Plantation Uninsured Motorist Accident Lawyer
Being injured by a driver who has little or no insurance can make an already difficult car accident even more complicated. You may have medical bills, lost income, vehicle damage, and serious injuries while also discovering that the at-fault driver does not have enough insurance to cover your losses.
A Plantation uninsured motorist accident lawyer can review your insurance policies, determine whether uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may apply, investigate other potential sources of compensation, and help you pursue the benefits available under Florida law.
Winston Law Firm represents people injured in Plantation and throughout Broward County in uninsured motorist, underinsured motorist, and other serious car accident claims. If a driver hit you and did not carry enough insurance, contact us for a free consultation.
What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?
Uninsured motorist coverage, commonly called UM coverage, is automobile insurance designed to protect insured people when they are injured by a driver who does not have applicable bodily injury liability coverage.
Florida does not require every driver to carry bodily injury liability insurance. As a result, a driver can cause a serious collision without having liability coverage available to compensate the people they injure.
UM coverage can help address that gap.
Under Florida law, insurers issuing applicable motor vehicle liability policies generally must offer uninsured motorist coverage unless the named insured rejects the coverage in writing or selects lower limits.
Whether UM coverage applies depends on the policy language, the vehicles and people insured, how the policy was issued, and the circumstances of the crash.
What Is Underinsured Motorist Coverage?
Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver has liability insurance, but the available bodily injury limits are not enough to cover the injured person’s total damages.
For example, a driver may carry a relatively small bodily injury liability limit while causing injuries that require surgery, rehabilitation, months away from work, or long-term medical care. In that situation, the liability policy may be exhausted before it fully covers the injured person’s losses.
Florida’s uninsured motorist statute includes certain underinsured vehicles within the definition of an uninsured motor vehicle for purposes of UM coverage.
That means the important question is not simply whether the at-fault driver had insurance. The more useful question is whether enough applicable liability coverage exists to address the damages involved.
How PIP Fits Into an Uninsured Motorist Claim
Florida Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, is separate from uninsured motorist coverage.
PIP can provide qualifying medical and disability benefits after a motor vehicle accident regardless of who caused the crash. Florida law generally pays 80% of qualifying medical expenses and 60% of qualifying lost income, subject to statutory requirements and limits.
To qualify, you generally must receive initial medical services within 14 days after the accident for PIP medical benefits to apply.
PIP may help with some early expenses, but it is often not enough after a serious collision. An injured person may still face substantial medical costs, lost income, future treatment needs, and other damages after using available PIP benefits.
That is where liability insurance and UM/UIM coverage may become particularly important.
How to Determine Whether You Have UM or UIM Coverage
Don’t assume you do or don’t have uninsured motorist coverage based only on a quick look at an insurance card.
An attorney reviewing a UM claim may examine:
- The insurance declarations page
- The complete policy
- UM coverage selection or rejection forms
- Policy limits
- Whether coverage is stacked or non-stacked
- Which vehicles are insured
- Who qualifies as an insured under the policy
- Household policies that may be relevant
- Employer or commercial policies when applicable
- The bodily injury limits available from the at-fault driver
Florida law permits a named insured to reject UM coverage in writing or select limits lower than bodily injury liability limits. That makes the underlying policy documents important.
If an insurer claims UM coverage was rejected or limited, you may need to review the signed coverage forms and policy history carefully.
Stacked and Non-Stacked UM Coverage
Some Florida uninsured motorist policies provide stacked coverage, while others provide non-stacked coverage.
Stacking can affect the amount of coverage potentially available when multiple insured vehicles are involved. Non-stacked coverage generally includes policy limitations that restrict how coverage from multiple vehicles can be combined.
Florida law specifically permits insurers to offer non-stacked UM coverage when statutory requirements are satisfied, including providing the insured with an approved disclosure explaining the limitations.
The effect can be significant. Two people with the same listed UM limit may not have the same total available coverage because the policy structure can differ.
A Plantation uninsured motorist lawyer can review the policy to determine which limits and restrictions apply.
