The below information was written by our personal injury lawyers in Virginia Beach.
All automobile insurance policies issued in Virginia must include uninsured motorist coverage, which protects the insured in the event of an automobile accident caused be an uninsured motorist. Prior to the filing of a lawsuit, a person injured in an car accident caused by an uninsured motorist can make a claim under his or her own policy in much the same way as he or she would make a claim under the negligent driver’s policy, if the negligent driver was insured. Furthermore, it is possible that the injured person will have uninsured motorist coverage available to him or her under multiple insurance policies depending a variety of issues, such as who the injured person lives with, whose vehicle the injured person was occupying at the time of the accident, the number of policies issued to residents of the injured person’s household, etc. Determining the availability of uninsured motorist coverage to an injured person is very complex and specific to the facts of the case, so we encourage you to call our personal injury lawyers in Virginia Beach regarding available coverage.
All automobile insurance policies issued in Virginia must also include underinsured motorist coverage, which is coverage available to an injured person when the negligent driver’s liability coverage is less than the amount of uninsured motorist coverage available to the plaintiff. When determining the amount of underinsured motorist coverage available to an injured person, the same considerations described above regarding uninsured motorist coverage apply. The difference between underinsured motorist coverage and uninsured motorist coverage is that the amount of underinsured motorist coverage available to an injured person is offset by the amount of liability insurance coverage available to the negligent driver. Like uninsured motorist coverage, determining the availability of underinsured motorist coverage to an injured person is very complex and specific to the facts of the case, so an experienced personal injury lawyer should be consulted regarding available coverage.
If the claim of the injured person cannot be settled and a lawsuit is filed, the insurance company or companies issuing applicable uninsured or underinsured coverage must be served copies of the suit papers. An insurance company served on an uninsured or underinsured motorist basis will then have the right to defend the lawsuit in a manner similar to a named defendant in the lawsuit.
About Preston, Wilson & Crandley, PLC
Our personal injury attorneys handle injury claims ranging from minor sprains and strains to catastrophic brain injuries and wrongful death claims. Moreover, our firm has been successfully representing people in injury cases in Virginia since 1955. Give us a call and put our experience to work for you.
For a Personal Injury Attorney please contact us at (757) 486-2700.
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Personal injury lawyers in Virginia Beach serving all of Hampton Roads.