Why It’s Important To Maintain Uninsured and Underinsured Motor Vehicle Insurance Coverage!

It’s 9pm and you’re worried. Your husband should have been home two hours ago. You’ve tried to call him, but no answer. Another hour goes by. Then your phone rings. You glance down, it’s your husband calling. But the voice on the other end is not your husband’s. You hear, “Ma’am, this is Lieutenant Smith, your husband has been in a serious car accident, could you come to the hospital please.”

Your heart is racing. You can’t think straight. Your emotions are all over the place. You have a thousand of questions. You make it to the hospital. Once there you rush to the front desk. The receptionist directs you to the third floor. The police lieutenant who spoke to you on the phone is there waiting for you.

A drunk driver had collided with your husband’s car. Both cars were destroyed in the collision. And your husband in critical condition. You arrived just in time to see him before the doctors wheel him into surgery.

He has multiple fractures, a collapsed lung, head trauma…plus scores of lacerations all over his body. But he’s alive. The driver of the other car, the one that hit him, is unconscious and it’s undetermined if he will survive.

Your husband’s life will be different. At least for the foreseeable future. He will require physical therapy, rest, pain management and weekly doctor’s checkups. Your daily routine will need to be adapted to account for your husband’s various appointments.

Hi, I’m David Holub an Indiana personal injury attorney and unfortunately, these types of scenarios occur every day all across the United States. Lives being upended by drunk drivers. And yes, drunk drivers are a public menace.

These cases pose a difficult legal challenge sometimes, because while fault is frequently clear, a person who is irresponsible and drives drunk, is also statistically likely to also be financially irresponsible and have no insurance. For this reason, in Indiana, it is very important to maintain uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance coverage. This coverage protects the victim when the drunk driver has insufficient or no insurance.

Proof of drunk driving, or driving while intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance, requires proof of blood test readings, or other lab test results. It also involves observational proof of the behavior of the drunk driver.

In cases where there is no insurance, or inadequate insurance, the next step is to investigate who served the alcohol. Was the drunk driver at a wedding, party, bar or tavern? Was the person served while observed to be intoxicated? Cases against bars and taverns are called dram shop cases. And dram shop cases, as well as any other case where proof of serving of alcohol is important, must be investigated quickly, before memories fade and proof disappears.

So in the case above, where the drunk driver collided and caused an accident. The victim would come to us seeking a resolution. We would then start an investigation. We would ask a lot of questions. We would request medical records, a police report and any information that would help support their claim.

If you have been involved in a collision with a drunk driver and it happened in Indiana, pick up the phone and call us at (219)736-9700. Our experienced staff will meet with you, and we stand ready to help take the steps needed to preserve evidence of your case.

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