Can I Sue An Uninsured Driver In Maryland? | Call Dubo Law (2024)

Yes, you can sue an uninsured driver in Maryland. In Maryland Law, lawsuits involving uninsured drivers are subject to the same limitations and restrictions that apply to any other car accident related claim. The exact amount you can sue an uninsured or underinsured driver for depends on the details of your case.

That’s the short answer. The longer and more complicated question is how do you sue an uninsured driver in Maryland? Answering that question requires the involvement of an experienced Maryland personal injury attorney.

Maryland Law does require that all drivers and registered car owners in the state have automobile insurance, but not everyone abides by this mandate. So it is unfortunately common for people to be involved in accidents where the at-fault driver is uninsured.

In these situations, the question becomes whether you can sue that other driver and, if so, what options do you have to ensure that you can collect a judgment should one be entered in your favor.

Keep reading to get a simple and thorough explanation of uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, what the difference is, and how all of the Maryland law works. To understand how all of this applies to your specific uninsured motorist claim, get a free consultation with our top-rated car accident lawyers.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage & Underinsured Motorist Coverage

The first thing to know is that, while you would sue an uninsured driver who is also the at-fault driver, any settlement or judgment payment would be through the Uninsured/Underinsured (UM/UIM) provision of your own insurance policy.

Maryland law requires that insurance companies provide UM/UIM coverage (Uninsured Motorist Coverage/Underinsured Motorist Coverage) which ensures that you are protected in exactly these situations.

Uninsured Driver vs. Underinsured Driver

The first thing to know is that, while you would sue an uninsured driver who is also the at-fault driver, any settlement or judgment payment would be through the Uninsured/Underinsured (UM/UIM) provision of your own insurance policy.

Maryland law requires that insurance companies provide UM/UIM coverage (Uninsured Motorist Coverage/Underinsured Motorist Coverage) which ensures that you are protected in exactly these situations.

Uninsured Driver

An uninsured driver is someone driving without any car insurance coverage. While Maryland law prohibits driving without insurance, it is an unfortunate reality that many people still do.

And when they cause a car accident, the victims are left wondering how they will be able to recover damages for their bodily injury, medical bills, and pain and suffering.

Underinsured Driver

By contrast, an underinsured driver is someone who, while having car insurance, has insufficient coverage under that policy to fully and completely compensate the victim for their injuries. Pursuant to Maryland Code Annotated, Insurance Article 19-504 and Transportation Article 17-103, the minimum liability insurance coverage required in Maryland is $30,000/$60,000.

In normal terms, this means $30,000 per claimant and $60,000 per claim if there were multiple people injured in the same accident.

So if someone is driving around with a Maryland minimum coverage under their policy and causes a car accident that results in more than $30,000 of injuries to a victim, that at-fault driver will be deemed to be underinsured.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Maryland Code Annotated, Insurance Article Section 19-509 establishes the requirements for uninsured motorist coverage in Maryland and the rules that the insurance companies are required to follow in providing such policies available to their policy holders.

It also explains who is eligible to pursue an uninsured motorist claim and who is not, depending on the facts of the situation. It is also important to note that insurance companies in Maryland are required to offer uninsured motorist coverage to registered car owners and drivers.

While uninsured drivers are breaking the law, that does not help you obtain a recovery except through your own insurance coverage through your insurance company.

Underinsured Motorist Coverage

The same statutory section in Maryland law for uninsured motorist coverage – Maryland Code Annotated, Insurance Article Section 19-509 – also applies to underinsured motorist coverage in Maryland and follows the same general principle.

If the driver who caused your bodily injury or other personal injury (as allowed by the law) does not have enough car insurance liability coverage, he or she is deemed to be underinsured and your own underinsured coverage will kick in to cover any other damages you have up to your coverage limit.

The key distinction between uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage is that in the first instance, your insurance company is covering all of your damages while in the second, they are only obligated or required to cover an amount above the coverage of the tortfeasor.

The Two Classes of Uninsured Drivers

There are two main situations involving uninsured drivers which can lead to insurance claims and ultimately litigation.

1. The first involves what the law refers to as phantom or “hit and run” drivers.

Phantom drivers may actually have insurance, but because they fled the scene, for purposes of that case, they are essentially deemed to be uninsured.

2. The second scenario involves an identified driver, but who has no insurance.

While they may receive a criminal citation for driving with no insurance, that doesn’t resolve the problem of the injured parties who are looking to receive fair compensation for their injuries.

In either situation, you have the ability to file and pursue a claim under the uninsured motorist insurance of your own car insurance coverage.

