There are two ways to get a rental after a car crash: 1) through your insurance if you have rental coverage or 2) through the other persons insurance IF their insurance company eats liability on behalf of their driver.
Just because the other driver is listed at fault does not mean you get a rental. A police report is hearsay and inadmissible at trial. As such, it is a helpful tool for the parties to follow up but it is not set in stone. I’ve recovered millions for people that are “at fault” on a police report. I’ve also told people that are listed as “number two” on the report that I cannot help them.
Sometimes people go home and change their story of tell their insurance company something different than what they told the police. If this happens their insurance is unlikely to immediately put you in a rental vehicle after a car crash.
The preference is that you bought rental coverage, but that isn’t always the case. If the other side is jerking you around it is probably time to hire a lawyer. The catch here is that injury lawyers work on cases where people are hurt. If you aren’t hurt it will be difficult to find a lawyer to work on contingency to take your case.
The other thing to note is how long you get the rental after the car crash. This is governed by your policy if you have the coverage. If the other side provides the rental you get it until the car gets fixed or once the other side gets you a check for the value of your vehicle.
A lot of personal injury lawyers will tell you that they do not assist on property damage. At Dettman Law I help my clients with their property damage claims. However, I do not work on claims that involve solely property damage because it is not cost effective for clients to hire me to do that. The good news is that consultations are always free at Dettman Law and I work on cases all over Kentucky from my home office in Louisville. Email is the fastest way to reach me: bdettman@dettmanlawgroup.com
