Not a truck? Out of luck!

If you’re hit by this “not a truck“ then you may be out of luck. You may have a very strong case of the other driver’s unsafe conduct and permanent physical injuries, but your road to LEGAL recovery is not a straight road. Vehicles not meant for the “highways and byways” are not covered under many automobile or motor vehicle insurance policies. These insurance policies often promised lots of coverage in the big print at the front of the policy. However, there are restrictions and limits in smaller print near the back!

With electric vehicles used for maintenance, golf carts speeding around country club paths and ATVs (“All Terrain Vehicles”” carrying hunters to their tree blinds in the woods, there are more and more motorized vehicles that can come into contact with drivers and pedestrians. If one of these parking lot cleaning or maintenance vehicles hit you, coverage may be problematic. In other words, the accident may not be your fault, and your injuries severe, but collectibility will be difficult if there is no insurance applicable to the harms and losses. Sure, you can sue the person driving, but they may not have any assets sufficient to reimburse for all of the medical bills, lost wages, medications, braces, etc. , that may have been caused by their unsafe driving. Suing their employer may be a better opportunity for collectibility of a judgment or verdict. Permanent golf cart injury

However, when one of these vehicles is owned or operated by an uninsured company or driver, then your own insurance may come in to play under the under or UIM coverages section. Exclusions for vehicles, not testing for the highways and byways me again coming to play to prevent collectibility. So if someone is an uninsured contractor clean your garage, proving the case may be the easy part, collecting may not. Likewise, if someone is an uninsured hunter, and they smash their ATV into your car, or run over your foot, again, there may be exclusions under your own policy, which is supposed to afford you secondary coverage and protection.

If you or someone you know or care about, has been in an accident with permanent injuries, and there are questions about the law, please contact us at once, call 703-796-9555 or email us at frontdesk@landaulawshop.com.