California Injury Blog
A 46-year-old man from Massachusetts is in critical condition with severe head injuries after he was struck on a Corona street by a hit-and-run driver. According to an article in the Riverside Press-Enterprise, David Derosier was in town for a motocross event and was going across the street after having dinner with a friend when he was hit by a maroon four-door car.
Clearly there were witnesses to this pedestrian accident, which happened on a busy street in Corona. Police said the hit-and-run vehicle turned from Main Street and was heading toward Joy Street when the incident occurred. The car reportedly did not have lights on when it was dark outside. The car driver seems to have hesitated for a few seconds, but didn’t stop and drove away, the article said.
The vehicle is described as a 1994 to 1997 Honda Accord and officers are investigating a mirror that was found at the crash scene. Police say the car was being driven by a woman and that there were other passengers inside the vehicle. They also say the vehicle suffered damage to the front bumper area as well as the hood and windshield.
We hope the driver of this vehicle and anyone who encouraged her to drive away after injuring a man seriously is found and prosecuted. Derosier obviously has a very long and arduous road to recovery.
We wish him the very best in his tough recovery process. He might also have a hard time getting his insurer to pay what is rightfully his compensation. Many don’t even realize that a hit-and-run victim is covered by his or her own auto insurance policy’s “uninsured motorist” provision. Yes, crossing the street has nothing to do with your own car. But you are still covered under this provision. Basically, your auto insurance carrier steps in as the insurer for the hit-and-run driver.
While those are the rules, they will try to treat you like an adversary rather than a policy holder when you make your claim. Most insurance agents will not even tell you that an uninsured motorist provision will cover this type of accident or injury because they don’t want to pay you. Another interesting detail too is that in such cases, the injured pedestrian will not have to go to a jury with his or her claim. Instead, such cases are decided in a binding arbitration that looks like a trial without a jury.