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Car Accidents
If an unlicensed driver is involved in a car accident with your car, you must understand what to do to avoid severe legal and financial consequences.
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Car accidents involving unlicensed drivers are often complex legal and insurance issues that come with several financial implications and legal consequences.
Below, our Las Vegas car accident attorneys cover what happens if an unlicensed driver gets in a car crash with your vehicle.
If your vehicle was being driven by an unlicensed driver with your permission and they got into a car crash, your insurance company may cover the damages resulting from the accident. However, this completely depends on the terms of your insurance coverage, as the insurance company has a right to include a clause that denies claims for unlicensed/uninsured drivers.
In addition to potentially having your insurance claim denied, you could be held liable for the car accident under the legal doctrine of negligent entrustment.
This means you'll be considered at fault for the car accident and will have to pay for the injuries and damages caused by the unlicensed driver.
According to Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 483.230, the unlicensed driver may face a misdemeanor offense following the car accident.
This misdemeanor offense could result in fines of up to $1,000 and jail time of up to six months.
Also, the unlicensed driver may be held liable for the injuries and damages resulting from the car accident without help from car insurance.
Being involved in a motor vehicle accident with an unlicensed driver can be a stressful and confusing experience, with you maybe not knowing what to do next.
Using this step-by-step guide provided by a Las Vegas car accident attorney, you can easily navigate a car accident involving an unlicensed driver.
Following a car accident involving an unlicensed driver, the first things you should do are:
If you have a Nevada car accident case involving an unlicensed driver and seek help from an experienced Las Vegas car accident lawyer, contact Accident Attorney Rodney Okano. He has over 20+ years of experience in personal injury law and will provide the advice you need to win your case.
Nevada works under a fault-based system for car accidents, which means that the driver responsible for the accident is required to compensate the other party for their injuries and damages.
In addition, Nevada is a comparative negligence state, which means that multiple parties can be at fault for a car accident; however, it's important to understand that Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence that differs from any other comparative negligence state.
In an unlicensed driver accident, liability will generally work the same as in a car accident with licensed drivers; however, not being a licensed driver can still have a chance of affecting liability.
Even if an unlicensed driver is not at fault for the car accident, they may still face financial and legal consequences for driving without a valid license.
In a car accident where an unlicensed driver is not at fault, the at-fault driver's insurance company should cover the damages and expenses for the unlicensed driver and any passengers.
However, some insurance companies may have an insurance policy that has exclusions for unlicensed drivers, meaning that even though the other driver was at fault for the car accident, the insurance companies will not cover your damages and injuries due to the fact that an unlicensed driver was operating your vehicle.
Many Las Vegas car accident attorneys avoid taking a car accident case involving unlicensed drivers as the insurance and legal complications may not be worth the time and money even to an experienced legal team.
However, at The Rodney Okano Car Accident Lawyer Law Firm, our experienced car accident lawyers gladly accept car accidents involving an unlicensed driver with over 20+ years of experience in injury cases; our legal team can handle any car accident case no matter the circumstances.
Contact our experienced car accident lawyers today by calling (702) 566-3600 or submitting a message where you'll receive a free case review.
In Nevada, driving without minimum liability insurance is illegal, according to NRS 485.187, and uninsured drivers mayface penalties such as fines, license suspensions, and a requirement to provide an SR-22 form.
With it being illegal, if you were in a motor vehicle accident with an uninsured driver, they would still be legally responsible for any damages and injuries caused by the accident.
However, most uninsured drivers lack the means to fully compensate you, so it's essential to check if your insurance policy contains uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UIM).
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is meant to financially protect you in the event a driver driving without insurance gets into a motor vehicle accident with you.
There are unlicensed drivers in every demographic; however, some groups have a proportionally higher number of unlicensed drivers than others.
Some of the demographics that contain the most unlicensed drivers are:
Typically, most insurance coverages will not cover the damages caused by unlicensed drivers.
In car accidents with unlicensed drivers, there are numerous scenarios where coverage may be affected, some being:
To see if the insurance company will cover your injuries and damages, schedule a free consultation with a Las Vegas car accident attorney from our expert team today.
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