Long Island Rental Car Accident Lawyer

Rental cars are vehicles that a person pays for the use of for a specific period of time, generally a short period of time. It could be a day, or a week, but generally not longer than that. There are different rental types that the person could rent, such as a small car, a SUV, or a truck if an individual is moving things, for example.

Individuals who drive these vehicles may be subject to accidents just as if they were driving a vehicle of their own.

If you have been in an accident and are seeking legal representation, it is important to contact a Long Island rental car accident lawyer immediately. A knowledgeable car accident attorney in Long Island can build a case to help produce a successful outcome on your behalf.

Insurance Coverage

Recently, there was a federal law passed called the Graves. The Graves Amendment says that companies that are renting vehicles cannot be sued for any accidents.

As an example, if a person rents a car from Hertz and the person gets into an accident, even though Hertz owns the vehicle, the person cannot sue Hertz. The person can sue the driver of the vehicle but cannot sue Hertz. These regulations can be best explained using a Long Island rental car accident attorney.

This means that if the person took out the basic coverage policy of $25,000, which is minimum liability, that is all that is going to be available for the injured party. Whereas, in a personal vehicle, the insurance coverage could be higher. To best understand the insurance coverage present in their case, a person should consult with a rental car accident lawyer on Long Island immediately.

Common Injuries

Typically, the injuries seen in rental car accidents are similar to ones where people are using their personal cars. This includes back and neck injuries, fractures in the legs, or fractures in the arms.

Generally, most of the injuries that may result from an accident deal with soft tissue injuries. That is an injury to the soft part of the body whether it is the neck, the back, the knee, or the shoulder.

Types of Accidents

Rental car accidents are similar to personal car accidents. Typical fact patterns would be a hit in the rear, a T-bone, or people failing to use a traffic signal, whether it is a traffic light or a stop sign. An experienced Long Island rental car accident attorney can help an individual bring a claim involving any sort of accident.

Rental car accidents are generally accidents that occur with people who may not even be living in the area where the accident occurs. People who rent cars do so when their primary car is not available, so people who go on vacation rent cars and people who are away on business might rent cars. If an individual is unfamiliar with the location, that may be a factor later on.

A person may not have seen a traffic signal, or maybe they were going to fast because they weren’t familiar with the speed limit. A final issue is when the person is not driving their own car, they may not be familiar with the vehicle that they are driving in. All these fact patterns should be considered and discussed when bringing the case to an experienced rental car accident attorney in Long Island.