How a Plantation Uninsured Motorist Lawyer Can Help
An uninsured motorist claim can put you in an unusual position: you are seeking benefits under your own insurance policy, but your insurer may still investigate fault, medical causation, damages, and policy coverage before agreeing to pay.
Depending on the circumstances, Winston Law Firm can:
- Investigate how the collision occurred
- Confirm whether the at-fault driver was uninsured or underinsured
- Review all potentially applicable insurance policies
- Examine UM selection or rejection forms
- Determine whether coverage is stacked or non-stacked
- Review household and commercial policies when relevant
- Preserve accident evidence
- Collect police reports, photographs, video, and witness statements
- Document medical treatment and future care needs
- Calculate lost income and other financial losses
- Communicate with insurance adjusters
- Evaluate settlement proposals
- Prepare and pursue litigation when necessary
Having UM coverage does not mean every dispute disappears. Your insurance company may still disagree about who caused the crash, whether an injury resulted from the accident, how serious the injury is, or how much compensation is appropriate.
Compensation in an Uninsured Motorist Claim
The amount you can recover depends on the policy, available limits, injuries, evidence of fault, medical prognosis, comparative responsibility, and other circumstances.
Depending on the case and available coverage, damages may include:
Medical Expenses
- Emergency transportation
- Hospital treatment
- Diagnostic imaging
- Physician care
- Surgery
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Prescription medication
- Medical equipment
- Future medical treatment
Lost Income and Earning Capacity
An accident may prevent you from working temporarily or cause permanent limitations that affect your ability to earn income in the future.
Pain and Other Non-Economic Losses
Florida law limits recovery of pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience in qualifying motor vehicle cases unless the injury satisfies the statutory serious-injury threshold.
Whether that threshold is met can depend on medical evidence showing permanent injury, significant permanent loss of an important bodily function, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death.
Wrongful Death Losses
If an uninsured or underinsured driver causes a fatal collision, UM coverage may also become relevant to a wrongful death claim depending on the policy and circumstances.
Evidence That Can Strengthen an Uninsured Motorist Claim
A UM carrier may still require proof that the uninsured or underinsured driver was legally responsible for the collision and that the accident caused the claimed damages.
Important evidence can include:
- Police crash reports
- Photographs of the accident scene
- Vehicle damage photographs
- Dashcam footage
- Surveillance video
- Witness statements
- Insurance information for the at-fault driver
- Written confirmation of available liability limits
- Your own insurance policy and declarations pages
- UM selection or rejection forms
- Medical records and diagnostic studies
- Employment and wage documentation
- Expert analysis when liability or damages are disputed
Preserve evidence as early as reasonably possible because video can be overwritten, witnesses can become difficult to locate, and damaged vehicles may be repaired or destroyed.
Deadlines for Uninsured Motorist and Car Accident Claims in Florida
The old four-year negligence deadline previously stated on this page should not be relied upon.
Florida currently generally provides a two-year limitations period for negligence actions against an at-fault driver.
A claim for uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits under an insurance policy is different because it arises from a written insurance contract. Florida courts have generally applied the five-year limitations period governing actions founded on a written instrument to UM claims.
The deadline analysis can still become complicated. Florida case law has addressed when a UM claim accrues and how policy provisions, settlement with an underinsured driver, exhaustion requirements, or other circumstances can affect the limitations period.
For that reason, an injured person should not assume a particular UM deadline applies without reviewing the actual policy and the claim’s circumstances.
Waiting is risky even when substantial time remains under a statute of limitations. Evidence can disappear, and insurance issues can become more difficult to resolve as time passes.
Uninsured Motorist Accidents in Plantation
Plantation includes heavily traveled local and regional corridors such as Broward Boulevard, University Drive, Pine Island Road, State Road 84, and Interstate 595.
Crashes on these roads may involve commuters, commercial vehicles, residents, visitors, rideshare drivers, and motorists traveling between Plantation and surrounding Broward County communities.
When the person who caused a collision does not carry sufficient liability coverage, the crash location does not change the basic insurance problem: the injured person must identify other legally available sources of recovery.
