Rental cars include any vehicle that is paid for use by an individual who does not personally own it. It differentiates from a taxi or rideshare in that the person leasing the vehicle is actually the one driving the car and not a third party.
If either you or the defendant driver were operating a rental vehicle at the time of the wreck, this can substantially impact your ensuing civil claim. Therefore, it is highly advisable to work with a local attorney familiar with rental car accidents in Denton.
The impact of rental insurance on a vehicle accident claim in Denton depends on whether or not the person who rented the vehicle bought the additional supplemental coverage. If they had the supplemental coverage as well as their own auto insurance, then they will have to coordinate the liability claim between the two. In situations like that, each carrier, whether it is a rental car carrier or the individual’s own carrier, is fully responsible for any and all damages caused by their insured. Now, if a claimant was struck by a person driving a rented vehicle while driving their own vehicle, then their own underinsured insurance could also potentially be applied to damages. While this can make cases more complex, these insurance policies can be stacked, improving a claimant’s chances at a full recovery.
In these situations, the injured party could pursue claims against only one of the insurance carriers (their own, the rental company’s, or a third party’s) or all of them. If the claimant is injured in an amount in excess of any one liability policy, they can pursue claims against the other carrier for the balance up to the full policy limits.
For instance, say a person’s injury has liability insurance in the amount of $100,000. If the individual has an underinsured $30,000 policy on their own vehicle as well as $30,000 underinsured in a rental car coverage, they could make claims against both insurance companies and jointly get the full $60,000 in compensation.
While recovery can be substantial in these cases, determining how to best stack the available policies could be difficult without experienced legal guidance. Working with a local attorney familiar with rental car accidents in Denton could improve your chances at a full recovery for your losses.
Call our office today to schedule a free case consultation with a member of our team. We look forward to speaking with you.
If you are in need of a personal injury attorney in North Texas, please contact the team at McCraw Law Group today. We are ready to help you in a broad range of serious accident and injury legal issues, and offer multiple ways to reach us.
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If you are in need of a personal injury attorney in North Texas, please contact the team at McCraw Law Group today. We are ready to help you in a broad range of serious accident and injury legal issues, and offer multiple ways to reach us.