As the school year winds down and the weather heats up, many people throughout Mississippi are making plans to go on vacation. If you are planning to travel out of state by plane, there is a good chance that you may need to rent a car, truck or SUV. Rental car leasing agents at all of the major car rental companies, including Hertz, Budget, Enterprise, Avis, Dollar or Alamo will likely encourage you to purchase optional liability insurance. Given the tough economy many people presume that the odds against be involved in a car accident while on vacation are minimal and pass on the insurance.
Unfortunately, there are far more people than you imagine that are in serious car accidents while traveling. Traveling in Mississippi can create a perfect storm that leads to a collision because you are driving a car that you are not used to on streets that you have never traveled on. When a car accident occurs while you are driving a car, truck or SUV from a rental agency, you may have many questions about your ability to be compensated for your injuries and how the cost of the vehicle damage will be covered. Many people that find themselves in this situation feel a sense of dread remembering the dire warning that they received from the car rental agent about the risks of not taking the optional insurance.
However, there are many sources of insurance that may cover your loss if you are involved in an auto collision in a rental car while visiting Mississippi. If you did pay the premium for the liability insurance offered by the rental agency, you might be able to pursue a claim against the provider of that insurance coverage for your injuries and loss. This insurance may also provide the source of funds to repair the vehicle.
Even if you opted out of the insurance offered by the car rental company, you may still be able to seek compensation for your injuries from a wide array of other sources, including the other driver’s insurance, your own insurance and other sources. If the other driver was negligent because the driver was speeding or ran a red light, you may be able to pursue a personal injury claim seeking damages for pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost past and future earnings and diminished quality of life. If the other driver was not covered by insurance or had minimal coverage so that not all of your losses are covered, we may be able to assist you in pursuing a claim against your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
Even if none of these sources are available to obtain compensation for injuries, there may still be other options. If the vehicle is defective, you may be able to seek compensation from the vehicle manufacturer or the rental car company if the agency failed to repair a known defect. Other options may include a public entity that failed to provide a safe roadway or a vehicle owner that entrusted his or her vehicle to an inexperienced or incompetent driver. At the Barrett Law Offices PLLC, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent personal injury victims throughout Mississippi. Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.