What To Do If You’re Injured While Driving Someone Else’s Car

Car accidents can be rather traumatizing. The collision needn’t be life-threatening to shake us up or leave a mark. Injuries only make the experience worse as they persist for a while. However, all of these concerns get even more worrying when it’s somebody else’s car that’s involved in the accident. How does the law mandate that the process be dealt with and what is the overall concerns you should take heed of? Let’s find out.

Contact a professional attorney

While we will list out the ways you can be affected and ways you should act after this type of accident, assistance from a professional is still required. They can establish which coverage applies and what the damage is. Additionally, in muddier cases, attorneys can help shed light on the situation. Hence the importance of starting the resolution of our case with one.

Aside from all the other actions you’ll take, make sure to collect evidence for the attorney. This will help them build a case and determine the eventual outcome. Of course, every place has different capable attorneys that can offer help. Those who look for an Oxnard car accident attorney will find one here.

Call up an appropriate insurance

The most standard insurance policy an owner can have could cover you in this case. If you are driving another person’s car with their permission, you should be covered by that same insurance in the accident. It isn’t as cut and dry though as their policy will only cover a certain amount of damages. Should the cost exceed the limit, the rest will be covered by your own insurance, if any.

However, the confusing part in this whole thing is who gets the permission to drive. Is this merely a verbal confirmation or something more complex? Well, there are multiple cases where you may be eligible for this approach.

The most general case is living in the same household. That means any of the driver’s family has the same insurance coverage as the primary driver. That includes any relatives that are under the same roof or spouses.

It leaves things a bit muddier when it comes to people who aren’t related to the driver. Roommates, guests, and other people who may fall into this group won’t always benefit from the insurance. Of course, Oxnard car accident attorney is there to clear the specificities up and give you options for any incident.

It’s also possible to have people listed on the insurance policy. The owner can add a person to this list if they are using the car often. Any assistants could benefit from this, despite not living with the policy owner. It’s something that takes a bit of extra effort to include but is worth it if the car is frequently used by somebody who isn’t a relative.

Last option is having an express permission from the person to use the car. This is the most difficult situation to get a proper coverage in. Basically, if the owner borrows you a car for a purpose and you fully abide by it, the insurance will include you. Insurance companies will often ask for confirmation that a reason for your use of the car exists. It will also deny coverage if the accident happens outside of the task the car was borrowed for. That means any detours could potentially lead to denied claims. To better reinforce your case in this situation, Oxnard car accident attorney can help.

Conclusion

As we’ve seen, the coverage of an insurance that applies during an accident can vary. It will always be tied to the primary driver if the parties involved can find a justified reason for it. However, if they can’t and the attorney doesn’t manage to find a way in which the owner’s insurance policy can be applied, it’s the person who was part of an accident’s insurance that covers it.

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