Car Accident With Expired Driver’s License

You received the reminders in the mail to take action right away. What is the harm of driving a few days without a current driver’s license you thought at the time? You will get it done when you have the time to get it done. Unfortunately, not getting it done before the expiration date has gotten you into considerable legal trouble. A car accident has exposed the fact that you do not have a valid driver’s license and an expired license might negatively impact your car accident case.

Driving without having a valid driver’s license is against the law, which means that just by getting pulled over for a traffic violation, you can face fines and/or penalties for breaking state law. Things get much more complicated if you get involved in a car accident with an expired driver’s license. What if you sustained one or more injuries and the law enforcement agency investigating the crash has determined the other party caused the accident? Does driving without a currently valid license automatically disqualify you from receiving just compensation for your injuries?

Regardless of the status of your driver’s license, you should contact an experienced car accident attorney after getting involved in a vehicle collision. The lawyer that you choose to work with conducts a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the crash and then discovers if another party should assume legal liability for causing you harm. If you got involved in a car accident with an expired driver’s license, the car accident lawyer handling your case determines if the lack of a driver’s license hurts your chances to gain approval of an insurance claim, as well as receive a favorable ruling after filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Since 1988, the team of personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan has helped clients receive the compensation they deserve for sustaining one or more injuries as a result of an auto crash. We have recovered more than $14 billion in monetary damages from the filing of personal injury lawsuits, with a large percentage of the compensation coming from vehicle collision cases. If an expired driver’s license has complicated the filing of an insurance claim and if applicable, the filing of a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, one of our highly-rated litigators helps you interpret state law to determine your eligibility to receive compensation for covering financial losses.

To find out the status of a car accident case with an expired driver’s license, schedule a free case evaluation with one of the personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan.

What Happens at the Accident Scene if I Have an Expired Driver’s License?

Whether you get pulled over for speeding or get involved in a car accident, the responding member of a law enforcement agency asks to see your driver’s license to process a traffic ticket or start the completion of a formal police report. If your driver’s license expired a few days prior to a vehicle collision, the responding law enforcement officer might give you a written warning to take immediate action that rectifies the law violations. On the other hand, you might receive a traffic ticket for driving on an expired driver’s license if you have waited too long to correct the legal issue. If you have committed a repeat violation of driving with an expired license, the law enforcement officer responding to an auto collision might decide to place you under arrest.

It is important to note that every state requires the operators of motor vehicles to obtain a valid license. In addition to the possibility of receiving a traffic ticket, getting involved in a car accident with an expired driver’s license might prevent you from receiving the compensation you deserve because another party committed one or more acts of negligence. You can still file an insurance claim, as well as a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, but the status of your request for financial assistance is much more uncertain if you got involved in a car accident with an expired driver’s license.

Hiring one of the experienced personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan can help you clarify your status as a victim of a car accident with an expired driver’s license.

What Are the 4 Elements of Proving Negligence?

Proving another party committed one or more acts of negligence requires demonstrating the existence of four elements, regardless if you got involved in a crash with or without a valid driver’s license. Insurance companies and judges hearing civil lawsuits determine whether breaking the law by not having a valid driver’s license should negatively impact the status of a claim or personal injury lawsuit.

An experienced car accident lawyer moves forward by proving the four elements of negligence.

Duty of Care

The first element of proving negligence involves showing the judge hearing your case that another party owed you a duty of care to prevent you from sustaining one or more injuries. For example, a healthcare provider owes a patient a duty of care to perform a medical procedure that does not cause the patient any physical and/or emotional distress issues. The operators of motor vehicles typically owe other drivers and passengers a duty of care to take steps to prevent causing an accident.

Breaching the Duty of Care Doctrine

Your car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan must show another party breached the duty of care doctrine. This involves presenting evidence that another party committed an act of negligence that directly led to a vehicle crash. Evidence gathered can include photographs of the crash scene, as well as the video footage secured from a nearby traffic camera. A common example of breaching the duty of care doctrine unfolds when one party speeds through a red light, which causes an auto collision.

Caused Your Injuries

As the third element of proving negligence, your car accident lawyer must demonstrate the crash caused you physical harm. For example, if an auto crash fractured an arm, you must show the collision is directly responsible for generating medical bills to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate the fractured arm. Copies of medical bills and records dated around the time of the car accident help your attorney prove the third element of negligence. The lawyer representing the other party might claim you sustained the fractured arm because of another reason, such as falling off a ladder while working on a home improvement project.

Suffered Financial Losses

The injuries sustained as the result of a vehicle collision must have produced financial losses. You cannot expect to win a favorable legal judgment if your car accident lawyer cannot prove the fourth element of negligence. Copies of medical bills dated close to the date of the auto collision typically provide sufficient physical evidence to prove the fourth element of negligence for an auto crash case.

Will I Lose Auto Insurance Coverage Because of an Expired Driver’s License?

The answer to this question depends on the policy for expired driver’s licenses implemented by your insurance company. Many insurance companies treat expired driver’s licenses just like law enforcement agencies treat driving without a proper license. If your expired driver’s license is just a few days old, your insurance company might not cancel your policy if you have kept up with paying monthly premiums. However, the terms written into your insurance policy might include a clause that grants your insurer the power to cancel your policy for getting into a car accident with an expired driver’s license.

When you meet with one of the car accident attorneys from Morgan and Morgan for a free case evaluation, the lawyer assigned to your case reviews your auto insurance policy to determine the status of a claim.

Why Is It Important to Hire a Car Accident Attorney?

Determining your legal and insurance status after getting involved in a car accident with an expired driver’s license is just the first reason to seek legal support from a state-licensed personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan. After determining your legal and insurance status, an experienced lawyer provides several other types of legal support to get you just compensation to recover from financial losses.

Collect and Submit Persuasive Evidence

The key to receiving approval for an auto insurance claim and winning a favorable legal judgment involves collecting convincing physical evidence, such as photos of the damage done to your automobile. Although the responding law enforcement agency submits a formal incident report that includes physical evidence, your car accident attorney also conducts an investigation to determine whether there is more compelling physical evidence to bolster your case. Your personal injury lawyer from Morgan and Morgan also interviews witnesses to provide legal support for the physical evidence presented with an insurance claim or a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Determine the Value of Compensation

Calculating the value of economic damages, such as the costs associated with receiving medical care, is relatively easy to do. Your attorney refers to copies of medical bills to calculate an accurate value for economic damages. However, it is not as easy to calculate the value of non-economic damages that includes the costs associated with pain and suffering. Getting involved in a car accident can trigger emotional issues like fear, anxiety, and even depression. Your lawyer calculates a value for non-economic damages by using a formula that factors in the value of economic damages.

Negotiate a Settlement

One of the many benefits of hiring an experienced personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan is getting the opportunity to negotiate a legal settlement before your case goes to the trial phase of the litigation process. Your lawyer submits a reasonable offer, which the other party can approve, deny, or send back with a counteroffer. Each side can submit several counteroffers before both parties agree to a settlement or decide to take the case to trial. A personal injury attorney also can negotiate a settlement with the insurance company processing your claim.

Meeting the Deadline for Taking Legal Action

Each state has established a deadline for filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. The clock starts ticking on the filing of a personal injury lawsuit on the day when you sustained injuries that generated financial losses. If you fail to meet the statute of limitations for filing a civil lawsuit in the state where you live, the court clerk processing your case has the legal power to remove it from the judicial docket.

Learn more about how to handle a car accident with an expired driver’s license by scheduling a free case evaluation today with a personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan.