If you are injured as a result of someone else’s negligence you may be eligible for compensation by way of a personal injury claim. However, if you have been involved in a no-contact car accident your insurance company may not be willing to help you gain compensation.One article explains a no-contact accident as follows:
“You’re driving in the right hand lane, and there’s a pick-up truck a little bit ahead of you in the left lane. You’re going at the normal speed, it’s a nice day, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to be concerned. That is, until the pickup, apparently not seeing you, starts coming over into your lane without anywhere near enough room. To avoid a collision, you swerve to the side and go off the road, hitting a tree and totaling your car.” You have just been involved in a no-contact accident.
Therefore, it is correct to say that a no-contact accident is an accident you are involved in where your vehicle never touches the other vehicle, however the actions of the other driver result in you being involved in an accident.
One lawyer states that, “Unless you actually get some identifying information about the vehicle that caused your accident it is highly unlikely that you will be able to take the other driver to court in order to receive compensation. However, both the insurance industry and legal system are used to such situations and have a term for it referred to as a ‘phantom driver’. And in such cases the issue is between you and the insurance company.”
The phantom vehicle and driver in most cases would fall under the uninsured motorist coverage that makes up a part of an auto insurance policy. It must be noted that coverage comes down to three related questions and these are:
What does your insurance policy say?
Do you have corroborating witnesses?
What are your state’s underinsured or uninsured motorist insurance requirements?
All the above questions are related because the most litigated issue in a no-contact accident case is the requirements in many insurance policies that there must be corroborating evidence before the victim of a no-contact accident can recover any compensation. In most cases such corroborating evidence is the presence of witnesses. The corroborating witnesses can be another person involved in the accident, a passerby or another motorist who observed the incident. In the event that your policy does not require a corroborating witness it is important that you are careful about just who that witness is. One article comments that “in some states the courts enforcing this clause require that corroborating witnesses be an independent third-party, therefore, where the only corroborating witness is a spouse of the injured driver such a witness is said to not be independent enough to qualify. However, a coworker, friend or other family member with you at the time of the accident may be considered an independent third-party witness.”
For legal advice in Northridge contact a personal injury attorney in Northridge.
About the company:
The King Law Firm is a law firm of renowned professionals who specialize in personal injury matters. If you are involved in a truck related accident hire truck injury attorney. For personal injury matters in Woodland Hills hire Woodland Hills car accident lawyer.