Category: Car Insurance

WHAT IS INSURANCE BAD FAITH?

Posted by drpadmin on November 24, 2020

The Las Vegas personal injury attorneys of D.R. Patti & Associates are no strangers to insurance companies acting in bad faith. With over 26 years of experience in Las Vegas personal injury cases and litigation, D.R. Patti & Associates knows what to look for and how to hold insurance companies responsible. An insurance company is considered to be acting in bad faith if it denies or mishandles an insurance claim in such a way that it is considered unreasonable. In car accidents, an innocent victim may be entitled to compensation from their own automobile insurance policy if they have uninsured (UM) or underinsured (UIM) coverage.

A UM policy covers an insured who is struck by a car with no insurance or by a hit-and-run driver, while UIM policy covers an insured who sustains damages more than what the at-fault driver’s insurance policy can cover. Also, there are times when accidents happen that are not caused by the negligence of other citizens. In these cases, a person will likely have to have their own insurance company pay for their medical expenses. When an insurance company acts in bad faith on these claims it can cause an unnecessary burden upon the victim.

Under United States law, insurance companies owe a duty of good faith and fair dealing to the persons they insure. This duty is often referred to as the “implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing” which automatically exists by operation of law in every insurance contract. See Combee, Jamie R. (22 December 2014). “Insurance Bad Faith” (PDF). Mealey’s Litigation Report. 28 (16). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-04. Retrieved 19 March 2018.

Bad Faith Examples

Lack of communication
Making threatening statements
Canceling or changing the policy after the claim is filed and under new terms
They took an unreasonable length of time to pay your claim
Your claim was denied but you weren’t given a reason
Undervaluing your claim, and not offering a reasonable amount so that litigation is necessary to recoup the correct amount
Failing to explain why a claim was denied or a compromise offer was made.
Not using formal and proper investigative techniques i.e. use of fraudulent or illegal investigative processes.

Damages

Punitive damages might be available, which are imposed for the purpose of punishing the bad actor for particularly wrongful conduct. These damages are meant to deter insurance companies from doing the same thing to other policyholders.

On March 8, 2013, the Brevard County jury rendered a verdict for Cadle and against GEICO in the amount of $900,000.00. Thereafter, judgment was entered in the amount of $75,000.00, representing the UM policy limit. The present suit was filed on October 15, 2013, seeking to recover the $900,000.00 verdict (less set-offs) rendered in the underlying case. See Cadle v. Geico Gen. Ins. Co. (n.d.). Case Text. https://casetext.com/case/cadle-v-geico-gen-ins-co

If you think your insurance company is acting in bad faith, call the Las Vegas personal injury attorneys of D.R. Patti & Associates at 702-331-3391. We have extensive experience with bad faith insurance practices, and sometimes simply having a lawyer can make insurance companies change their practices.

What Does It Mean That My Car Is Totaled?

Posted by drpadmin on September 9, 2020

If you get involved in a severe car accident, your insurance company may declare your car a total loss or, in other words, “totaled.” Under Nevada law, if the cost of the repair a car damaged in a car accident is at least 65% of the car’s fair market value before it was damaged, the insurance company can declare the car a total loss. The repair cost cannot include the cost of painting and towing the car.

NRS 487.790(1)(b) defines a total loss as a vehicle “which has been wrecked, destroyed or otherwise damaged to such an extent that the cost of repair, not including any cost associated with painting any portion of the vehicle, is 65 percent or more of the fair market value of the vehicle immediately before it was wrecked, destroyed or otherwise damaged.”

How Is Fair Market Value of My Car Calculated

Fair market value is how much the car would sell in the condition it was in before the wreck. The insurance company determines how much your car would sell for by looking at how much a vehicle like yours is currently selling. The look for identical make, model, year, mileage, and condition. If the insurance company determines your car a total loss, they will provide you with a total loss valuation. This document will list the cars that recently sold and are comparable to your vehicle.

Contrary to public perception, insurance companies do not use Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds to value your pre-crash vehicle. However, the Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds’ value of your vehicle may approximate the insurance company’s valuation. So, you can look up the resale value of your vehicle on Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds to get an idea. Remember, however, the amount you see will not be identical to the insurance company’s fair market valuation. The insurance company may use their own database or hire a third-party company to determine the fair market value.

