US peace groups file constitutional challenge to Iraq war
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

[JURIST] A coalition of anti-war activists represented by the Constitutional Law Clinic at Rutgers University Law School-Newark [academic website] Tuesday filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF; press release, PDF] in US District Court for New Jersey seeking a declaratory judgment that the war in Iraq ..

Tyco settles securities fraud lawsuit with New Jersey for $73 million
Thursday, May 1, 2008

[JURIST] Tyco International [corporate website] Wednesday reached an agreement with the state of New Jersey to settle a lawsuit [case materials] alleging that insider trading at the company cost the state $100 million in state employee pension funds. Under the settlement terms, Tyco will pay $73 ..

NY appeals court upholds Port Authority negligence verdict in 1993 WTC bombing
Wednesday, April 30, 2008

[JURIST] A New York appeals court has upheld [opinion text] a jury's finding that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was negligent [JURIST report] in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center [BBC backgrounder] by Islamic radicals that killed six and injured 1,000. The jury found in ..

New Jersey high court rules subpoena needed to obtain Internet user records
Monday, April 21, 2008

[JURIST] The New Jersey Supreme Court [official website] Monday ruled [PDF text] that Internet service providers may not turn over users' personal information to police or other agencies unless they obtain a valid grand jury subpoena when the information sought relates to an indictable offense. ..

Parmalat fraud suit against Citigroup can proceed: judge
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

[JURIST] A New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled [PDF text] Tuesday that a $7 billion lawsuit [JURIST report] filed by Italian dairy giant Parmalat SpA [corporate website] against Citigroup [corporate website] could go forward on a claim that Citigroup aided and abetted former Parmalat executives ..

ICE sued over 'illegal' immigration raids
Thursday, April 3, 2008

[JURIST] Law enforcement officials from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [official website] violated the constitutional privacy and due process rights of suspected illegal aliens by raiding their homes [CSJ backgrounder], according to a complaint [PDF text] filed in New Jersey ..

Fort Dix plot accomplice sentenced to 20 months in prison
Monday, March 31, 2008

[JURIST] New Jersey US District Judge Robert Kugler Monday sentenced Albanian Kosovar refugee Agron Abdullahu [criminal complaint, PDF], one of the six men arrested [JURIST report] in May for plotting an attack on New Jersey's Fort Dix [official website], to 20 months in prison. In October 2007, ..

Supreme Court rules for Delaware in state water boundary dispute
Monday, March 31, 2008

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] ruled Monday that New Jersey and Delaware have "overlapping authority" to control "extraordinary" construction projects along the Delaware River. The Court's decision came in New Jersey v. Delaware [Medill case backgrounder; ..

New Jersey civil union law not ensuring rights of same-sex couples: report
Tuesday, February 19, 2008

[JURIST] A New Jersey civil union law has not been able to effectively ensure that same-sex couples receive the same rights and privileges as heterosexual couples because of federal law, according to an official report [PDF text] issued Tuesday by the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission (NJ- ..

Merck settles Medicaid fraud, kickback lawsuits
Friday, February 8, 2008

[JURIST] New Jersey pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck [corporate website] has agreed to pay $671 million to settle claims [press release, PDF] that it defrauded Medicaid and improperly marketed three of its drugs to doctors, federal prosecutors said Thursday. The settlement [PDF text] stems from ..

Fort Dix plot suspects charged with attempted murder
Wednesday, January 16, 2008

[JURIST] Additional charges, including attempted murder, were filed Tuesday against the alleged plotters of an attack on Fort Dix [official website]. The US Attorney for New Jersey declined to say why the attempted murder charge was added, but a grand jury found that there was sufficient evidence ..

Upholded by Feed Informer
« CONSTRUCTION SAFETY - IRON WORKER INJURED WITHOUT FALL PROTECTION: ANATOMY OF A CASE
WHAT IS THE NEW JERSEY HEALTH CARE CONSUMER INFORMATION ACT »

01
Nov

Driving Without Insurance: No coverage means No claim

If I am involved in an accident while driving without insurance, can I bring a claim for injuries if the other driver was at fault?
39:6A-4.5.

The simple answer is no. If you are the operator of a motor vehicle in the State of New Jersey, you are required to maintain insurance with Personal Injury Protection and minimum liability limits of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident. Failure to maintain such insurance will serve an absolute bar from bringing a law suit for both economic damages and pain and suffering.

As a simple example, assume that Joe Smith just finished rebuilding a car in his garage and wants to take it out for a test drive. He decided that he is not going to insure it until he is sure that it is ready for the road. He pulls up to the red light at the end of his street and comes to a slow and gradual stop. Unfortunately, the guy behind him is talking on his cell phone and accidentally rear ends Mr. Smith. In doing so, he rear ends Mr. Smith and sends him to the hospital with a multiple displaced fractures of his dominant arm.

Despite the fact that Mr. Smith was not at fault for the happening of the accident, he will have no cause of action for the pain and suffering. Sadly, he will also have no cause of action for the economic damages caused to the brand new vehicle he just finished or for his lost wages while he is out of work for the next month. Lastly, unless he has health insurance, he will have no source of insurance to pay for his medical care which will easily exceed $10,000. Even if he does have health insurance, his access to it may be limited or denied in its entirety. Many, if not most, health insurance companies have exclusions for auto related injuries because the proper source of medical expense benefits is your own automobile insurance policy.

If you thought that driving without insurance is only detrimental to others, think again.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 1st, 2007 at 9:16 am and is filed under Uncategorized, Insurance, Damages Issues, Automobile. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Driving Without Insurance: No coverage means No claim”

  1. 1
    Auto Insurance » Driving Without Insurance: No coverage means No claim Says:

    […] njlawyers.com wrote an interesting post today on Driving Without Insurance: No coverage means No claimHere’s a quick excerpt If I am involved in an accident while driving without insurance, … insurance companies have exclusions for auto related injuries because the proper source of medical … to maintain insurance with Personal Injury Protection and minimum liability limits of $15,000 per person […]

    November 1st, 2007 at 11:30 am

Leave a Reply