Rental car accidents can be very difficult to sort out from a legal perspective.
Although most people assume that the car insurance of the rental car driver should cover the accident, it is not always that simple. It can a real legal mess trying to sort out who is responsible for compensation if there are injuries or property damage, and if you have been involved in an accident with a rental car, you need to get in touch with a Philadelphia car accident lawyer right away to help sort through the issues.
You want to make sure that you are able to access the full compensation that you deserve to help you pay for your expensive medical bills and any property damage that the rental car inflicted on your car.
There are several factors that can make rental car accidents extremely complicated.
A few examples of them are: Sometimes, the renter will say that they have a car insurance policy, but the policy may have lapsed or have been canceled. In this case, the renter needs to be treated as an uninsured driver and the case needs to be handled in the same way.
Some renters are tourists who are unfamiliar with the Philadelphia area, and some of them are not even from the United States. This means that not only are they more likely to cause an accident because of their unfamiliarity with the city, but also that they are not clear on how liability works in Pennsylvania. They may also need to go back home before the case is fully resolved, leaving you with few options to continue your claim.
Another issue with foreign renters is that most foreign renters are technically required to have a permit to rent a car, but some countries, such as Canada, have an issue with this law, so states do not enforce the law much. This can be a big issue for you from a legal standpoint if you were the victim of an accident with a foreign renter, and your lawyer can be of invaluable assistance in this circumstance.
Although victims can also receive compensation through the renters homeowners insurance or even through a credit card if thats how they paid for the car, but not every renter has a credit card of homeowners insurance. You cannot always count on those options in the event that the rental car driver does not have car insurance of their own.
There is a federal law called the Graves Amendment which protects rental companies from having to take on responsibility if a renter gets into an accident, regardless of if the renter bought any kind of insurance from the rental company. So if the renter does not have any insurance, you cannot count on the rental company to provide your compensation. In this case, you definitely need a personal injury lawyer.
Rental car insurance and compensation can be extremely confusing in the event of an accident.
Having an experienced lawyer on your side is the best way to ensure that the outcome is in your best interests.
You want to make sure that no matter what your injury is and how severe it is, you are financially taken care of. Medical bills are extremely expensive anyway, and can be made even worse if you cant earn a wage because youre too injured to work. Furthermore, medical costs can go on and on even after you leave the hospital, if you have to take medications, do physical therapy, or have follow up exams.
Having a skilled rental car accident lawyer on your side is your best chance at wading through the complicated legal issues involved in determining who will pay for the compensation and will fight to get you the full amount of compensation you are owed as an accident victim.
You dont want to discover that your compensation is not enough, which is usually the case if you dont have a lawyer to tell you that the insurance company is not paying out enough. Our lawyers have years of experience handling cases involving rental cars in the Philadelphia area, and we are completely on your side. We will pursue every avenue available to help you access the compensation you deserve. Call our offices today to start your claim.