Can I Handle An Uninsured Motorist Injury Claim Myself?

As a passenger in an Uber or Lyft, you have rights and protections if you suffer an injury during a ride. These rideshare companies offer significant convenience, but accidents can happen. Understanding your rights and the steps you should take is critical to securing proper compensation for your injuries. Here’s a guide to help you navigate the process if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation. You’re Protected as a Passenger Both Uber and Lyft have insurance policies designed to protect passengers in the event of an accident. If the driver is at fault, their insurance or the rideshare company’s policy should cover medical expenses, lost wages, and more. As a passenger, your primary concern is your well-being, and you have a right to seek compensation for any injuries sustained. Address Medical Concerns Immediately One of the first and most important steps after an accident is addressing any medical concerns. Even if you feel fine, it’s crucial to get checked out by a healthcare professional. Injuries such as concussions, whiplash, or internal trauma may not be immediately apparent. If left untreated, they can lead to more severe complications. At Mannis Law, we can help guide you toward proper medical attention if you’re unsure where to turn. Document Everything If you’ve sustained injuries like bruises, cuts, or other visible damage, it’s essential to document them. Take clear photos of any visible injuries, keep track of your medical treatments, and record any conversations you have with the rideshare company or insurance representatives. This documentation will strengthen your case and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve. You May Have a Case for Injury If you’ve been injured in a rideshare accident, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim. As a passenger, you are not at fault for the accident, which means you can seek compensation from the responsible party. Whether it’s the driver’s personal insurance or Uber or Lyft’s coverage, your rights as a passenger entitle you to pursue legal action to cover your medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress. Call Us for Legal Help Navigating the complexities of rideshare accident claims can be overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone. At Mannis Law, we specialize in representing passengers injured in Uber and Lyft accidents. Our team will work to ensure you receive the compensation you’re entitled to and guide you through every step of the legal process. Schedule a Consultation Today If you’ve been injured as a passenger in an Uber or Lyft accident, don’t wait. Schedule a consultation with us today to discuss your case and learn more about your legal rights. We're here to help you through your recovery and ensure justice is served.

The sirens could be heard from blocks away, and then about ten fire trucks, ambulances, and a hook and ladder truck came down my street and stopped, the firemen jumping out of their trucks, grabbing tanks, hoses, and axes, and headed inside to the loft building across the street. Quite a commotion that luckily was either very minor or a total false alarm. Ten minutes later, they started re-emerging, packed up, and were soon on their way. Phew! But it made me think, what if there had been some disaster, to persons or property. You need to have renter’s insurance. Obviously, when you own a home or condo, insurance is required by the lender if you have a mortgage. But so many renters skip or skimp on renter’s insurance. Key components are coverage for your belongings and payment for medical bills if a guest is injured in your unit. It can happen—a trip and fall, a cooking mishap, who knows.  So make sure you have renter's insurance, with at least $10,000 in medical coverage and enough to replace anything of yours that could be lost due to fire, flood, or other calamities. False alarm this morning, but you never know.

My client called me a couple of months ago with bad news. She had been rear-ended by an uninsured driver. I told her that somewhere around 20% of all drivers on the road in Illinois are driving without insurance. Shocking. So my client, after being taken by ambulance to the ER, x-rayed and examined there, including a CT Scan because she had hit her head, then treatment and physical therapy by her doctor including an MRI because her shoulder pain wasn’t responding to treatment, called this morning, asking how the claim was coming along. I’m glad that the injuries weren’t actually worse—it was a bad crash—but the bad news from the standpoint of her claim is that she has coverage for Uninsured Motorist accidents, but the limit is capped at $50,000. That’s less than her medical bills alone! Her case is easily “worth” over $100,000, but $50,000 is going to be the limit that she can receive. She didn’t have enough insurance, UM and UIM coverage specifically, at the time of the crash.  A real-life example of what I preach every day: You MUST have enough insurance to cover the unexpected things that can happen to you, your family, and passengers if you’re hit by a driver with no insurance or low insurance limits. It’s the most important coverage on your whole insurance policy. I’m happy to give you a free consultation on how much insurance is right and safe to have. No charge, just a good deed for you, just in case.

In Illinois, when YOU have insurance, you are protecting yourself against the possibility that you’ll be hit and hurt by someone without insurance. That part of YOUR policy is called the Uninsured Motorist (or Family Protection) Coverage, and it allows you to collect compensation from your own insurance company for the injuries and damages caused by the person without insurance. After your company, like State Farm, Allstate, Geico, Progressive, or others, makes their payment to you, they have the right to go after the uninsured driver and try to get their money back. The important thing is that YOU don’t have to try to squeeze water (money) from a rock (uninsured driver). State law in Illinois says that you MUST have $25,000 per person coverage—that’s the minimum—and that just isn’t enough. You need at least $100,000 per person. So many clients of mine, unfortunately in a crash, get taken by ambulance ($2,300) to the Emergency Room ($12,000 or more) for assessment and testing, then on to their doctor ($1,000 or more), and then Physical Therapy ($3,000 or more), lost time from work ($4,000 or more)… you get the picture. $25,000 isn’t nearly enough in coverage.  Call me for a friendly consult on the coverage you need, the best companies to buy from, and the worst ones—the ones you must avoid. I’d like to help you before the need arises.