It should also be noted that sometimes even when there is insurance and the driver is known, there may not be coverage because that driver was an excluded driver under the insurance policy.

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What if I Suffered Bodily Injury in the Car Accident?

If you suffered bodily injury in a car accident in Maryland, the first thing you need to do is seek medical attention. After that, you should contact a qualified and successful personal injury attorney to help ensure that you are fully compensated for your injuries.

Insurance companies routinely try to take advantage of people who are unrepresented, so you want to make sure you have a strong and expert advocate on your side through the process.

Your attorney will know the appropriate steps to take in order to determine:

1. whether the other driver has insurance,
2. what the coverage limits are,
3. whether you have underinsured motorist coverage through your car insurance company, and
4. what the limits of your coverage are.

Talk To A Top Car Accident Lawyer: (443) 275-6345

Who Do I Sue?

The short answer is that depends on your specific accident situation. This is something that your personal injury attorney will know and will handle on your behalf. The best car accident lawyers for Maryland drivers have recovered millions for clients.

Here are some of the common options for who you might sue after a car accident involving an uninsured driver:

1. The At Fault Driver

Obviously, the most common defendant in any civil claim is the other driver of the vehicle who caused the crash. You do not sue the at-fault driver’s insurance company – you sue the individual themselves and any judgment you get will be paid by their insurance company up to the limits of their policy.

Any claim against the driver of the vehicle which caused the accident would be based on a negligence theory in that they breached a tort duty owed to you and other drivers. This is what we call a common law duty meaning there is no statute or law that creates this obligation. It is based on general legal principles.

Sometimes you can sue people other than the driver themselves under different negligence theories. For example, you can sue an employer if the tortfeasor was driving a vehicle in the scope of their employment.

Or you could also sue a parent or guardian if they negligently entrusted their vehicle to the person who caused the accident.

However, these types of claims also follow a general negligence framework meaning you are still required to establish that another person violated the standard of care which resulted in bodily injury to the victim.

2. Your Car Insurance Company

Another option for filing a lawsuit in an uninsured or underinsured driver claim would be against your own car insurance company.

However, to the extent you have to pursue a claim against your own car insurance company, that claim, rather than being for negligence, would be a breach of contract claim.

Simply stated, your insurance company did not breach a tort duty. The allegation is that they owed you a contractual duty to cover damages sustained as a result of an accident caused by an uninsured driver. And by failing to do that, they have breached that contractual duty.

These lawsuits against your insurance company only provide potential recovery for your injuries up to the amount of coverage you have under your policy. In that sense, it is different than pursuing a claim against the at-fault driver because in those situations you can get what is referred to as an “excess judgment” – meaning an amount in excess of the available insurance coverage.

That option is not generally available when you pursue claims against your insurance company only.

This is unfortunately the only avenue sometimes when an insurance company either denies your uninsured motorist claims or refuses to provide you with the full scope of your uninsured motorist benefits.

3. Both The At Fault Driver & Your Own Insurance Company

There are some situations where you would need to sue both the driver AND your insurance company in the same action.

In these cases, you’ll want a top Baltimore car accident lawyer on your side to make sure that you have the correct cause of action identified for both.

This situation generally applies when the other driver is uninsured or that driver’s auto insurance company has not been willing to pay out the full coverage under their policy. Your lawsuit would include claims for negligence against the other driver and breach of contract against your insurance company as separate counts.

Including the at-fault driver is so important in this uninsured motorist claim because being able to collect on your uninsured motorist coverage or underinsured motorist coverage requires you to establish that:

1. the at-fault driver did not have car insurance or did not have enough liability coverage in their insurance and
2. that they were, in fact, at fault for the accident.

The best car accident lawyers in Maryland will get this exactly right for you every time, and that’s what we do for our clients here at Dubo Law.

We believe in your uninsured motorist case being heard so strongly that we don’t see any fees from you unless we win your case. That’s our promise.

How to File an Underinsured Motorist Claim

This is one of the most complicated areas of the Maryland law – it’s essential that you are pursuing the correct claims against the correct insurance company in the correct way.

Failure to follow the steps carefully and accurately can lead to your claim being compromised. If you want an expert on your side, our car accident lawyers at Dubo Law have helped clients like you in Baltimore and surrounding areas of Maryland maximize their full and fair compensation.

Talk To Top Car Accident Lawyers: (443) 275-6345

Our accident attorneys are rated 5.0 by clients because they know exactly how to make your case heard and apply the full weight of the Maryland law to your specific situation.

