Insurance Law

How A San Diego Insurance Claim Lawyer Can Help

Insurance coverage (or lack of coverage) is one of the most critical issues in determining the value and outcome of your personal injury case. One of the very first issues your San Diego insurance claim lawyer will address at the Law Offices of Jeffrey R. Frank, once we are retained, is to determine the nature and extent of all insurance coverage applicable to a personal injury claim, through both the responsible persons and their associated parties and through your own coverage (such as automobile uninsured motorist coverage, under insured motorist coverage, medical payments coverage, health insurance or homeowner’s insurance).

Most people simply assume that there is insurance available to cover them if they are injured in an accident, whether that accident involved a vehicle, a premises, a product or an on-the-job injury. In fact, while there are laws requiring that a person or company be insured in order to engage in the activities which give rise to personal injuries, such as operating a motor vehicle or a business, many parties do not comply with those laws.

For example, take accident injuries involving vehicles, such as auto accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents and pedestrian accidents. Despite the fact that drivers are required to have a minimum level of liability insurance coverage, uninsured drivers remain a problem which presents a serious risk to victims of all accidents involving motor vehicles. According to the Insurance Research Council's (IRC) most recent study, the percentage of uninsured motorists increased nationally from 12.7 percent in 1999 to 14.6 percent in 2004. California had nearly twice the national average, with 25% of California drivers being uninsured in 2004. Many people nevertheless are unaware of the fact that they may have insurance which will cover them when they are injured by an uninsured driver – for instance, their own automobile uninsured motorist coverage, or that of a resident relative in many instances. Don’t assume you have no recourse if you believe the person who injured you did not have insurance – contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey R. Frank right away to set up a free initial consultation with a San Diego insurance claim lawyer regarding your rights as the victim of an uninsured motorist.

Workers injured on the job are also at considerable risk for uninsured losses. Despite legal requirements that can result in the immediate closure of a business, fines of up to $100,000.00 and even imprisonment, a growing number of California employers do not provide worker’s compensation coverage for their employees in accordance with California law. Even where an employer makes a good faith effort to obtain coverage, their insurance company may become financially unstable or even insolvent – according to a 2002 report by the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation, fifteen independent insurers, which collectively wrote over 25% of the total California workers’ compensation policies in 1994, were subject to regulatory action by the California Department of Insurance.

Special legal remedies are available to persons injured on the job where their employer knowingly or unknowingly fails to provide them with adequate workers’ compensation coverage. If you have questions about an uninsured employer claim, contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey R. Frank right away to schedule a free initial consultation with a qualified San Diego insurance claim lawyer.