In the wake of any kind of car accident, your immediate thought should be about getting the medical attention you need to take care of your injuries. There is not an attorney in the world who will tell you that you should call a lawyer before a doctor after an accident, but you should call an attorney as soon as you can.
What about being involved in a taxi accident? Does that change any of the process you would follow in the wake of your accident. There are special considerations that have to be taken into account if you are in an accident while riding a taxi, and it is important to get a qualified attorney on your case as soon as possible to protect your rights.
In New York, taxi cabs are required to carry a minimum of $50,000 in no-fault insurance. This means that no matter who was at fault for the accident, any medical expenses or loss of income resulting from the accident must be paid. The problem is that $50,000 is sometimes not enough to cover all of the financial damages a taxi car crash victim requires. That is why taxis are also required to carry liability insurance to help cover the rest of the expenses a victim may incur.
The problem with the liability insurance carried by taxis is that it is often so low that it is almost not worth trying to pursue. Another issue is that insurance companies that cover taxis are notorious for not paying out to victims without a serious fight.
If a victim in a taxi cab accident wants to collect liability money that is due to them, then they have to prove that their injuries were the fault of the taxi driver. This can be exceptionally difficult, especially if the taxi drive insists that the other party in the accident was negligent. The process of collecting information regarding a taxi accident is much more complex than an accident involving two standard vehicles.
The sad truth is that just about every potential insurance coverage is set against the passenger the moment they set foot in a cab. If there is an accident, the victim must prove the driver was at fault before liability insurance can be accessed. The process of gathering the right information to get the kind of settlement a victim needs can be frustrating for someone who has never gone through the process. That is why you need to hire an experienced attorney to take your case and get you the settlement that you deserve.
Each state has laws that govern the kind and amount of insurance a taxi must carry, but those laws do not force the insurance companies to pay out when an accident occurs. An insurance company that covers taxis could claim that the taxi driver was not responsible for the accident, and that would force the victim to prove that the driver was negligent.
If you are in an accident while riding a taxi, getting the compensation you deserve is an uphill battle. You need to hire a qualified attorney to represent your best interests and make sure that the insurance and taxi companies are not allowed to get away with not paying you what you deserve.