Here are the key steps to file an underinsured motorist claim:

Subrogation Waiver In Underinsured Motorist Claims

Perhaps the most complicated part of the underinsured motorist claim process is the subrogation waiver component.

Under Section 19-511 of the Insurance Article of the Maryland Code, there is a specific process you are required to follow in order to preserve your rights to pursue a claim against your own insurance company.

If you receive a policy limits settlement offer from the at fault party’s insurance company – and you intend pursuing a claim for underinsured coverage under your own policy – you are required to provide notice to your insurance company of the policy limits tender.

The reason for that notice is that if your insurance company ends up having to pay out on your claim for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering or any other damages, they are doing so because of the negligence of the at fault party.

Under Maryland law, your auto insurance company has the right to seek reimbursem*nt of that amount from the at fault driver. This is known as the right of subrogation.

However, when the at fault party’s insurer offers their policy limits, they are doing it to protect their insured and always require you sign a release as part of that settlement. And if you sign the release, you are giving up your own insurance company’s subrogation rights.

Maryland law, in recognizing this concern, addresses and prescribes a solution. When a policy limits offer is tendered, before you can accept, you are required to send a letter to your insurance company advising them of the policy limits offer and advising them that, in accordance with Section 19-511, they have 60 days to decide whether or not they are going to pursue a subrogation claim against the other driver or whether they are waiving (or giving up) that right.

How You Receive Recovery For Bodily Injury, Medical Bills, And Other Damages

1. From the Underinsured Motorist Insurance Offer of Settlement.

In the overwhelming majority of situations, they will waive their right of subrogation at which time you can accept the offer from the at fault driver’s insurance and then negotiate above that amount under your own insurance policy.

2. Receive Payment From Your Own Uninsured Motorist Insurance.

If, however, they refuse to waive subrogation, your insurance company is then obligated to pay you the amount of the other driver’s policy to ensure that you – as the accident victim – aren’t punished for the insurance company’s decision.

You can probably already see how complicated this process is, and there’s even more to it.

In all circ*mstances, we would strongly encourage you to find a skilled and experienced Maryland car crash lawyer that you can trust to complete this on your behalf.

Failure to follow these procedures correctly could result in significant consequences, not least of which is the reduction in value of your insurance claim.

Hiring even one of the best car accident lawyers in Maryland doesn’t have to be expensive. At Dubo Law, you don’t pay any fees unless we win your case. Even your initial consultation is free. If you’ve been injured in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist, we believe you deserve to have your case heard – regardless of budget.

Get Your Case Heard Today: (443) 275-6345

The Importance of Having a Knowledgeable Car Attorney

Uninsured Motorist Coverage and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM) scenarios are complex and can be overwhelming if not handled by an experienced and knowledgeable Maryland personal injury attorney.

Ensuring that you have the maximum amount of insurance available – whether through your policy or someone else’s – is essential to obtaining the best possible result in every individual case.

The best Maryland car accident attorney for you will tirelessly gather evidence, do a complete investigation into the crash caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver, and build the strongest case for you.

They will also do something else very important to your success: they will know how to make sure the claim is pursued in the right way to avoid compromising your claim, your chances of recovery, and being able to see compensation for your medical bills, bodily injury, lost wages, and other pain and suffering damages.

It is important to have a knowledgeable and experienced car accident lawyer because they will know how to deal with the insurance companies. Whether it’s State Farm or Allstate or Nationwide or anyone else, your attorney should know how they each operate and how to extract the best result in each and every situation.

At Dubo Law, we know exactly what to do – because we spent years earlier in life representing the insurance companies. We know how they work inside and out.

Get Your Case Heard Today: (443) 275-6345

As with claims for bodily injury or any form of liability coverage, uninsured or underinsured motorist claims require care and attention. They can be very complex and it is unwise to try and pursue a claim against an uninsured motorist or a claim under your own insurance policy without legal representation.

Author: Neil Dubovsky, founder and principal at Dubo Law

Neil Dubovsky graduated with Honors and magna cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2002. He received the prestigious Faculty Award, which was awarded to the student who best “exhibited unusual qualities of scholarship, leadership, and service.” Neil also received an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell – the highest rating possible. He is rated as one of the Top 100 Civil Trial Lawyers in Maryland by the National Trial Lawyers Association and selected to the 2022 Maryland Super Lawyers list. In 2023, Neil had the honor and distinction of being named to the Daily Record’s Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Powerlist.

Neil is a husband and father of two beautiful girls.

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