore its car and make money off it. You’d then be left to try to get that money reimbursed from the at-fault driver’s insurer.
• Your Car Insurance — If you caused damage to your rental car, your car insurance may cover the damages. Many car insurance companies cover policyholders when they drive a rental car for personal use. It’s important to check on what your policy will cover before you sign a rental agreement. Unfortunately, the payment 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.
• Your Car Rental Car Coverage – If you purchased additional coverage through your rental car company or you bought it from a 3^rd party rental car insurance provider, you should be covered for some, if not all of the damage. This may also come with a large deductible you must pay before coverage kicks in for the rest.

Rental Car Accidents Involving Injuries

• Another Driver Responsible – Injured victims would seek help with recovery costs from the at-fault driver’s auto insurance company. It’s important to have a Fresno car accident lawyer protecting your interests in this situation. It’s a safeguard to keep insurance adjusters from trying to leave you to pay some of your own medical bills.
• Your own car insurance policy. If you are at fault in an accident, it’s possible your own car insurance would cover the damage to the other vehicle and any injury costs for the victims.
• Your Rental Car Coverage – You may have paid for additional coverage documented in your rental car agreement. Depending on the coverage you purchased, the damage to vehicles and recovery costs could be taken care of. Personal accident insurance would help you with medical costs and support your family if you were killed in a tragic accident. There are also third-party insurance companies that specialize in rental car insurance.
• Credit Card coverage — Unfortunately, most rental car protections offered through a credit card don’t provide injury compensation.
• 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.

What Should I Do After an Accident in a Rental Car?

In rental car accidents, it’s especially important to secure as much evidence as possible and as much information as possible about the other driver. You’ll not only have to prove you weren’t to blame to your insurer, you could also have to prove it to the rental car company.

Call 911. If you or someone else is hurt, request an ambulance. Then, if it’s safe and you are strong enough try to gather as many details on the scene as possible:

• Allow EMTs to check out every pain you experience. If you must leave for the emergency room, ask someone with you or a witness to gather evidence for you.
• Give the officers who respond a full account of what happened.
• Take cell phone pictures and video. Show the damage to cars, traffic signs, and debris left behind. Show your injuries if they are visible.
• Get contact information from witnesses.
• Get driver’s license and insurance information from other drivers.
• 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.
• See your doctor. The shock of being in a car accident can hide the pain from injuries. You may not really know how badly you are hurt until a day later. Have your physician examine all the discomfort you feel. Save your medical invoices.

Compensation Available for Injured Victims After a Rental Car Accident

Your lawyer would demand compensation for every hardship you and your family have experienced since the accident. This support should cover your current damages and any care that could be necessary in the years ahead.

In some cases, your lawyer would be filing claims against more than one insurance company for your benefit.

Your Maison Law attorney would demand support for a few things you may not have known could earn you additional support on a car accident settlement check:

• Hospital and medical expenses.
• Estimates for the support you could need over a lifetime after suffering a permanent physical disability.
• Travel costs as you may have to visit doctors out of the area and travel to appointments while you are on crutches or in a wheelchair.
• Emotional distress, such as anxiety and PTSD symptoms you experience due to the trauma of a car crash. The depression you face during a long and difficult injury rehabilitation also factors in.
• Support for the physical pain you endure and the chronic pain that may be present in the years to come.
• Past and future lost income while you miss work.
• Damage or destruction of personal property.

Contact a Fresno Rental Car Accident Attorney

Contact Maison Law to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an actual Fresno 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 we can’t help you earn more, we’ll tell you that. But we want to make sure Fresno County victims and their families aren’t taken advantage of by corporate lawyers and insurance adjusters. If you feel we can help you earn more for your injury, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay us. We work 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.