Remember, the value of your vehicle usually decreases with age. The older your vehicle, the fair market value will be lower. Even if your car was in perfect working condition, with no damage, your car’s value will not be equivalent to that of a newer model. It can happen that someone has an older car that was not severely wrecked in a crash, but the cost of the repair the damage is still at least 65% of the value. As car accident attorneys, we’ve had many clients who questioned why the insurance company just can’t fix the car rather than paying the lower fair market value. In many cases, accident victims may have the option to keep the car.

What Are Your Options If Your Car Was Declared A Total Loss?

If your car has been declared a total loss after an accident, you may have two options: accept payment for the fair market value of the car or keep the car. If you accept the fair market value, you will have to give the title of the vehicle to the insurance company. By giving the insurance company the title to your wrecked car, your insurance company owns your car. Typically, the insurance company can then sell your car as, usually at an auction in a salvage yard.

If you decide to accept the fair market value, your insurance company will first pay off any loans on the car and give you the balance. Unfortunately for some people whose cars get severely damaged in a wreck, the fair market value of their vehicle may be less than what they owe on the car. This means that, even after the insurance company gives the total loss payment to the car loan company, the car owner would continue to owe the remaining balance. Unfortunately, as car accident attorneys, we see this scenario too often. After a really bad car accident, a car accident victim may end up still owing money on a car that is a total loss.

Because of this possibility, it’s important to purchase gap insurance if you still have a loan on your car. Gap insurance pays the difference between the amount a car insurance company pays for your totaled car and the amount you owe on your lease or loan.

If you do choose to keep the car, remember the insurance company will not pay you amount it will cost to repair the car. It has no obligation to do so. When your car is declared a total loss, the insurance company’s obligation is to pay the fair market value of your car. Because of that, if you choose to keep the car, the insurance company will only pay you the fair market value of the car. However, the insurance company will also reduce what they have to pay you by the salvage value of the wrecked car. Salvage value is the amount the insurance company could obtain by selling your wrecked vehicle as is, usually at an auction at a salvage yard. If you have to pay a deductible, your insurance company will also reduce what they have to pay you by this amount.

If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident and need help dealing with the insurance company, call an experienced Las Vegas car accident attorneys at D.R. Patti & Associates. Our skilled accident lawyers will explain and guide you to the property damage evaluation and fight to get you the maximum compensation for your car and your injuries.

Injured In A Hit & Run? What Can You Do And What Can We Do For You

Posted by drpadmin on August 27, 2020

Hit and Run Accident Attorney Las Vegas

According to research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, more than one hit and run crash occurs every minute on U.S. roads. It found that an average of 682,000 hit and run crashes occurred each year since 2006. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated 737,100 hit-and-run crashes occurred in 2017. In 2016, hit and run crashes resulted in an estimated 2,049 fatalities, a 60% increase since 2009.

A hit-and-run crash can leave injured victims with medical bills piling up and unable to earn income to pay those bills. Some people think they may have no options if they were injured in a hit and run car accident. That is not necessarily so. In our combined 50+ years of experience as car accident attorneys in Las Vegas, we have successfully recovered compensation for those who initially thought they had no options.

Locating The Fleeing Driver

There are ways to search for the hit-and-run driver. Of course, if a witness was able to jot down or take a photo of the license plate, we can conduct a search for the owner of the vehicle. If the police were called to the scene and given the license plate of the fleeing vehicle, the policy usually will contact the registered owner of the vehicle.

Locating the registered owner of the fleeing vehicle can lead to the applicable car insurance policy. Even if the registered owner was not the fleeing driver, the owner’s insurance on the vehicle may apply and provide protection to the hit-and-run victim. In most cases, the liability insurance policy on the car is the primary policy that applies.

In addition, the registered car owner may also be responsible for the negligence of the hit-and-run driver under the doctrine of negligent entrustment, which is a form of negligence. As described by the Nevada Supreme Court, “[u]nder this doctrine, a person who knowingly entrusts a vehicle to an inexperienced or incompetent person, such as a minor child unlicensed to drive a motor vehicle, may be found liable for damages resulting thereby.” Zugel by Zugel v. Miller, 100 Nev. 525, 527, 688 P.2d 310, 312 (1984).

Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage

Even if the fleeing driver or the registered owner cannot be located, the injured victim’s own uninsured motorist (UM) policy would generally apply. UM insurance generally applies when you are injured in a car accident and the person who caused it has no insurance. It also applies where the person who caused the crash cannot be found. When the fleeing driver cannot be located, the UM policy of the injured victim applies if there is physical contact between the fleeing vehicle and the injured victim or the victim’s vehicle. The insured is also obligated to report the accident to the applicable police department, sheriff’s office, or to the Nevada Highway Patrol. These rules governing when UM policies apply to hit-and-run crashes are set forth in NRS § 690B.020(2)(f).

In Nevada, drivers are not required to purchase UM coverage. However, car insurance companies must offer their insured the opportunity to purchase insurance specifically covering hit-and-run accidents. See Nev.Rev.Stat. § 690B.020. The limits of the insurance offered must be at least equivalent to the Nevada minimum liability limit of $25,000 per person and $50,000.00 per accident. Insureds can purchase higher UM/UIM limits for their protection, up to an amount equal to their liability insurance limits.

What Can You Do If You Are Injured In A Hit-And-Run Crash?

Call 9-1-1 and report the car accident. As mentioned above, your car insurance company will likely require you to obtain a police report of the hit-and-run crash.
Speak to any witnesses on the scene and see if anyone noted the license plate of the fleeing vehicle. Make sure to get contact information for all witnesses. Ask the witnesses if they can stay to provide a statement to the police.
If you are injured, seek immediate medical attention. Usually, when you call 9-1-1 and report that you are injured, an ambulance will be dispatched to the accident scene.
Call the experienced and award-winning Las Vegas car accident attorneys at D.R. Patti & Associates. We can hire private investigators to search for the hit-and-run driver, if the police cannot locate them. The sooner you call us, the sooner we can begin the search and investigation. Our experience as Las Vegas personal injury attorneys have taught us that locating the fleeing driver as soon as possible is important in order to preserve evidence, such as damage to that driver’s vehicle.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance In Nevada

Posted by drpadmin on July 27, 2020

Far too many people learn too late what uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance coverage (aka UM/UIM) is. Usually, they learn after they are injured in a car accident and find out that the person who caused the accident had no insurance or does not have enough insurance. In that situation, UM or UIM insurance would cover the accident victim’s personal injuries, medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Unfortunately, those without UM or UIM insurance are usually left without any recourse.
Uninsured Motorist or UM insurance applies when you are injured in an accident and the person who caused it has no insurance.

Examples of When Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage Apply

The classic example is when you are injured in a car accident and the person responsible for the crash does not have insurance at all.
UM also applies when in a hit and run situation. That is, if you are hit by someone who then leaves the scene of the accident and they cannot be located, your UM insurance will cover your injuries.
You get into a crash, and the person at fault for the crash stole the car. That means the at fault person did not have permission to drive the car. In that situation, the liability insurance on the car will not cover your damages, not to repair your car or your medical bills.
You get into a crash, and the person who caused the crash did have permission of the owner. However, the car owner’s liability insurance does not cover the accident unless the owner caused the crash.
You get into a crash, and the insurance company of the person who caused the crash is bankrupt.

If you have UM insurance, you also have UIM insurance. Underinsured Motorist or UIM insurance applies when you are injured in an accident and the person who caused it does not have enough insurance to cover your injuries, medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. UIM becomes a blessing for those who suffer serious injuries from a car accident. Medical bills can pile up quickly. If you are injured in a Las Vegas car accident, an ambulance and a visit to the emergency room can run thousands of dollars.

Is UM and UIM mandatory?

Unlike liability insurance, Nevada does not require drivers to carry UM and UIM insurance. Nevada mandates that you carry car accident insurance to protect others but not yourself. Liability insurance applies when you cause an accident and is aimed to protect the people you injure.

While Nevada does not require UM and UIM insurance, it does require insurance companies to offer it to their customers. See Nev.Rev.Stat. § 690B.020. The limits of the insurance offered must be at least equivalent to the Nevada minimum liability limit of $25,000 per person and $50,000.00 per accident. Insureds can purchase higher UM/UIM limits for their protection, up to an amount equal to their liability insurance limits.

If you or a loved one were injured in a car accident and need to know whether your UM or UIM coverage apply, call the experienced Las Vegas car accident attorneys at D.R. Patti & Associates. One of our Las Vegas personal injury attorneys would gladly speak to you and answer your questions.