Uninsured Tractor-Trailer Drivers In Florida Accidents

Florida has a no-fault auto insurance system in place, which means that every driver – whether in a standard car or in a large commercial vehicle – is required to carry a certain amount of personal injury protection (PIP) insurance in order to cover medical bills for minor injuries. Most do – but accidents involving uninsured drivers happen regularly. If the uninsured driver is a tractor-trailer operator, seeking damages for your injuries can become a complex task, but with the right help all will be well.

Insurance Coverage Required

A no-fault auto insurance system is designed to handle minor accidents quickly, without recourse to a state’s already crowded civil dockets. However, it does require that all drivers be insured up to a certain amount in order to ensure that injured plaintiffs will actually be able to recover damages. If a driver has no insurance, it can put an injured driver in an awkward position, requiring them to potentially seek other ways of recovering their expenses.

In Florida, every driver must carry at least $10,000 in PIP coverage and $10,000 in property damage liability (PDL) insurance. However, Florida has one of the highest uninsured rates in the country – data from the Insurance Information Institute (III) has consistently placed the state in the top ten. This includes vehicles of all types, but the procedure for dealing with uninsured commercial drivers varies significantly from the procedure for dealing with uninsured private citizens.

Seeking Damages

If you have been injured in an accident with a tractor-trailer, your thought might be to file suit against the driver for what you have suffered. If your injuries are “significant and permanent,” you can generally do so in Florida. However, the driver alone will likely not have many assets for a civil lawsuit to claim; rather, if possible, it is better to seek damages from the driver’s employer. There are two main legal theories that a plaintiff can use to do so – negligent hiring and vicarious liability.

Negligent hiring occurs when an employer either (1) does such an insufficient background check on a prospective employee as to miss information that would make hiring the person inadvisable; or (2) discovers such information but hires the employee and places them in a position of trust anyway. Vicarious liability, by comparison, is when a worker’s employer can be held liable for any torts that the worker commits. Either may result in financial recovery, but the legal process is never simple.

Contact A Tampa Tractor-Trailer Accident Attorney

Being involved with a tractor-trailer accident can create a thousand questions and concerns, but the right legal help can get them managed. A Tampa tractor-trailer accident attorney from the Rinaldo Law Group can help you navigate the process of seeking compensation – call us today to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

flhsmv.gov/insurance/