People driving rental cars who are struck by other drivers and hurt can seek help with their ambulance fees, medical bills, and lost income.
Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield offers a free, no-obligation consultation for all accident victims in Kern County. It’s a chance to help determine who is to blame and to find out how to hold insurance companies fully accountable.
Do I Need a Lawyer After a Rental Car Accident?
A personal injury lawyer would be of most help if you were driving a rental car and were struck by another driver, and were seriously injured. A lawyer could also help you earn more if you were struck by someone in a rental car and received serious injuries.
When your medical bills run high, the at-fault driver’s car insurance provider will put up the most fuss when asked for help. The stack of medical bills can tempt insurers to suggest that you were to blame (even though you weren’t). They can also attempt to devalue your injuries and say that you won’t require that much care.
The rental car company may also claim they weren’t responsible, even though they can be made to offer support in some cases.
Your Bakersfield rental car accident lawyer would fully investigate what happened and hold the right parties involved responsible for your doctor bills and lost income at work. When a serious injury like a broken bone or head trauma is involved, our lawyers can often earn you much more than you could win for yourself.
Rental Car Accident Dangers
Residents and visitors in Bakersfield may be in rental cars for many reasons. Someone may rent a car while their own car is being fixed. They may be visiting from another state and renting a car to visit family, conduct business, or head into the mountains.
Drivers can turn to a company like Budget or Hertz to provide the wheels they need. Unfortunately, accidents can occur on busy Bakersfield highways like Highway 99. Drivers in rental cars may not be used to operating a different car than they are used to, leaving them weaving between traffic lanes.
Visitors may be unfamiliar with local roads and pay more attention to their mapping app than to the actual lanes. These and other factors can lead to accidents and subsequent battles with other drivers, insurers, and giant car rental companies.
Victims who are forced into accidents by other drivers need to ensure they get their repair bills and doctor bills covered. They also need to be cautious when dealing with rental business who will only be concerned with their profits after a crash.
Who Is Responsible for an Accident Involving a Rental Car?
If someone hits you while you’re driving your rental car, the accident may play out like a normal collision. The insurer for the driver at fault would hopefully accept blame and write you a settlement check to cover your hospital time and other damages.
Unfortunately, you may be placed in conflict with the rental car company over who should be liable for the time and financial loss while the car is unusable.
Drivers Running into Your Rental Car – The other driver’s insurance would be responsible for your recovery costs. The situation can get more complex when the rental car company begins to worry about the wrecked vehicle, which they can’t make money off of. Even though the other driver’s insurer should be liable for repairs, if the rental company is made to wait, they may hold you responsible for “loss of use” of the car. This means the money they forfeit each day while they can’t rent out the car. They may try to stick you with this growing deficit. You may need a consumer protection lawyer to help you fight any unfair charges the rental car company is trying to stick you with.
Property Damage to Your Rental Car – You might run into a parking lot wall or scrape a curb. The liability for the damages may be handled differently by each rental car business. You’d need to check your contract on your own responsibility. You could also investigate whether your own car insurance company protects you in these situations. The credit card you paid for the rental with could carry protection as a nice added benefit. You could also have signed up for damage protection from the rental car business.
What If I’m Injured in a Rental Car Accident I Caused?
You may have made a mistake and struck another SUV with your rental vehicle. Not only is there damage, but you could also be injured. Your own car insurance may cover you for your medical costs. A policy you purchased from the rental company could also provide medical benefits.
You may also have health insurance that would pay immediate costs. But your health insurer would want to be reimbursed if your car insurance provider later pays you for your medical costs.
If your accident was caused by a mechanical defect or a lack of maintenance on the car, the car rental place could be fully liable. This fault might include brakes that failed or worn tires that caused you to lose control. A company like Enterprise is responsible for providing safe cars to customers.
Finding Support for Injured Victims in Rental Car Accidents
If you were hurt in an accident you didn’t cause, you should demand the help you’ll need in the near term and the long-term. You will require immediate help with your ambulance fees, emergency response fees, and your hospital bills.
But you could also need support that would cover surgery if a broken bone doesn’t heal right or a brain injury leads to months of further headaches. A heartbreaking disability suffered could leave you dependent on a lifetime of support to pay for medical equipment, home care, and the support of your family if you can’t return to your career.
These are all concerns your Bakersfield car accident lawyer would consider when totaling up what you’ll need in a settlement and what you’ll demand from a car insurance company. Any blame that falls on the car rental company would also leave them liable for some of your damages.
Your lawyer would fight to get these and other benefits for you:
- All current and anticipated medical costs: PAID
- The cost for physical therapy: PAID
- Longterm expenses involving a permanent disability: PAID
- Support for the pain victims must endure: PAID
- Support for the emotional trauma victims must cope with: PAID
- Travel Costs to See Medical Specialists: PAID
- Income and Benefits Lost at Work: REIMBURSED
Contact a Rental Car Accident Attorney Who Backs Your Claim with Evidence and Fights to Earn You More
If you are injured by another driver in an accident involving a rental car, bring your case to a skilled attorney. Talk to a real Bakersfield lawyer to find out what you should be earning in support and how car insurance companies will be trying to limit that support.
Contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield to schedule a free consultation. It’s a confidential, no-obligation review of your case with an experienced legal professional.
We don’t stop fighting until you are healthy again, you have a car in great condition again, and your financial worries are a thing of the past.