What Happens if You Wreck a Leased Car?

Leasing a car has several advantages that a car owner does not enjoy. Automobiles lose up to 20 percent of their value after one year and after five years, a new car has diminished in value by 40 percent. Motorists that lease their vehicles don’t have to deal with the depreciation rate. Another advantage of leasing a car is in many cases cheaper monthly payments, as well as the option to trade in a leased vehicle after a couple of years for a brand-new leased vehicle. Leased vehicles typically generate lower maintenance costs because most leased vehicles fall under the original manufacturer warranty.

For all the benefits associated with leasing a motor vehicle, do motorists that drive leased automobiles have it easier when it comes to responding to a car accident? In many ways, a car accident involving a leased vehicle is similar to other types of vehicle collisions. You should immediately call 911 to activate the emergency response system. Law enforcement officers arrive at the scene of the auto crash to secure the scene and conduct a detailed investigation. Receiving medical care is next on the to-do list, followed by contacting an experienced car accident lawyer.

As with any other type of car motor vehicle collision, you should meet with a car accident lawyer before you inform your insurance company about the personal injury incident. An attorney reviews the official police report and then conducts a separate investigation to discover more physical evidence and interview witnesses that verify your version of events. You can expect to receive expert legal advice on how to file the most persuasive insurance claim, and if negligence caused your injuries, a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

For more than 30 years, the personal injury lawyers at Morgan and Morgan have represented clients in car accident cases. In more than three decades of handling personal injury cases, Morgan and Morgan has recovered more than $20 billion in compensation from favorable lawsuits, as well as negotiated settlements. We understand the tremendous stress that develops after a car accident that produces one or more injuries. As a result, the personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan operate with a high level of compassion and empathy.

Schedule a free case evaluation today with a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan to get started on the road to recovering your financial losses.

What Is a Leased Vehicle?

Leasing a motor vehicle is about the same as renting a car. You sign a contract to drive a leased vehicle for a certain period over which you make monthly payments. When your leasing contract expires, you return the vehicle to the dealership that leased you the automobile. Car owners typically borrow money to buy a motor vehicle or put down a substantial payment. On the other hand, leasing a vehicle does not require a loan to finance the car. When the lease period expires, you can end the lease, trade the leased vehicle in for another car, or you can purchase the leased automobile.

As with any other type of motor vehicle, you must purchase sufficient insurance coverage to cover the costs associated with an accident. Collision coverage helps pay the cost of repairing or replacing a leased vehicle that sustained damage from a car accident. Most lease agreements make it mandatory for the motorist to possess comprehensive collision coverage. Buying uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage protects you against the financial losses sustained as the result of a collision with an uninsured or underinsured motorist. Gap coverage pays off the balance of a totaled lease motor vehicle.

How Should I Respond to a Car Accident?

It does not matter whether you own or lease a motor vehicle; you should follow the same steps when responding to a car accident.

Call 911

Calling 911 ensures the accident scene gets secured by officers responding from the nearest law enforcement agency. Unless you experienced a minor fender bender, calling 911 activates both the nearest law enforcement agency and the emergency medical team. After securing the accident scene, law enforcement officers conduct a thorough investigation that results in the submission of the official police report. The official police report contains a detailed explanation of what caused the accident, as well as whether one or more parties committed at least one act of negligence.

The official police report includes all the information your car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan needs to initiate a separate investigation.

Receive Medical Care

After the nearest law enforcement agency and the emergency medical team arrives at the scene of the vehicle collision, you should seek medical care that includes a series of diagnostic tests and an initial treatment program. Even if you feel healthy enough to remain at the scene of the car accident, you should eventually receive medical care to ensure you have not sustained one or more injuries that develop delayed symptoms. The longer you wait to receive medical care, the more skeptical the insurance company handling your claim becomes concerning the severity of your injury or injuries.

Contact a Car Accident Lawyer From Morgan and Morgan

Before you contact the insurance company responsible for processing your claim, you should first meet with a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan. Insurance companies often take advantage of policyholders that file an insurance claim without the support of legal representation. If you file an insurance claim without the legal support of a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan, the insurance adjuster might deny a valid claim or approve a claim worth far less than what you deserve in compensation. Attending a free case evaluation also helps your car accident lawyer determine whether another party committed one or more acts of negligence.

What Are the Reasons Why I Need a Car Accident Lawyer?

Hiring a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan provides you with the legal support you need to file a convincing insurance claim, as well as a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Let’s find out how a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan helps you receive compensation for the injuries produced by a motor vehicle collision. 

Conduct an Extensive Investigation

Although the official police report contains references to physical evidence, as well as the statements provided by witnesses, your car accident lawyer conducts a separate investigation to discover more physical evidence and interview additional witnesses that support your version of what transpired before, during, and after the auto crash. Your attorney requests footage captured by a traffic and/or security camera. With the support of an in-house investigator from Morgan and Morgan, your car accident lawyer also looks for more physical evidence, such as tire treads and shattered glass from headlights and taillights.

Prove Another Party Committed an Act of Negligence

The key to winning a favorable legal judgment starts by proving another party committed at least one act of negligence. This requires your car accident lawyer to prove the presence of four elements. First, your attorney must show the other party owed you a duty of care to ensure your safety. Second, you must demonstrate the other party violated the duty of care doctrine by committing one or more acts that caused your injuries. Third, your car accident lawyer must demonstrate the car accident caused you harm. Finally, the physical injuries you sustained must have generated financial losses.

Calculate a Fair Value for Compensation

Whether you file an insurance claim or a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, the car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan that you hire must calculate a fair value for compensation. Submitting an unreasonable value for compensation is the fastest way to receive a denial letter from the insurance company processing your claim. Your car accident lawyer adds up the tangible costs associated with medical bills before assigning a value to pain and suffering. Assigning a value to pain and suffering requires using a formula that factors in the value of economic damages such as lost wages, medical bills, and repairs on your automobile.

Negotiate a Favorable Settlement

Just because you file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages does not mean your case eventually reaches the trial phase of the litigation process. In fact, a majority of personal injury lawsuits end up in a settlement agreed to by both parties. Negotiating a settlement helps you avoid a costly and time-consuming trial.

Negotiations begin when your car accident lawyer submits an offer, which usually is sent in the form of a demand letter via certified mail. The other party can either accept or reject the initial offer submitted by your attorney. A rejection does not mean negotiations have ended, as the other party might submit a counteroffer to keep the negotiations moving along. Several rounds of counteroffers can follow until both parties reach a settlement or decide to move on to the trial phase of the litigation process.

Negotiations frequently take place during the discovery phase, which is the point in the litigation process when both parties meet to share physical evidence and the statements given by witnesses.

File a Personal Injury Lawsuit Before the Deadline

One of the most important roles of a car accident lawyer is to ensure you file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Every state establishes a deadline to take legal action, with most states setting the deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit between two and four years. The clock starts ticking for the deadline on the day of the car accident. Although you have more than enough time to take legal action, you should act with a sense of urgency and file your personal injury lawsuit as quickly as possible after the vehicle collision. Your attorney needs to interview witnesses close to the date of the car accident, and you need to receive compensation to pay off costly medical bills.

Be Proactive in Your Quest for Compensation

Receiving quality legal support provided by a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan does not require you to pay upfront legal fees. Our personal injury attorneys operate on a contingency fee basis, which means we do not get paid until you receive the compensation that you deserve.

Learn more about what happens if you wreck a leased car by scheduling a free case evaluation with an experienced car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan.