If you or somebody you love has been injured in an accident caused by a driver in a rental car, you need to know what steps to take to recover compensation for your losses. Rental car accident claims can be challenging, particularly when you have to deal with the rental company and the rental company’s insurance carrier. In addition, when rental vehicles are involved, there are often questions regarding which insurance company is responsible for compensating you for your damages. For example, did the driver of the rental vehicle purchase additional bodily injury insurance? Or, can a claim be made through the other driver’s own separate insurance policy? These are the types of questions and issues that our skilled Torgenson Law Arizona personal injury attorneys handle on a daily basis.
With that said, we want to outline some steps that you can take to help recover full compensation car crashes that involve rental vehicles.
The vast majority of vehicle accidents that occur in Arizona must be reported to law enforcement. This includes any incident that results in an injury, fatality, property damage exceeding $1,000, or any situation where a citation is issued. This encompasses almost all collisions.
The police need to come to the scene and fill out an accident report so that you can use this report when you file an insurance claim. It is really irrelevant at first whether or not a rental vehicle is involved. The number one priority is making sure the scene is safe and reported.
If you suffer personal injuries, it is crucial for you to seek medical treatment after an accident with a rental vehicle. If you fail to seek medical care, it will be tough to recover compensation for any injuries you sustained. This includes any hidden injuries that you are not immediately aware of at the scene of the crash. We encourage you to either take an ambulance to the hospital or go right to the emergency room after you leave the scene to ensure that your injuries are properly treated and to establish a solid link between the collision and your injuries.
If you are able to do so at the scene of the crash, you should gather as much evidence as possible. As with other vehicle accidents, we always encourage individuals to use their phone cameras to take pictures of damage, debris, injuries, causes of the crash, traffic and weather conditions, and more. You should also get the names and contact information of any eyewitnesses to the collision.
You may not even know whether or not the other vehicle involved is a rental. However, if you suspect the other vehicle is a rental, or if the other driver tells you it is a rental, you need to try and find out which rental company owns the vehicle as well as any contact number for the company. It is important to understand that most individuals who rent vehicles will still be covered under their personal auto insurance carrier. This means that you need to get the other driver’s auto insurance information or let law enforcement officials do so.
You do need to report the crash to your insurance carrier as soon as possible, either on the phone, online, or through their app on the phone. The insurance carrier needs to know where the accident happened, that you are seeking medical treatment, the name of the other driver involved, and the other driver’s insurance information. In the event that there is no applicable or insufficient insurance on the rental vehicle that caused your collision, your uninsured or underinsured (UM/UIM) motorist coverage would apply.
If you have sustained severe injuries or property damage as a result of a collision with a rental vehicle in Arizona, we encourage you to reach out to an attorney as soon as possible. A skilled personal injury lawyer can use their resources and fully investigate every aspect of the claim. They will pursue compensation from the other driver’s insurance carrier or from the rental company directly if necessary.
