Legal Matters
presented by: Frank S. Buck P.C., Personal Injury
If you are injured when a car veers into your lane and does not actually hit your car, but still runs you off the road and causes you to crash, do you have an auto insurance claim? If you have full coverage under your automobile insurance policy, including uninsured motorist coverage, the answer is, “Yes.”
In Alabama, a phantom vehicle means the identity of the driver cannot be determined but that driver causes injury, death, or damage to another person. As in the example above, physical contact is not required between the vehicles to have a phantom vehicle claim. Alabama law allows pedestrians to also have a phantom vehicle claim if they are injured by an unknown driver. Other examples of phantom vehicle claims are a hit and run where a vehicle hits another vehicle or pedestrian, but leaves the scene of the accident, or if a driver hits something in the road that has fallen off a truck or car such as a mattress, boxes, trashcan lid, large pieces of trash, tire, air conditioning unit or any other foreign object in the road that came off a vehicle.
It is important to check with your auto insurance agent and review your policy to ensure that you have full coverage, including uninsured motorist coverage to protect yourself in case a phantom vehicle injures you. Many people in Alabama have liability automobile insurance only, but do not realize the importance of uninsured motorist coverage in case of an injury. Alabama law requires automobile insurance companies to automatically add uninsured motorist coverage to policies, unless the insured specifically rejects the uninsured motorist coverage in writing on the internet when applying for a policy. Please do not reject uninsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage does not cost much and can go a long way if you are injured by a phantom vehicle.
Frank S. Buck, P.C., Attorneys at Law have been offering professional legal services and serving Alabama citizens for over 44 years. We have experienced trial attorneys who have over 100 years of combined trial experience. You can reach us 24 hours a day at 205-933-7533 or visit us at www.franksbuck.com. Please call us for a free consultation.