That may mean evaluating PIP benefits, the at-fault driver’s available insurance, your own UM/UIM coverage, household policies, employer or commercial coverage, and other potentially applicable policies.
Related Plantation Car Accident Resources
An uninsured motorist claim is often one part of a larger car accident case. Winston Law Firm has additional Plantation resources that may be relevant depending on your injuries and the circumstances of the crash.
- Plantation car accident lawyers:
Learn more about Florida PIP, fault, insurance claims, damages, and the broader car accident process. - Plantation personal injury lawyers:
Review the broader rules governing negligence, damages, insurance disputes, catastrophic injuries, and other serious injury claims. - Plantation traumatic brain injury lawyers:
Serious crashes can cause concussions and other brain injuries that affect memory, concentration, balance, personality, and the ability to work. - Plantation spinal cord injury lawyers:
Spinal cord injuries may create significant future medical needs, disability, loss of earning capacity, and long-term care requirements. - Plantation wrongful death lawyers:
Families dealing with a fatal collision may have rights under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act as well as potentially applicable insurance coverage.
You can also review Winston Law Firm’s notable case results and our guide, Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim.
Plantation Uninsured Motorist FAQs
Is uninsured motorist coverage required in Florida?
Not necessarily. Florida law generally requires insurers issuing applicable bodily injury liability policies to offer uninsured motorist coverage, but the named insured may reject UM coverage in writing or select lower limits.
What is the difference between uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage?
Uninsured motorist coverage addresses crashes involving drivers without applicable bodily injury liability coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage can apply when the at-fault driver’s bodily injury limits are not enough to cover the injured person’s damages. Florida law addresses both through its uninsured motorist statute.
Can I make a UM claim against my own insurance company?
Yes, if applicable UM coverage exists. Although you file the claim under your own policy, the insurer may still investigate fault, injuries, medical causation, damages, and whether the policy provides coverage.
Does PIP replace uninsured motorist coverage?
No. PIP and UM coverage serve different purposes. PIP provides certain no-fault medical and disability benefits subject to Florida law. UM coverage may provide additional compensation when an uninsured or underinsured driver is legally responsible for the crash.
What if I rejected uninsured motorist coverage?
If UM coverage was validly rejected, coverage may not be available under that policy. However, review the policy, rejection form, vehicle coverage, household policies, and other insurance before assuming no UM benefits exist.
What does stacked uninsured motorist coverage mean?
Stacked coverage can allow UM limits associated with multiple insured vehicles to be combined in certain circumstances. Non-stacked coverage includes restrictions that limit how coverage can be combined. The policy documents determine which type of coverage applies.
How long do I have to file a UM claim in Florida?
Florida courts generally treat uninsured motorist claims under written automobile insurance policies as subject to the five-year limitations period for actions founded on a written instrument. However, accrual, policy conditions, settlement activity, and other circumstances can affect the deadline, so you should review the specific policy and claim individually.
Can I sue the uninsured driver directly?
Potentially. An injured person may have a negligence claim against the at-fault driver. Whether pursuing the driver directly is financially practical depends in part on available assets, insurance, liability, damages, and the circumstances of the case.
Can I recover pain and suffering through UM coverage?
Potentially. Florida applies its motor vehicle serious-injury threshold to UM claims involving pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience. Whether the threshold is met depends on the injury’s nature and permanence and the supporting medical evidence.
What should I bring to a consultation about an uninsured motorist claim?
If available, bring the crash report, photographs, your insurance declarations page and policy, correspondence from insurers, medical records, bills, wage information, and any documentation showing the at-fault driver’s insurance status or liability limits.
Speak With a Plantation Uninsured Motorist Accident Lawyer
An uninsured or underinsured driver does not necessarily mean there is no path to compensation. The key is determining which insurance policies and legal claims may apply.
Winston Law Firm can investigate the crash, review your insurance coverage, evaluate UM and UIM benefits, document your injuries and losses, communicate with insurers, and pursue litigation when necessary.
If an uninsured or underinsured driver injured you in Plantation, call Winston Law Firm at (954) 475-9666 to schedule a free consultation.
