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I was involved in a car accident and I don’t have insurance coverage. what should I expect

 CREDIT:  WEST COVINA CAR ACCIDENT LAW OFFICE , LEM GARCIA LAW CREDIT:  WEST COVINA CAR ACCIDENT LAW OFFICE , LEM GARCIA LAW

If you were involved in a car accident, but weren’t carrying insurance car insurance coverage at the time, it is important to know what to expect.

If the car accident was not your fault, the other party still owes you for your damages, but not as much compared to if you did have car insurance coverage at the time. What the other party owes you regarding your property damage claim does not change if you have insurance coverage or not. The other party still owes you for the damage to your car, a rental car, towing, and storage.

When you don’t have car insurance coverage, your bodily injury claim changes. When you have car insurance, the at fault party owes you for your medical bills, lost wages, and your pain and suffering. When you don’t have car insurance, the other party still owes you for your medical bills, and lost wages, but they owe you nothing for your pain and suffering.

This occurs in California due to Proposition 213. When you don’t carry car insurance at the time of a car accident, the other party no longer owes you anything for your pain and suffering. This dramatically changes the value of your claim because a large portion of your claim may be for your pain suffering.

Even though the value of your case is less when the other party doesn’t owe you anything for pain and suffering, it is still worth pursuing. If you were injured, you will have medical bills to pay and you may even miss time from work. It is not advisable to let the other party off the hook by not pursuing anything because you do not have car insurance of your own.

It is also important to know that if you didn’t have car insurance at the time of your car accident, the DMV may suspend your license – even though the accident was not your fault.

If you were injured in a car accident, call West Covina car accident lawyer, Lem Garcia, for help. We are happy to guide you in your time of need. Case consultations are always free and without any obligation.

By: Lem Garcia, car accident lawyer in West Covina

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