A Las Vegas car accident lawyer cannot be taken by surprise by any unusual circumstances. This is why accident victims who did not have a valid car insurance policy at the moment of the crash should not be afraid to seek a legal consultation. While driving without insurance is against the law in our state, it does not cancel the other driver’s duty of care towards you and the fact that they are responsible for your injuries and economic damages. Thus, in most of the cases, you have a valid car accident claim.
However, you must be prepared to face some penalties. You would face them anyway, even if you do not file a claim or seek assistance from a car accident lawyer in Nevada. So, we begin by explaining what exactly you risk if you are involved in a car accident as an uninsured driver – regardless of your proportion of fault.
What Are The Consequences Of Driving Without Insurance In Nevada?
All drivers in Nevada are required to carry liability insurance, according to NRS 485.185 -1. The minimum coverage amounts are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $20,000 for property damage.
Driving without a valid insurance policy is a misdemeanor in Nevada. This is a lesser offence, but it still carries penalties in the form of fine. The fine is $600 for the first offense and goes up significantly for repeat offenses.
At the same time, the Department of Motor Vehicles has the right to suspend your driver’s license – meaning that you are not legally allowed to drive until it is reinstated. These are serious issues, which cannot be avoided with or without a car accident claim filed against the other driver.
The Effect Of Lack Of Insurance On Your Car Accident Claim
By itself, the fact that you are not insured does not bar you from recovering your eligible damages, as long as you are less than 50% at fault for the accident. As far as a Las Vegas car accident lawyer is concerned, the procedure for filing and negotiating the claim is the same as in the case when you were fully insured.
It is important, however, to know that you must be very careful about what you say or do after an accident in such a situation.
What You Must Do After A Car Accident As An Uninsured Driver
Since there is a lot at stake – beyond a car accident claim – it is very important to follow all the other rules applicable to traffic accidents and to do your best to protect your rights.
These are key aspects that you must follow:
1. Report The Car Accident
If you know that you are uninsured, you may be tempted not to report the accident to the police. The temptation is even bigger if you do not appear to have serious injuries and significant damage to the vehicle. Since the other driver is reasonably more at fault than you, why not leave the technicalities aside and settle the matter privately?
This is absolutely wrong and will substantially increase your legal problems. Not reporting a car accident resulting in bodily injury and property damage is a crime in Nevada.
What if the other driver, realizing that you don’t have insurance, reports the accident and tries to blame it on you? It will be very hard to prove otherwise, since the police did not investigated the crash. What if some other drivers passing by report the accident? Soon enough, the DMV will find out that you were driving without insurance and tried to hide a crash. From this point onwards, a Las Vegas car accident lawyer won’t be able to help you at all. You will need a criminal defense attorney instead.
3. Do Not Lie About The Lack Of Insurance
Honesty is always the best option in all circumstances. And it is the same when it comes to a car accident when you are uninsured. When the police arrive to investigate the crash, they will ask for your insurance information. Do not say something like – “oh, I think I forgot the card at home”. Information is centralized in computer databases now. With a few taps in a special app on a tablet, the police officers will find out that you are lying.
And this will make them more suspicious and less inclined to believe your version of how the accident happened. As any car accident lawyer in Nevada can tell you, the police report is very important in a car accident claim. But if it does not conclusively show that the other driver was negligent, then your lawyer will have a hard time negotiating your settlement.
4. Do Not Share The Fact That You Are Uninsured To The Insurance Adjuster
While you are obliged to tell the police that you are uninsured, you do not have this obligation when it comes to an insurance adjuster representing the other driver. You will most likely get an intimidating lecture meant to determine you to not file a car accident claim.
In many cases, it works. Drivers are already worried and stressed by the potential consequences of driving without insurance. They are in the right frame of mind to be manipulated into believing that they do not have any rights at all.
5. Be Honest And Upfront With A Las Vegas Car Accident Lawyer
After seeking medical care and obtaining a copy of the police report, contact a car accident lawyer in Nevada at the Christian Morris Trial Attorneys law firm. You will not be judged for the fact that you were an uninsured driver. If another person’s negligence caused your injuries and economic damages, you have the right to file a car accident claim and seek compensation.
You need to know that the lack of insurance cannot be added up as contributory negligence and reduce your settlement amount. The only things that matter are your actions prior, during and after the crash. Thus, you should be honest and present all the relevant fact to the lawyer during the free case review.
We Do Not Judge – But Only Try To Win The Maximum Compensation For You!
The legal team at Christian Morris Trial Attorneys knows that there are many reasons why a driver may be uninsured. You may have forgotten that your insurance expired – and you do not get any grace period, even one day. You may have suffered a financial setback, leaving you unable to pay your insurance premiums. What we care about as car accident lawyers in Nevada is that you have the right to obtain compensation from the negligent driver who caused your accident.
We will give you helpful explanations about how to get your driver’s license reinstated and analyze your case carefully. If it has merits, we will represent you and we will fight to win the maximum compensation you deserve. Do not hesitate; schedule a free case review with us as soon as possible after your accident: (702) 434-8282!