Uninsured Motorist Claims

Uninsured Motorist Claims insurance (UIM) coverage allows injured plaintiffs to submit a claim with their own insurance provider for benefits if the defendant-driver lacks the insurance coverage necessary to cover their losses.
Not every auto insurance policy includes UIM coverage, however, so in the wake of an accident, It’s important to evaluate whether you have access to such coverage. And if so, under what circumstances your insurer might deny your benefits claim. In the event that your insurer denies benefits, that is not a final, conclusive decision. In California, you have a right to challenge their determination and potentially overturn it.

One significant alternative to obtaining damages from the uninsured or underinsured driver is to sue other liable defendants. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, there may be multiple liable defendants. In California, each of these defendants may be held liable for the entirety of your economic damages and for their proportional contribution to your non-economic damages.
Let’s clarify this dynamic with a brief example:
Suppose you are injured in a car accident by a driver who is completely uninsured and does not have significant personal assets to cover your losses. Your total losses amount to $100,000 ($50,000 economic, and $50,000 non-economic). After investigating the case further, you discover that the car manufacturer may have been liable as well, due to defective brakes. The court decides that the manufacturer is 50 percent liable, and the driver is 50 percent liable.
How does this play out?

The driver and manufacturer are liable only for their proportional contribution (50 percent) of the non-economic damages: $25,000 each. For the economic damages, however, you may recover the full $50,000 from either defendant, likely the manufacturer, as they have the assets and insurance coverage to pay out.