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Uninsured Motorist Claims and Hit and Run Accidents

The law in Illinois is that every driver must have liability insurance to cover them in the event that they are responsible for injuries resulting from a car crash. Unfortunately, not every driver carries the required insurance. When you are involved in a car accident with an uninsured motorist, you may be able to make an uninsured motorist claim through your own automobile insurance. The law in Illinois treats hit and run drivers as uninsured motorists, so if you are injured as a result of an automobile collision with a hit and run driver, you would still be able to make a claim for uninsured motorist benefits under your own car insurance policy.

Uninsured motorist coverage is one of the coverages you obtain when you buy full coverage with your car insurance. It applies anytime that you or a family member is involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, even if you are not in the car at the time of the accident. For example, uninsured motorist coverage would apply if your child were struck by a hit and run driver who fled the scene.

In an uninsured motorist claim, your insurance company pays you the same compensation that you would have received if the at-falt driver had carried insurance (or in the case of a hit and run accident, if the hit and run driver had stayed at the scene and had the proper insurance). Your insurance company then has the option to try recover the money it pays to you for the injuries you suffered. However as a practical matter, it is virtually impossible to recover that money from the uninsured motorist. Essentially, you pay a premium for uninsured motorist coverage to make your insurance company assume the risk of not being able to recover from an uninsured motorist or to cover damages caused by a hit and run driver.

The requirements for making a claim for uninsured motorist benefits in Illinois are covered by the terms of your insurance policy, and can be quite demanding from a technical point of view. This is especialy true with cases involving hit and run drivers. Therefore, it is often a wise idea to retain an experienced Illinois car accident lawyer to assist you in making a claim for compensation resulting from injuries caused by uninsured motorists and hit and run drivers.

The Chicago car accident lawyers at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. are ready to help you recover the compensation you deserve for injuries caused by uninsured motorists and hit and run drivers.

The Law Offices of
Barry G. Doyle, P.C.
100 W Monroe St.,
Ste 2100
Chicago, IL 60603

Phone: 312.263.1080
Fax: 312.263.0153

Proudly Serving Many Illinois Cities and Counties, Including:
Chicago, Aurora, Rockford, Naperville, Joliet, Waukegan, Geneva, Sycamore, Woodstock, Kankakee, Morris, Ottawa; Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, Winnebago, DeKalb, McHenry, Kankakee, Grundy, LaSalle, Peoria, McLean, Champaign, Tazewell Counties

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