Monday Morning Legal Minute: 3/04/24

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, this is Ziad Youssef with Bellingham injury law, and I want to talk today about what it's like to have someone else's vehicle when you're in an accident. Brian, have you ever had that experience where you borrowed somebody's car and you're wondering whose insurance applies? [00:00:14] Speaker B: I have, you know, borrowed a truck for moving or, you know, I've been the designated driver, driving somebody else's car home, that type of thing. Sure. And, yeah, that has crossed my mind because of weather, you know, get ice and stuff this time of year. [00:00:24] Speaker A: Yeah. And most people don't think about the fact that if they're lending their car to someone, it's their insurance that covers them while they're driving. So even though their friend might be insured, when they lend the car out, the owner of the vehicle is the primary coverage. So if they get into an accident, that vehicle owner is the insurance company that we look to first for coverage. And even if you were at fault, it's the owner's vehicle policy that covers that accident. And then we look to the driver and what insurance they have. So a lot of people are always unsure if the driver of the car doesn't have insurance. We look to who the registered owner of the car is for insurance coverage. And that might surprise people who think they're out of luck because someone who caused the accident wasn't insured and they're not going to get any coverage for their injuries or damages. But that decision making process is something we go through with each client when they come in and they're wondering, how do we get recovery or compensation for the damages we're suffering. We walk through and ask them who owned the vehicle, what insurance policies applied and whether or not they had something called underinsured motorist or personal injury protection. These are questions we'd recommend you sit down and go over with a lawyer if you've been seriously injured in a car accident. So look us up if you've got questions at Bellingham injury law, or give us a call at 360-25-5046.