In this interesting case, we represented an elderly woman in Rocky Mount who was injured in a car wreck while riding with a friend.
The wreck happened when another driver drove through a stop sign and hit my clients. The driver of the offending car, immediately jumped out the car and ran from the scene. In the meantime, my client was seriously injured and was taken by helicopter to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville, North Carolina.
When my client was released from the hospital, she was distressed to learn that the other car had no insurance. At that point, my client was told she could not recover anything for her injuries despite the fact that someone was clearly at fault for the wreck.
What is most disturbing about this story is that my client had reported this wreck to her own insurance company as well as the insurance company for her friend who was driving the car when they were hit. Neither of these insurance companies offered to help.
When we were hired, I knew the insurance companies were not being honest with my client. Under North Carolina law, there is a coverage called “uninsured motorists coverage” on all automobile insurance policies. This coverage provides insurance if you are injured by a driver who does not have insurance (as they are required to by law).
After numerous letters back and forth to the two insurance companies, we were able to get my client the maximum uninsured motorists coverage from both insurance carriers which was $60,000.
This case highlights the importance of not simply giving up when an insurance company tells you “No”.