What Happens If You Are Injured by an Uninsured Driver in New Haven?
A serious car accident can create immediate financial pressure, especially when the driver who caused the crash has no insurance. Medical treatment may already be underway, time away from work may be unavoidable, and vehicle repairs can add another expense. Learning that the other driver is uninsured can make an already difficult situation feel even more uncertain.
Connecticut automobile policies generally include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage for this situation. Early review of the available insurance can show where compensation may still be available when the responsible driver cannot fully cover the loss. Working with an experienced New Haven car accident lawyer can help identify the applicable policies, available limits, and coverage after the crash.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage Can Step In When Liability Insurance Is Missing
Connecticut General Statutes § 38a-336 requires automobile liability policies to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage within state requirements. Connecticut currently requires at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage.
Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the driver responsible for the crash has no applicable liability insurance. Someone seriously injured in the collision may pursue compensation through their own automobile policy rather than relying on an uninsured driver to pay personally.
Medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other covered losses may still be recoverable. A fractured bone, head injury, surgery, or months of physical therapy can create substantial losses regardless of the other driver’s insurance status.
The UM insurer will usually investigate the collision and injuries before resolving the claim. Police reports, photographs, witness accounts, medical records, and wage documentation provide evidence of what happened and the resulting losses.
Underinsured Motorist Coverage Applies When the Other Driver’s Limits Fall Short
Some drivers have insurance, but not enough to cover the harm caused by a serious collision. Connecticut’s minimum bodily injury liability limits are $25,000 for one person and $50,000 for multiple injured people under General Statutes § 14-112. Hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and significant time away from work can quickly exceed those limits.
Underinsured motorist coverage may provide additional compensation after the responsible driver’s liability coverage is exhausted. Available benefits depend on the limits purchased under the applicable policy.
Connecticut also permits insurers to offer underinsured motorist conversion coverage under General Statutes § 38a-336a. Payments from the at-fault driver’s liability insurer do not reduce conversion coverage limits in the same manner as conventional underinsured motorist coverage. Two policies showing similar UM/UIM limits on their declarations pages can therefore provide different amounts of coverage after a severe crash.
The Full Auto Policy May Reveal More Than the Declarations Page
The declarations page usually shows the basic limits purchased. The full policy contains the definitions, endorsements, exclusions, and terms that determine who is insured and which vehicles are covered.
A passenger injured in someone else’s vehicle may have different coverage available from a driver injured in their own car. Household automobile policies can also matter when several vehicles or family members are insured under separate policies.
Reviewing the complete policy can uncover coverage that is not obvious from the insurance card or declarations page and clarify which policy applies first when more than one source of UM/UIM insurance is available.
Medical Bills Continue While the Insurance Claim Is Pending
Hospital charges, imaging, specialist visits, physical therapy, medication, and follow-up care often arrive long before an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim is resolved. Serious injuries may require months of treatment, while future care can remain uncertain early in recovery.
Health insurance often pays accident-related medical expenses as treatment occurs. Some automobile policies also include optional medical payments coverage, commonly called MedPay, which can help with covered medical costs subject to the policy limits.
Lost wages can add pressure while treatment continues, especially when surgery or a serious orthopedic injury keeps someone from returning to work. Medical bills, treatment records, wage information, and work restrictions help document the financial effect of the crash as recovery continues.
Notice Requirements Can Affect UM/UIM Coverage
Reporting the crash to the at-fault driver’s insurer does not necessarily satisfy the requirements of a separate UM/UIM policy. Connecticut insurance regulation § 38a-334-8 permits automobile policies to require written notice of an accident, claim, or suit.
General Statutes § 38a-336(g) also prevents an insurer from imposing a period shorter than three years from the accident for filing suit or demanding arbitration on a UM/UIM claim. If the responsible driver’s liability limits have not been exhausted during that period, subsection (g) provides a tolling procedure involving written notice to the UM/UIM insurer before the deadline and additional requirements after the liability coverage is exhausted.
Giving notice early can reduce the risk of a later dispute over policy requirements or statutory deadlines while the liability claim is still being resolved.
Limited Liability Coverage May Leave Significant Losses Unpaid
A policy-limits payment from the responsible driver’s insurer may cover only a fraction of the losses following a severe collision. A $25,000 liability limit can be consumed quickly by emergency treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, and weeks or months away from work.
Underinsured motorist benefits may provide compensation for losses that remain after the liability coverage has been exhausted. Permanent limitations, future treatment, reduced earning capacity, ongoing pain, and other losses may continue long after the liability carrier has paid its available limits.
Guidance from a knowledgeable New Haven car accident lawyer can help determine whether additional compensation is available when the responsible driver’s insurance falls short of the losses caused by the collision.
Contact Riley Law, LLC
If you were injured by a driver who had no insurance or too little insurance to cover the harm caused by the crash, uncertainty over the available coverage can add stress during an already difficult recovery. Identifying the applicable insurance early can help protect the claim while treatment and financial losses continue.
Riley Law, LLC, represents people injured in serious motor vehicle accidents in New Haven and throughout Connecticut. Contact Riley Law today to speak with an experienced New Haven car accident lawyer and learn how we can pursue the insurance coverage and compensation available after an uninsured or underinsured driver causes a crash.
Sources:
- Connecticut General Statutes § 38a-336, “Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage”:
cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_700.htm#sec_38a-336 - Connecticut General Statutes § 38a-336a, “Underinsured motorist conversion coverage”:
cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_700.htm#sec_38a-336a - Connecticut General Statutes § 14-112, “Proof of financial responsibility”:
wcga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_246.htm#sec_14-112 - Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies § 38a-334-8, “General provisions”:
eregulations.ct.gov/eRegsPortal/Browse/RCSA/Title_38aSubtitle_38a-334Section_38a-334-8/