What Happens if You Wreck Someone Else’s Car Without Insurance?

All you wanted to do was run a quick errand. You borrowed a vehicle from a friend or family member to complete the errand, and unfortunately, the worst-case scenario developed as you got involved in a car accident. To make matters worse, you got involved in a car accident without any auto insurance coverage. The damage done to the borrowed car requires extensive repair work, which begs one important question.

What happens if you wreck someone else’s car without insurance? The answer to the question is that it depends on several factors.

Most insurance policies operate on the principle that auto insurance follows the car, not the driver. This means the responsibility for purchasing auto insurance falls on the owner of the car, especially if the owner of the motor vehicle granted you permission to use the car for running a quick errand. Even implicit consent, which involves statements such as “You can borrow my car anytime,” can absolve you of any responsibility to possess auto insurance to drive another person’s automobile. Then, we have a legal issue called negligence. If the other party committed one or more acts of negligence, not having insurance might not be important, depending on state law.

If you wrecked someone else’s car without insurance, you should be proactive and contact an experienced car accident lawyer who addresses auto insurance issues. An experienced attorney conducts a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the auto crash, as well as interviews witnesses that verify your version of events. Working with an attorney also helps you determine whether another party should assume legal liability for causing your injuries. Without hiring a highly-rated car accident lawyer, you might have to pay a considerable amount of money in out-of-pocket expenses for the damage done to the car you drove at the time of the accident.

At Morgan and Morgan, we have represented clients for more than three decades in cases involving auto crashes. Our team of personal injury attorneys can help you determine how to proceed with your case, even if you got involved in a vehicle collision without auto insurance. Since we opened our first office in 1988, Morgan and Morgan has recovered more than $20 billion in compensation for our clients by negotiating settlements and winning civil lawsuits. 

Schedule a free case evaluation with a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan to discover what happens if you wreck someone else’s car without insurance.

What Happens if I Get Involved in a Vehicle Collision Without Car Insurance?

Wrecking a motor vehicle represents one of life’s most stressful events. Getting involved in a car accident while driving someone else’s car without insurance ramps up the stress level even more. We tend to make poor decisions when under tremendous stress, which means the first thing to do after any type of auto crash is to remain calm and not do anything you will regret later, such as leave the scene of the collision.

A few factors determine what happens if you wreck someone else’s car without insurance. First, the jurisdiction where you live plays a role in handling car accidents without insurance. Some states operate on the at-fault insurance principle, which requires every motorist to purchase a minimum amount of auto insurance coverage. Second, determining fault can remove the legal burden of possessing auto insurance coverage because determining fault establishes that another party committed at least one act of negligence. Finally, the extent of the damage represents a factor since some auto accidents make it cost-prohibitive for the at-fault party to cover all repair expenses.

What Is the Meaning of Permissive and Non-Permissive Use?

How much legal liability you assume for not having auto insurance coverage might come down to whether you received permission to borrow another party’s automobile. Most insurance companies cover drivers that are listed on a car owner’s insurance policy, which typically includes only family members. Other drivers must gain permission to borrow someone else’s motor vehicle and if that did not happen and the uninsured driver got involved in a car accident, the uninsured driver might be financially obligated to pay for all repairs and medical bills associated with the motor vehicle collision. If you borrowed someone else’s car without permission, the owner of the vehicle’s insurance most likely will not cover you in case you got involved in an auto crash.

What Steps Do I Take After a Car Accident?

As a driver who borrowed someone else’s car without insurance, how you handle a wreck determines whether you must compensate another party or receive compensation to cover the costs associated with diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating your injuries. 

Call 911

Calling 911 immediately after a car accident lets law enforcement know about the collision. Responding officers secure the accident scene to prevent additional chaos, as well as conduct a detailed investigation that ends with the submission of an official police report. When the responding officers arrive at the scene of the collision, you can expect one of them to ask for proof of insurance. Remain calm and explain that you should be covered under the car owner’s insurance policy. Hand over the contact information of the person who owns the car to help you prevent a charge for operating an automobile without insurance.

