Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog
January 2017 has not been a good month for baseball players on the road. Recently, Yolando Ventura of the Royals and Andy Marte, who played for the Diamondbacks a few years ago, were both killed in two separate car accidents in the Dominican Republic. Now, according to a recent news article from Fox Sports, Sean Rodriguez of the Atlanta Braves was just in a serious car accident involving an allegedly stolen police car.
Authorities have said Rodriquez was driving his SUV with this wife and two children as passengers when he was struck by another vehicle. The suspect had allegedly stolen a police cruiser and was driving at a high rate of speed when he T-boned Rodriquez’s vehicle. While Rodriquez was not seriously injured in the car crash, the police car burst into flames and ended up doing serious damage to his SUV, and his family suffered more significant injuries. His two children, ages 8 and 2, were both listed as being in serious condition at a level-one trauma center. The driver of the allegedly stolen police car was killed in the fiery wreck. Rodriquez had previously been with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he was traded this off-season to the Atlanta Braves on a two-year contract. The Braves issued a statement that their thoughts and prayers are with Rodriquez and his family.
Car accidents occur every day in Boston and around the country. While there are not too many car accidents involving a stolen car, there are many car accidents where the alleged at-fault driver does not have insurance. This presents many of the same issues as when the accident involves a stolen car, because the car insurance policy for the stolen vehicle is not likely to cover any financial losses suffered by the victims in an accident subsequent to the theft of the vehicle.
The reason for this is because it is the driver who is technically insured, as opposed to the vehicle, when it comes to liability. However, this does not mean that the owner’s insurance policy will cover any damage done by the insured driver. There are a variety of conditions that must be met.
The question then becomes if the alleged at-fault driver does not have insurance to cover the loss, how can the car accident victim recover? As our Boston car accident lawyers can explain, if the victim or someone in his or her immediate family owned a car, and that car had an insurance policy, the car accident victim may be able to file what is known as an uninsured motorist claim (UM).
Under the law of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, whenever a car insurance company underwrites a policy to a resident of the state, they must also offer UM coverage in addition to the liability to others coverage. Unless the vehicle owner has specifically disclaimed the UM policy coverage, the vehicle will be included and attached to your vehicle liability insurance binder. If you own more than one car, it may be possible to stack the coverage limits to allow you to get full and appropriate compensation.
If you are injured in an accident in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Sean Rodriguez’s wife shares positive news after family’s terrifying car crash, January 31, 2017, By Chris Bahr, Fox News
More Blog Entries:
Report: Fall River Teen Killed in Car Crash on Way to Prom, June 26, 2016, Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog