Florida Personal Injury Blog
Who pays for your vehicle damages or personal injuries when a police vehicle is responsible for an accident?
In Miami, the car accident lawyers at the Perazzo Law Firm inform that cop cars do not carry insurance. With this said, it’s easy to imagine the legal woes involved in recovering for damages and losses when a police vehicle is found at fault for an accident. This is why, Jonathan Perazzo, personal injury attorney and founder at the Perazzo Law Firm, highly recommends that motor vehicle owners opt for purchasing Underinsured motorist insurance coverage to protect against not being able to cover medical expenses after an accident involving the police.
Police vehicles are very often involved in situations that require high speeds and aggressive maneuvers. Many times, police officers will drive their vehicles at high speeds, especially when involved in high speed chases. Such event was recently captured on video along when law enforcement agency vehicles were in hot pursuit on the Palmetto. Over a dozen police vehicles chased one single car, placing other drivers in danger. There were no accidents reported, but the risks involved were great. See video footage here.
What is Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage?
The Perazzo Law Firm highly recommends that motor vehicle owners carry uninsured motorist coverage (UM) or Under-insured motorist coverage (UIM) as it could potentially save you from a lifetime of financial burden brought about by someone else’s negligent or fault. It is also a valuable insurance coverage to have in the event of a hit and run accident. When combined with PIP and PD, UM will cover your pain, suffering, lost wages, and any other losses in line with the amount purchased. The Perazzo Law Firm informs motor vehicle owners that there are two types of UM coverage: STACK and UNSTACKED. The latter is placed on each of the vehicles that you own, be it one of three or all three vehicles, no matter on how many vehicles you own though the cover each vehicle separately, you will not be covered if you are a passenger in another person’s vehicle. However, the UM will only cover when operating said vehicle being driven at the time of the accident. Stacked UM coverage covers you and those stipulated on the insurance coverage policy as well as your household family members regardless of the vehicle those insured were in at the time of an accident. It is called stack because if you own more than one vehicle and you carry this policy on multiple vehicles the coverage accumulates according to the number of vehicles in the policy. For instance, three vehicles carrying a $100K policy would mean that you have $300,000 in coverage with which to cover injuries or losses for everyone in the STACK UM policy. The Perazzo Law Firm hopes this helps clarify the role and importance of UM insurance and what it means to you and your loved ones. This is not an exhaustive explanation as there is much more to fully understanding UM. In order to protect against such a situation, these insurance policies must be offered to you by your insurance carrier and you must either elect to reject or accept the coverage. In order to purchase UM or UIM (Under-Insured Motorist) coverage the motor vehicle owner must carry Bodily Injury Protection insurance (BI). Typically, insurance providers submit the BI contract to you with the box already completed. Our car Miami accident attorneys believe this is because UM insurance is of extremely great value for the price. If you think about it, the insurance company knows everything about you; where you live, what you do, where you work, your credit score, and other information that they can use to determine the risk or chances of you causing an accident. They cannot, however, gauge the risk of someone else crashing into you or causing an accident. Since this insurance premium is dictated by Florida law, UM is far less expensive than the mandatory insurances and riskier for the insurance company, they typically do not offer to openly or explain the importance of it to motorists. While you typically need to get bodily insurance to unlock uninsured motorist coverage.
If you, a friend, or relative has been injured in a car accident that resulted from interaction with a law enforcement vehicle, contact the Perazzo Law Firm now ONLINE for a FREE initial consultation to find out your legal rights to seek compensation for losses or injuries.