CAR ACCIDENTS
Rental Car Accidents
Rental cars are popular and useful when vacationing or traveling for business. In fact, there are over a million rental cars currently being used in the United States. With the use of rental cars increasing, the likelihood of you being involved in an accident with a rental car increases. Indeed, rental cars have a higher accident rate than nonrental cars. Rental car accidents raise many issues, including insurance coverage and which person is at-fault for your injuries. These accidents can also result in substantial medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The experienced attorneys at Slatter Law Firm will aggressively fight to recover the maximum compensation for your injuries.
If you are injured in an accident involving a rental car, you may have questions regarding insurance coverage and which persons are at-fault for your injuries. There are multiple forms of insurance that may cover your injuries. Below is a description of the potential sources for insurance coverage.
California is a fault state for auto accidents. In other words, the driver that is at-fault for the accident is responsible for covering your injuries and damages. As such, the at-fault driver’s insurance will likely compensate for these damages.
Rental car companies also offer liability insurance. If this insurance was purchased by the at-fault driver, it may provide additional compensation for your injuries and damages. However, this insurance typically provides minimum coverage. As such, an experienced accident attorney will carefully analyze the rental car companies’ insurance policy to maximize your compensation for your injuries.
Some credit card companies offer rental insurance for rental purchases made with their cards. For example, if you were driving a rental car, at the time of the accident, and also purchased the rental with a credit card, your credit card company may pay for a portion of your injuries and damages. An experienced accident attorney will carefully analyze your credit card agreement to maximize your compensation.
There are several potential at-fault persons for accidents involving rental cars. Potential at-fault persons include the other driver and the rental car company. These accidents are governed by the laws of negligence. In order to prove the other driver was at-fault, your accident attorney must establish that the other driver failed to exercise care when operating the vehicle, and this failure caused or contributed to the accident and your injuries.
The rental car company’s fault generally depends on the condition of the rental car. The law requires rental car companies to properly maintain their rental cars. As such, rental car companies must routinely inspect these vehicles and perform routine maintenance. If they fail to do so, they may be at-fault for your injuries. In order to demonstrate that the rental car company was at-fault, your accident attorney must establish the following:
- the rental car company knew or should have known of a dangerous condition regarding the rental car;
- the rental car company failed to repair the dangerous condition; and
- the dangerous condition was the legal cause of your accident and injuries.
Accidents involving rental car accidents clearly raise many complicated legal issues that may present obstacles to recovering compensation. As such, it is vitally important that you retain an experienced accident attorney, who will carefully analyze these issues, conduct a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding your accident, and aggressively fight with insurance companies for the compensation you deserve.
Contact Us Today
Contact a Los Angeles personal injury attorney today if you or a loved one was involved in an accident involving a dangerous road condition. Slatter Law Firm has been helping individuals injured due to car accidents and slip and falls throughout Los Angeles and Southern California for over four decades. To schedule a free consultation, call our office at (310) 405-0964 or contact us online.
