Q: My parents are victims of a car accident and the guilty party is uninsured, what now?
Two weeks ago, my parents were rammed by someone who ran a stop sign. My parents' car was totaled, all airbags were dispatched but fortunately they escaped with minor injuries. Today, my mom told me the guilty party's insurance had expired in 2010. She took a photo of the insurance but didn't think to look at it until today. By the way, this happened in New Jersey and everyone involved is a NJ resident so insurance is mandatory, I would think. I don't live with my parents but my mom told me on the phone that apparently my dad keeps dismissing it and thinks their own insurance will cover costs. I don't know if it's because he fears conflict / confrontation or whatnot. I believe my mom has the guilty party's contact info and she doesn't seem to remember snapping a photo of the license plate.
A: Your father maybe correct as there is, in NJ, Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage. This goes into effect when the at fault person either does not have any insurance or has minimal insurance. Now depending on injuries, they may or may not qualify, but your parents insurance will take care of the damage or total the car.
A: They need to contact a member of the NJAssn for Justice. If they don't know any let me know where they live I'll get you in touch with a member (I'm across the river in Pennsylvania). Bottom line it's the equivalent of falling from a 4th story balcony, they have excellent medpay coverage, so they should not use their Medicare, and also have an uninsufred motorist claim. There are ways of getting the other driver to admit if they did or didn't have insurance. For starters if they weren't charged with an insurance violation your parents should call the policeman involved--many times they turn in the right card under the strong suggestion of the police that they do so or other charges will follow.
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