There are many variations of car accidents; you may be struck by a commercial truck driver who is en route to a warehouse to make a delivery, or an uninsured motorist might hit you while he was on his way to work. No matter what kind of accident you are involved in, you may be able to file a lawsuit to receive compensation if you could prove the other party were negligent in his actions when he crashed into you. It also does not matter if the person owned the vehicle or rented it; Hertz injury cases are common among those who are struck by people who rented cars from the company. Our lawyers with experience in suing rent-a-car for an accident can help you sue Hertz for an accident by a rental car if the circumstances permit it. Our law group, Normandie Law Firm, has numerous expert attorneys who specialize in injury lawsuits and can ensure that you receive the fairest compensation possible for your damages.
Filing a Claim for a Car Accident
In regular situations, the steps to filing a claim after an auto accident are all very similar, no matter the type of crash or vehicle. Simple crashes involving citizens can be solved with an exchange of insurance information. Individuals driving commercial vehicles, or vehicles that are being driven for money, must have their employers alerted to the incident; the employer may cover the damages in some situations. No matter what, you must be able to show the four points of negligence before you can expect compensation, which are:
- You were owed a duty of care. All drivers on the road must take care to not harm anyone else, including drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
- The duty of care was breached. This could happen when a driver recklessly maneuvers his vehicle or makes careless decisions. He may break the law by speeding, tailgating, running a stop sign, changing lanes without signaling, texting while driving, and more.
- The breach of duty led to an accident. By driving recklessly, the driver must have caused an accident of some sort.
- The accident caused actual physical harm. You must have been injured in the accident in order to file a claim. If you did not sustain any physical injuries, you would only be able to collect collision damages.
As stated above, you may be able to sue a company if the driver were negligent, but with rental car agencies, that is generally not the case. Rental agencies merely provide cars for ordinary people to drive; responsibility for the crash does not extend to the company since they did not order the person to go anywhere. All they did was provide the means. You cannot file a lawsuit against Hertz if a driver in one of their rental cars gets involved in an accident with you.
However, there can be exceptions to this general rule. If Hertz rented a vehicle to a person who should not have had the ability to rent one, they may be held responsible for the crash. An individual who had a revoked license or who did not carry any insurance should not have been able to rent a vehicle, and if Hertz did not properly check out the person’s information, they can be blamed.
Further, if Hertz were aware of a problem with a rental car and you are involved in an accident because of that negligence, you could likely file a Hertz injury claim lawsuit. The company should speedily fix any issues, whether they are brake problems, engine troubles, inadequately filled tires, and more.
An attorney to sue Hertz for an injury can help you determine the proper course of action.
Insurance Information
Hertz often offers an insurance plan when you rent a vehicle from them. This insurance plan covers collision damages, but does not offer liability coverage, or coverage for any physical injuries. If you have been hurt in an accident, you will need to pursue damages from the responsible party’s insurance agency. There is a chance, however, that the party will not be fully covered, or even covered at all; at this point, you would have to look to your own insurance company’s uninsured/underinsured motorist policy.
An attorney that has experience with car rental company accident cases can give you more information.
What to Do after an Accident
After you have been involved in an accident with someone driving a rented vehicle from Hertz, you should take certain steps to ensure that you have the best chance of earning compensation from a lawsuit.
You should examine yourself to see if you have any immediate physical injuries or if you need to be rushed to the emergency room. If your injuries are minor and you can be treated by paramedics at the scene, you should hang tight. You may also feel as though you are completely fine, but a check-up won’t hurt; you may have injuries that would show up only once the adrenaline dies down, and it is better to be aware of them the day of the accident than to pursue medical assistance a few weeks later, as it will look extremely suspicious if you attempt to pursue legal action.
You will need to acquire all of the evidence you can. Take photos and videos of both involved vehicles, the accident scene, the damages done to the cars, the injuries you sustained, and more. Any medical reports from paramedics, testimonies from eyewitnesses, and police reports can also be gathered.
It is important that you get as much information about the responsible driver as possible. Take down his insurance information, phone number, name, and where he can be reached; you should immediately contact your insurance agency and the insurance agency of the liable driver to ensure there are no problems.
You also need to alert Hertz to the fact that an accident occurred with their rented vehicle. If the customer purchased any insurance, Hertz will be able to cover that portion of the damages. Your insurance agent will still want to talk with a representative from the company to determine if there any negligence on the business’s behalf.
If you have been physically harmed, you may find it extremely beneficial if you seek out the assistance of a Los Angeles attorney for Hertz accident injury cases. If your vehicle were the only thing that suffered damage, it may not be necessary to have legal representation, but if you are injured, it is almost impossible to represent yourself – you may simply not have enough time or energy to win your lawsuit.
Timeline to File a Lawsuit
Personal injury lawsuits have a deadline of 2 years from the date of the injury to take legal action. If you do not file a claim within that time frame, you will not be able to receive any compensation. There are numerous ways that the statute of limitations can be temporarily suspended, and your attorney can help you. If you were a minor at the time of the incident, if the defendant were out of the state, or if you were mentally or physically incapable of taking legal action, you could have the statute tolled.
A rental car accident attorney in Los Angeles will be able to assist you.
Compensation
With the help of a lawyer in Los Angeles for Hertz injury lawsuits, you could receive various types of compensation for your damages. Our law group can help you earn:
- Medical expenses, including surgery costs, medication fees, hospitalization fees, physical therapy costs, and more. Any future medical procedures you require can also be covered.
- Lost wages from any days you missed work, as well as future earnings from anticipated leave because of injury, recovery, or medical treatment.
- Property damage to your vehicle or other belongings can also be reimbursed or covered.
- Pain and suffering damages, or coverage for PTSD, fear, anxiety, psychological stress, mental suffering, and more.
- Punitive damages, which are handed out in instances of gross negligence. These are purely monetary and meant to punish the defendant, but many courts view these as excessive; thus, only a skilled rental car accident injury lawyer will be able to win them for you.
- Wrongful death expenses, or any funeral costs, loss of consortium, loss of expected savings and inheritance, pre-death medical expenses and emotional damages, and more.
Our Law Group: Here for You
If you have been involved in an accident with a rental car, you should contact our law offices. You need a law firm that can take cases for a crash with a Hertz car, and that is Normandie Law Firm. Our team of lawyers has handled numerous lawsuits against Hertz and other companies, and we know the best way to earning the settlement you deserve. We will aggressively work to secure you the maximum compensation available under the law.
Call our offices today to schedule a free legal consultation with an expert attorney. If you have questions about rental car accidents, we will gladly help you. We will look over your case and tell you what we believe it is worth. If you choose us to represent you, you will also receive our zero fee guarantee, which promises that you won’t have to pay us any expenses throughout the litigation process. Our fees will be taken care of only if we win your case, and the expenses will be taken from the settlement we bring you. Your personal savings will never be touched.
If you need a law firm that handles accident claims cases against Hertz rental car, contact Normandie Law Firm today.
