Health & Fitness
What's Law Got to Do With It? Tragedy on Thoroughfare
A hit and run driver fled the scene of a wrongful death this week. Can the dead woman's baby girl be financially compensated even if the driver never gets caught? Yes she can. Here's how.
We read this week about the tragic loss of a beautiful young mother walking on Mastic Road. A hit and run driver struck the pedestrian and she died. Many may well ask: Will the offender be caught and brought to justice? I ask: How can the baby she left behind be compensated? Of course nothing can replace a mother, but money used for nurturing this child can somewhat soften the blow.
One of the first questions a personal injury lawyer asks in any case is: Is there insurance coverage? Generally, we are not about vindictively taking defendants' homes or life savings. To compensate injured plaintiffs, it is best for all when liability insurance applies. What do you do if there is a hit and run driver who's never identified? Fortunately, the State of New York provides a modest solution: MVAIC, or the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation. In the case of a hit and run driver, or a negligent driver who illegally fails to have car insurance, MVAIC steps in. The motherless baby's guardian will need to quickly file an application with MVAIC. MVAIC will then "stand in the shoes" of the hit and run driver and either defend the claim (unthinkable here), or provide modest compensation. The sum of money the state provides to compensate for a loss like this is minimal compared to what might be available under a healthy auto insurance policy, but at least it allows for some kind of remedy.
In some situations "SUM" insurance coverage on one's own auto insurance will apply. What is that? Under certain situations, where the negligent driver has no insurance or insufficient insurance to cover the severity of his victim's pain and suffering, good SUM coverage helps. This is Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsiured coverage on your own auto insurance. If you are driving your own vehicle and get in an accident with another car, a healthy sized SUM endorsement will protect you if the negligent driver causing the accident has minimal insurance, no insurance, or flees the scene. It is the attorney's job to get a hold of the police report and prove the accident was caused by use or operation of a motor vehicle. Then the SUM notice gets filed, and a private proceeding to pursue that money follows.
