Auto Insurance Claims: Do I qualify to claim Uninsured Motorist, 3rd degree burns, motorcycle accident

Question

3rd Dregree Burn Hello and thank you for your time. I was involved in a Motorcycle accident July 6th in Missouri. A car pulled out in traffic striking a jeep causing the jeep to get off course and T-bone our motorcycle while we were sitting in the turning lane waiting to turn. The lady who caused the accident did not have insurance, The Jeep that hit us did have insurance but our lawyer said unless they were negligent in some way they are innocent. My boyfriend did not have insurance on his motorcycle although he thought he did. My question is, I was claiming my uninsured motorist for my medical expenses until we recently found out that my boyfriend is listed as a driver on his dads car. I was wanting to know if it is possible for me to claim his uninsured motorist because he was the driver of the motorcycle and I was a passenger. I received multiple 3rd degree burns which have scarred, one being on my entire left calf and is very noticeable and I catch people staring all the time. I just want your advice because my lawyer does not seem to know what he his doing and one week were claiming my insurance and this week were looking at the auto policy of my boyfriends dads policy cause he is listed as a driver and is covered under that insurance. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Jessica,

Unfortunately, each states uninsured motorist laws are different. I am not specifically aware of Missouri uninsured motorist laws.

You need to trust your attorney. The claim process can be very confusing regarding uninsured motorist claims even in some cases to an attorney. This is because most of the laws for this type of coverage are set by case law rather than an actual state statute. It requires a lot of research, especially when you are trying to claim under someone elses policy and none of the vehicles on that policy were involved in the accident. Generally speaking, auto insurance follows the vehicles, not the drivers, but, there are exceptions with uninsured motorist claim.

If you are feeling like you are not understanding things, you should make a list of written question that you can call and ask your attorney. Just tell him/her that you just want an explanation.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh