If you’re been involved in a car accident, you’re aware that there are so many factors that come into play. Was someone driving negligently? Did weather play a role? How was the visibility? Was anyone driving distractedly? And of course — the question in most people’s minds — who’s going to pay for all of this?
While some accidents involve two or more vehicles, all these questions can become even more confusing if you were in a non-collision car accident. Which types of accidents fit that definition? And how can you recover your losses if you were involved in one?
What is a non-collision car accident? Non-collision meaning
While collision accidents involve being struck by another vehicle or striking a car or property, non-collision events refer to incidents where someone was injured while operating a vehicle or their vehicle suffered damages – yet that vehicle neither struck nor was struck by someone else.
Examples of non-collision car incidents include:
- Driving off the road
- Your car rolling over while making a fast turn or swerving
- Immersion in water
- Fire or explosion
- Mechanical failure
- Falling objects
- Natural disasters
- Vandalism
- Theft
In a nutshell, even though they don’t involve an actual car crash, they can leave you with expensive medical bills and/or car repair costs.
How can you protect yourself? Reporting non-collision accident or damage
There are two ways you can protect yourself from non-collision car accidents.
Car Insurance
When you purchase a car insurance policy, you are offered a long list of options. Policy limits per individual, per accident; uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage; and comprehensive or collision insurance, to name a few. Some of them are required by law — such as Florida’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) — which requires a minimum of $10,000 to cover your medical bills, as well as the medical costs of anyone who was a passenger in your car. Others are optional, and herein is where a lot of people get in trouble when opting for the minimums required by law.
Minimum car insurance policies often only cover liability for damage you may cause to someone else’s car, as well as PIP. Yet, among all the boring pages with esoteric language, there’s one that gives you the option to include comprehensive insurance coverage. This type of insurance covers damages sustained from incidents that do not involve crashing your car – aka, non-collision car accidents.
Litigation
If you don’t have car insurance, but someone else can be held liable for the damages to your car or injuries, you can file a personal injury claim against that person. Examples of when this would be a viable option include when your accident was caused by someone else’s negligence – your mechanic failing to properly care for your car, the Department of Transportation failing to install adequate lighting or railings, or a business owner whose sign fell on your windshield. However, if your damages or injuries were a result of a natural disaster or vandalism by an unknown person, you’re going to be left with expensive repairs and no one to hold liable. Therefore, comprehensive car insurance remains the most effective type of protection.
Call Clark Hartpence Law for a Free Consultation with a Car Accident Lawyer
If you’ve been involved in a car accident and don’t know how to move forward, let us help you. Call us at (855) 680-4911 or schedule a free consultation.
Disclaimer: This blog is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney/client relationship.