Most car accident claims stop at one insurance policy: the at-fault driver's own coverage. For a badly injured client, including someone who has suffered catastrophic injuries, that policy is often nowhere near enough, and too many attorneys stop looking the moment they see how little it covers.
We asked Jonathan Jackson, Principal Attorney at JJ Law, about a case where stopping there would have cost his client almost everything.
The Case: A Minimal Policy That Wasn't the Last Word
A few years ago, Jonathan took a call about a rideshare accident. The client had been seriously injured as a passenger in an Uber, and the at-fault driver's coverage came nowhere close to what the injuries were worth.
"A lot of attorneys would have settled for whatever that policy paid out and called it a day," Jonathan says. "I didn't stop there."
When someone is injured as a passenger in a rideshare accident in Oklahoma, more than one policy can be in play at the same time:
- The at-fault driver's personal auto policy
- The rideshare company's commercial policy, which can provide substantially more coverage while a ride is in progress
- The injured passenger's own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, where stacking applies
"After working through all the available layers in that case, the total recovery reached $1.1 million," Jonathan says. "Not because we got lucky. Because we looked for every layer of coverage instead of stopping at the first policy we found."
Every case depends on its own facts, including the coverage actually in place and the extent of the injuries involved, and a result like this one does not predict the outcome of any other case.
The Layer Insurers Won't Point You Toward
Oklahoma allows UM/UIM stacking in certain circumstances, meaning more than one policy can apply to a single claim and add to what a client ultimately recovers.
"The insurance company is not going to volunteer this information," Jonathan says. "They will not mention that your own policy might pay you additional compensation on top of what the at-fault driver's carrier offers."
That gap between what an insurer discloses and what a policy actually allows is where a lot of recoverable value gets left on the table.
What We Check on Every Serious Accident Case
Jonathan applies the same process regardless of how the accident happened.
"After every serious accident I handle in Oklahoma, the first thing I do is get a full picture of every insurance policy that touched the situation," he says. "The at-fault driver's policy, my client's own policy, any commercial or umbrella policy involved. The difference between a $50,000 settlement and a $1.1 million recovery in that case wasn't the injuries. It was knowing where to look."
The same layering applies outside of rideshare cases. A delivery driver, a company vehicle, or a commercial truck often carries its own policy on top of the driver's personal coverage, and that policy doesn't show up unless someone goes looking for it.
Talk to Us About What Coverage May Apply to Your Case
If you were seriously injured in a rideshare accident or any other crash in Oklahoma, the at-fault driver's policy may not be the only source of compensation available.
Call (888) 495-3339 or contact us online so we can investigate every policy that may apply to your case.
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