No changes in Illinois minimum coverage for 2021! That’s the headline and the bad news. Auto insurance is required for every vehicle in Illinois, and the state requires minimum coverage of $25,000 per person/$50,000 per vehicle for any injury crash. It isn’t enough! So what can you do about that, comply with Illinois State law and protect yourself and your family? The answer is to make sure YOU have enough insurance coverage to provide for most injury accidents you may unfortunately be involved in.  My recommendation is that you MUST have at least 100/300 coverage, meaning that if you’re hurt in a crash, you have up to $100,000 of coverage for medical bills, lost wages, pain, loss of your normal life, and other damages. I have handled numerous cases where there just wasn’t even close to enough insurance coverage to fully compensate my client. And I’m seeing more and more cars insured by the “better” companies with only those state minimum coverages. Don’t roll the dice; get the coverage you may need. Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage in the amounts of $100/300—that’s a starting place. Call me for a free consult, no obligation, current client or not. Be safe and be prepared for the unexpected.

If you are hurt in a crash, it is crucial that you seek medical attention as soon as possible. First of all, assessing your injuries and getting the treatment you need is what’s best for you. This is obvious. Don’t make the mistake of “giving yourself some time” to heal if you’ve been hurt. And second, if you have a legal claim to make for your injuries, the longer you wait, the more doubt the insurance company will push your way on whether you were hurt as badly as you claim, if you were hurt at all, and if you’re somehow not being honest about what happened to you as a result of the crash. How many times have I heard from an insurance claims adjuster, or even an insurance company lawyer at trial, long after a crash, “People who are hurt see their doctors; why didn’t Mr. So and So see a doctor for five days after the crash… He must not have been hurt!”  Don’t give them that argument. It’s crucial, health and case-wise, to seek medical treatment as quickly as possible after a crash that has hurt you. Crucial. Call me anytime for a no-cost advice consult. Michael Mannis (312) 704-4300.

The Covid pandemic has ravaged society, with effects on every level of everyday life. It has also affected court cases and uninsured motorist cases, though in different ways. For the most part, courts are shut down for in-person hearings, and jury trials have ground to a halt. None. And who knows when it will be safe to resume in-person jury trials. But the surprising good news is that uninsured and underinsured motorist cases are actually moving faster in most cases. Cases are proceeding by Zoom or telephone process, and the meetings are easy to schedule, with the typically busy-in-court lawyers now working remotely or at least with freed-up schedules due to no court appearances.  I have handled both hearings for clients on UM and UIM claims on Zoom and have served as claimant’s arbitrator on Zoom dozens of times in the past year. The UM and UIM claims are moving forward quickly and fairly in the time of Covid.

Medical insurance isn’t so streamlined in America. The latest statistics reveal that, even after the creation of the Affordable Care Act, there are millions and millions of people without health insurance. So what will you do for medical care if you’ve been in a car crash or otherwise hurt where it’s someone else’s fault? If you’re hurt, regardless of having health insurance or not, you’ll be taken by ambulance to the ER and get the treatment and testing that you need. Thankfully, most ERs treat you first and worry about insurance later. Now, if you have health coverage, give them that information. If you do not have medical insurance, the hospital, upon learning that you have a claim to make, will file a “lien” with the other driver’s insurance company. A filed lien means that they’ll be contacted at the time of proposed settlement and receive payment, though not always in full, from the settlement. But what about follow-up care, seeing a doctor, or getting physical therapy and other treatment? If you don’t have medical insurance and a health network to rely on, there are many doctors and clinics that will also perform the health care you need now and wait until your case is over to be paid. The fact that they can file a lien and know payment will come someday is crucial and so important to knowing you can get treatment now when you need it.  I have had clients who have waited, in severe pain or with disabilities, thinking they could not get medical care because they had no health coverage. That’s not the case, and I invite you, if that’s your situation, to give me a call and see if there are solutions for you. Consultation is always without charge, and no fee until and unless we collect money on your behalf.

How much insurance do you really need? Well, the short answer is “the more, the better,” but it gets expensive, right? That said, my strong advice is that you need AT LEAST coverage of 100/300 to be “minimally adequately insured.” So what does 100/300 mean? It means that the maximum payment to you or anyone in your car injured in a car crash is capped at $100,000. And if someone is badly hurt, reaching $100,000 in damages doesn’t take very long. The reason you need this much coverage is that you’re buying both liability coverage—protection for yourself in case you hurt someone—PLUS, you are buying coverage for YOURSELF, YOUR FAMILY, AND YOUR PASSENGERS in case you’re hit and injured by someone without enough insurance. A typical ambulance transport costs over $2,000 these days, and I see ER bills over $10,000 just about every day. Then add in doctor visits, physical therapy, follow-up testing, time off from work, and pain and suffering, and you have a claim that often approaches or exceeds that $100,000 limit. The State of Illinois provides for mandatory insurance and says that every policy must be at least $25,000 in coverage. It isn’t enough. The insurance companies love it, knowing that the maximum they’ll ever pay, no matter how serious a case, is $25,000. Even if your case is worth $63,000, they’ll only pay $25,000, leaving you short.  I talk to people every day, giving them advice on how much insurance to get, and which insurance companies to stay away from. Do it now, BEFORE you need it! Call me, Mike Mannis, at (312) 704-4300, and I’ll give you my best advice, no charge. It’s important.