Get Treated for Your Injuries

Regardless of whether you possess auto insurance under any circumstance, receiving medical care should be the second item on your to-do list after a motor vehicle collision. Even if you feel healthy to remain at the scene of the auto crash, you eventually should get checked out to determine whether you sustained any injuries that might produce delayed symptoms. Injuries such as whiplash and a concussion might not develop symptoms for a few hours or a couple of days after a car accident. The longer you wait to seek medical treatment, the more skeptical an insurance company and/or a civil court judge might be regarding the seriousness of your injuries.

Gather Evidence

If you remain at the scene of the motor vehicle collision, spend the time it takes to collect physical evidence. Photographs captured by a Smartphone of the damage done to every vehicle involved in the auto crash can help you recover financial losses. You should also take photos of tire marks and any debris that broke free during the collision. Another important responsibility that helps your car accident lawyer is to collect the contact information of every witness, as well as every party involved in the crash.

Contact a Car Accident Lawyer From Morgan and Morgan

Despite how bad it looks to wreck someone else’s car without insurance, you should not throw in the towel and admit responsibility for anything. Instead, contact a car accident lawyer at Morgan and Morgan to help you decide how to proceed with your case. The experienced car accident lawyer assigned to your case has an in-depth knowledge of the state law that applies to uninsured drivers, as well as how receiving permission to drive someone else’s car can be a significant factor in your favor.

How Can a Car Accident Lawyer Help Me if I Wrecked Someone Else’s Car Without Insurance?

In addition to possessing a detailed understanding of state law, a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan can help you in several other ways.

Conduct a Separate Investigation

Part of an investigation conducted by your car accident lawyer involves reviewing the official police report, which determines the cause and whether another party should assume legal liability for causing the auto crash. Teamed with an in-house investigator from Morgan and Morgan, your car accident lawyer then returns to the scene of the accident to shoot more photographs. Hiring an attorney also ensures you gain access to any traffic and/or security camera footage captured at the time of the vehicle collision.

After conducting a comprehensive investigation, your car accident lawyer then interviews witnesses to provide legal support for your case.

Interact With the Car Owner’s Insurance Company

Hiring a car accident lawyer for a typical auto crash case improves the chances of you getting approved for compensation. When you wreck someone else’s car without insurance, the car owner’s insurance policy might be how you receive compensation to recover financial losses. Hiring an attorney prevents the insurance company from taking advantage of you and the owner of the insurance policy. You also should receive timely consideration of your claim. You need the approval of the car owner to involve your attorney in the insurance claim process.

Prove Negligence

Just because you did not have insurance after wrecking someone else’s motor vehicle does not mean you are not eligible for compensation. Hiring a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan helps you prove the presence of the four elements of negligence. First, you must establish the other party owed you a duty of care to prevent you from sustaining any injuries. Second, your attorney must show the other party violated the duty of care doctrine. Third, the car accident must have caused your injuries, and finally, the injuries you sustained generated financial losses.

Calculate a Value for Compensation

Even without auto insurance coverage, another party that committed one or more acts of negligence while you operated someone else’s car without insurance means you might qualify to receive compensation. The car accident lawyer assigned to you by Morgan and Morgan must calculate a reasonable value for compensation for you to receive a favorable legal judgment issued by a civil court judge. Your attorney starts by adding up all the tangible costs, such as the costs associated with lost wages, medical bills, and repairs to property damage. Then, your car accident lawyer calculates a value for pain and suffering, which involves using a formula that factors in the value of tangible expenses.

Get the Best Legal Representation Available

More than 30 years of litigation experience means the personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan have seen it all. This includes representing clients that got involved in a car accident without insurance. Our experience combined with responsive communication makes us the preferred choice for clients requiring the best legal representation for all types of personal injury cases.

Learn more about what happens if you wreck someone else’s car without insurance by scheduling a free case evaluation today with a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan.