Maison Law represents people who are hurt in rental car accidents due to another driver’s mistake. Our Madera 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.
How Do I Know If I Need 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 Madera rental car accident lawyer may prove to be an important protection.
Insurance companies and insurers who provide protection through rental agreements will look for ways to avoid having to provide support. They can try to blame you for an accident you didn’t cause or question how bad your injuries are. Your lawyer fully investigates your case and uses the evidence to force insurers to accept responsibility. Then your Maison Law representative demands the maximum in support available for you and your family.
Rental Car Accident Dangers
There are plenty of examples of careless driving to see along Madera roads like Highway 99 or Cleveland Avenue. Many drivers stare at cellphones or stomp the gas to rush around, even when traffic is at its busiest. But some drivers who normally show caution in their own cars might take more chances in a rental car that’s not theirs.
Perhaps drivers are in a rental car after causing an accident and damaging their own vehicles. Other rental car drivers may be visiting the area. They may not be familiar with local roads. These and other circumstances could make rental car drivers more likely to cause accidents. And it’s sometimes just as easy for a reckless driver in a personal car to force a rental car driver into a crash.
Some accidents involving rental car companies will be resolved much like any other accident. Many rental car drivers choose to rely on their own car insurance provider to protect them as they travel around in an Enterprise car or an SUV. But when a rental car company and third-party insurance providers get involved, victims can be forced to protect themselves.
It’s when serious injuries are involved and multiple insurance adjusters are working to limit the value of your injury claim, that a skilled Madera rental car accident lawyer may be a necessary protection. When a bad injury is involved, getting the support to be able to afford the best care available for as long as necessary is critical to a full recovery.
Who Is Responsible for an Accident Involving a Rental Car Accident?
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?
There are 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.
Rental Car Accident Settlement Checks
Your Maison Law representative will be collecting evidence to build a strong case. Then, when you are ready, your lawyer files an injury claim with every insurance company involved. Your lawyer demands support for every hardship you and your family have faced and could face in the years ahead.
If you earn an insurance settlement, you can expect to receive compensation for several factors involved in your recovery:
- Hospital and medical expenses and those expected in the future.
- Costs associated with a permanent physical disability such as brain damage, vision impairment, paralysis, or the loss of a limb.
- Physical pain and suffering.
- Emotional Anguish.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. Loss of consortium (Intimate Relationships).
- Earnings you’ve lost while missing work.
- Damage or destruction of property.
California Statue of Limitations for Car Accidents
In California, injured victims are given up to two years to file a claim for damages with an insurance company. This may seem like you don’t have to rush, but it’s important to file as soon as you and your personal injury attorney are ready.
Collecting evidence and documents will be much easier in the early going. Keeping track of witnesses will also be easier if you don’t wait years to move your case forward.
Contact a Madera Rental Car Accident Attorney
Contact Maison Law to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with an actual Madera 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.
