Auto Insurance Coverage Las Vegas - Auto Lawyer

A question I'm often asked is, "Do I need under-insured motorist coverage in Las Vegas?", and the answer I always give is, "Absolutely!". Especially in this economic time where we're finding now, more than ever, people on the roadways of Las Vegas have no auto insurance coverage, and as a result, if you're hit by someone without insurance, your only recourse is to use your under-insured motorist coverage. If you haven't spoken to your agent recently about what coverages you have, I strongly recommend you talk to your agent about obtaining at least $15,000 worth of under-insured motorist coverage per person. This will protect everyone in your vehicle in the event you're unfortunate enough to be involve in an accident with an under-insured driver.

One of the most important reasons to have under-insured motorist coverage is you'll rely on it to pay medical bills, which aren't covered by health insurance, that you incur as a result of injury sustained in an accident with an uninsured or under-insured motorist. Also, if you miss time from work under-insured motorist coverage can compensate you for that time you missed from work as a result of being insured. Also, compensation for pain and suffering: Without under-insured motorist coverage, if you're involved in an accident with someone who doesn't have liability insurance, you have no recourse whatsoever. I strongly recommend, if you haven't spoken to your agent recently about your auto coverages, first and foremost - make sure you have under-insured coverage on your policy. Also check the limits of that coverage. In this day in age, with the cost of medical expenses going up yearly, it's important to have a sufficient amount of under-insured coverage. This is an expense well worth it, and one that we strongly recommend you take a look at. Make the change sooner rather than later.

I'm often asked by people, "If I'm involved in a Las Vegas auto-accident, what are some of the first things that I should do?" Well, of course, the first thing you should do if you're involved in a motor-vehicle accident is make sure that your vehicles are safely off the roadway so that further accidents don't happen. Of course, if anybody's seriously injured and requires medical attention, it's never a problem to call 911 and seek emergency personal. Beyond that, it's important to obtain the identity of the driver you believe caused the accident, or who is responsible for the accident. You can do that in two ways: It's important to get the driver's name, address, and even a telephone number, but also cross-reference that with the driver's actual driver's license or some other form of I.D., just to insure the person's name that you're getting is actually the person involved in the accident. If you have a cell phone or any other type of apparatus that can take pictures, it's a good idea to take pictures of your vehicle as well as the vehicle involved in the accident with you. That's just to preserve evidence in the event something were to come up down the road, or there's some form of denial regarding the amount of damage to the vehicles involved.

Of course, you should summon the police unless it happens on private property. That's important because without some determination of fault it makes it more difficult to successfully deal with the insurance company for the at fault driver. In other words, when the police are summoned and a ticket is issued for the fault of the driver who caused the accident, you're more likely to have an easier time convincing that driver's insurance company that there is liability and that they should be compensating you for such things as the damage to your vehicle, a rental car, as well as a claim for injuries that you may be making in the event that you're injured. So those are just a few tips that I would recommend in the event that you're involved in an accident here in Las Vegas.

Many people ask me, "What information should I look for, what research should I do before I hire a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer?" Obviously, a referral from a trusted source is always the best way to go, but sometimes you don't have that luxury. What I recommend my clients do is do a Google search on a lawyer that you're thinking about meeting with first, just to see what you can find out (you might be surprised). There are good things on there, but there could be some bad things, and it's up to you, and you can ask the attorney about those thing. The other thing that I encourage people to do is, when they're meeting with a client, ask the attorney, "What is the extent of your involvement going to be on my case? What are you going to do personally?" At our firm, I don't do everything. I don't request the records from the hospital. I don't put the address on the letter and drop it in the mail box. But I do the important things. I deal with the insurance companies, and I talk to the adjusters. I answer all the legal questions. You want to make sure that you have somebody like that; somebody who's qualified to be handling the aspect of the case that they're handling. You don't want some high-school graduate who is 19 years old negotiating with an insurance company on your behalf, but unfortunately there are firms out there that do that.

The other thing that I encourage clients to ask their lawyer is, "How many lawsuits have you filed, and how many lawsuits does your firm file?" Insurance companies keep track of those things. If a personal injury attorney never files a lawsuit, the offers go lower and lower and lower, because the insurance company's not going to respect that law firm. You want an experienced litigator, who's done it before and can tell you what to expect, leading the charge.