Legal options for someone hit by an uninsured driver

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you would have to somhow know the financial situation is of the ininsured driver. My MIL was at one point too cheap to get driver's insurance because she wanted to indulge herself with the money she would have spent. If she had injured someone she would have pled poor, but there was money there. She has since spent that all. My guess is that most people who are not insured are people who can't afford it and I don't know what sueing what do because I am not a lawyer.

If you can't afford car insurance, you cannot afford to drive. It's not about being cheap, it's about being incredibly irresponsible and dangerous.

[Anonymous]

True but the reality is many people drive without binsurance or are underinsured. I worked inhouse for an insurance company as an attorney for several years... it is truly frightening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or he could just leave the country and ignore the bills arriving from the hospital. Thats why our bills are so high in the first place right? Uninsured/poor and foreigners who leave the country without good contact info to collect from.

This is neither true or relevant. He is not going to leave without paying his bills. Let's not turn this around please. I'm trying to give advice to a 19 year old who got hit while riding his bike to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend is here on a temporary work visa (life guard for the summer) and does not have health insurance.

OP, is your friend here on a J1? J1 sponsors are required to provide health insurance to their program participants. See from the Dept of State website: http://j1visa.state.gov/sponsors/how-to-administer-a-program/

Something is wrong with this picture. Either your friend is not here on a J1 (but as a summer lifeguard I can't think what other visa s/he is using), the sponsor is not in compliance, or maybe your friend is not aware of his/her insurance coverage. If the issue is the program sponsor, call DOS on them.

[Anonymous]

Yes, 13:51 is right on (been out of that field for awhile, so did not think of that when I started reading this thread). Your friend may have a high deductible, but anyone here on a J-1 needs to have insurance. Most folks here for the summer as lifeguards, etc are on J-1s.

For the posters carping about how poor and uninsured folks drive up medical costs, what ELSE are they supposed to do? Die at home because they were diagnosed with cancer while between jobs?

[Anonymous]

Also, isn't it illegal to drive while uninsured? What happens to the driver? Was a police report taken?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is here on a temporary work visa (life guard for the summer) and does not have health insurance.

OP, is your friend here on a J1? J1 sponsors are required to provide health insurance to their program participants. See from the Dept of State website: http://j1visa.state.gov/sponsors/how-to-administer-a-program/

Something is wrong with this picture. Either your friend is not here on a J1 (but as a summer lifeguard I can't think what other visa s/he is using), the sponsor is not in compliance, or maybe your friend is not aware of his/her insurance coverage. If the issue is the program sponsor, call DOS on them.

OP here, you bring up excellent points. I don't know what kid of visa he is on. I'll rely this information to him tonight. Thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, isn't it illegal to drive while uninsured? What happens to the driver? Was a police report taken?

Yes, it's illegal but I read this morning some 17% in MD still drive uninsured. Police report was filed, but I think all they'll do is fine the person who hit him. So after all is said and done, the state gets theirs (as they should) and the only person with the short end of the stick is the person that suffered as a result of being hit.

[Anonymous]

Maryland has a whole division called MAIF (not sure te spelling is right) it's the Maryland fund for uninsured motorist. They pay out up to 20,000$ towards accidents with uninsured motorists. Your friend should call them. I'm not sure uf the uninsured motorist has to make the claim or if the injured person can. They are located in Annapolis

[Anonymous]

Presumably the driver doesn't know that the injured person is leaving the country in September, so it may be worth trying to get some kind of settlement deal done. The threat of (1) litigation, which could include attaching his wages and/or having his car or other property confiscated, (2) his employer finding out if he gets served with a lawsuit at work or if his wages get attached, or (3) having a public record of being a douchebag hitter-and-runner (which would not go over well with many future employers) may scare the driver into dealing with a fair settlement.

[Anonymous]

Thank you both PPs....great advice! I'll definitely research the Maryland Fund for Uninsured Motorists. The threat of litigation works sometimes so it might be worth calling a lawyer to explore the options. Or at least to find out if this guy has any money.

[Anonymous]

Out of curiosity, how large was/is he bill from the hospital?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Out of curiosity, how large was/is he bill from the hospital?

I don't think he knows yet. This only happened last week.

[Anonymous]

I don't get this. If it's pointless to sue an uninsured driver what is the point of requiring people to get car insurance?

So I can cancel my car insurance and just drive around and if I hit someone, feel confident that there is no recourse they can take? Seems like a big incentive not to buy car insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get this. If it's pointless to sue an uninsured driver what is the point of requiring people to get car insurance?

So I can cancel my car insurance and just drive around and if I hit someone, feel confident that there is no recourse they can take? Seems like a big incentive not to buy car insurance.

OP here, that's exactly why I posted. So far, the research that I did myself and the responses that I've gathered here indicate that:

1) if the person is truly poor and just plain can't afford the insurance, there is no point in suing at all. You are screwed. If you are a driver with insurance, your insurance will pay, but your premiums will likely increase.
2) if the person is uninsured, but they have a job and/or assets you might sue them and get some of that (garnished wages, etc)
3) the state will suspend the DL and fine the person, they won't be able to register a car again until they pay up. That's fine, but it doesn't get the injured person any relief and something tells me if they weren't paying for car insurance in the first place, they won't care about registering the car either.

Did I forget something?