Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog
Earlier this month, a West Virginia woman was convicted of driving without a license after she caused a fatal accident that took the life of a five-year-old Maryland girl. According to one local news report, the woman claimed that she was unaware that her license had lapsed. However, at trial, on cross-examination it came out that her license was revoked due to several previous citations and accidents.
Evidently, the woman rear-ended a car driven by the young girl’s great-grandmother on Route 67 in Washington County. The girl was in the back seat, as is recommended. However, she tragically died as a result of the injuries she sustained in the accident.
The woman faced criminal charges relating to her decision to drive without insurance. Just last week, the criminal case against the driver ended in a conviction. The woman’s sentencing will be coming up in the next month or so. However, she faces up to a year in prison. She was also issued two traffic violations and fined $410.
Accidents Caused by Uninsured Motorists
All states require that drivers maintain insurance on their vehicles. However, although it is a requirement, and ignoring it can result in serious fines and even potentially jail time, thousands of Maryland drivers operate vehicles without insurance each day. Many of these uninsured drivers are also unlicensed.
Unlicensed or uninsured drivers are a risk to those around them because they do carry with them the guarantee of payment when they cause an accident resulting in serious injury. And to make matters worse, many uninsured or unlicensed drivers lost their ability to drive due to their negligent, aggressive, or inexcusably poor driving habits.
Recovering from Your Own Insurance Company
Even when an accident is caused by an uninsured driver, the possibility of recovery for your injuries still exists through your own insurance company. All insurance companies offer a full range of coverage, ranging from the bare-bones coverage required to comply with the law to full coverage designed to leave the insured with as little exposure as possible.
One common form of insurance is uninsured motorist insurance. This insurance kicks in when the at-fault driver does not have insurance of his or her own. In fact, this type of insurance is required in Maryland. Thus, if you have a compliant policy in the State of Maryland, you have uninsured motorist protection on your plan.
Have You Been Hit by an Uninsured Motorist?
If you have recently been involved in an accident in which the at-fault driver was not insured, don’t give up hope on recovering for your injuries and property damage. Your own policy may act to cover your injuries in lieu of the other party’s insurance. However, just because you are dealing with your own insurance company, rather than someone else’s insurer, does not mean that it will pay you what you deserve without a fight. To learn more about how you can prove a case of negligence against an uninsured driver, call 410-654-3600 today to set up a free initial consultation with a Maryland personal injury attorney today.
More Blog Posts:
Sport Utility Vehicle Crashes into High-School Cafeteria, Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog, published December 2, 2014.
Single-Vehicle Accident Takes the Life of One Fifteen-Year-Old and Injures Two Others, Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog, published September 3, 2014.