7 Canton, MO Residents Hurt In Scotland County Car Accident

by Josh Myers

Seven Canton, Missouri residents were injured this past Sunday in a one car accident.  The car accident occurred in Scotland County, Missouri at approximately 5:55 p.m.  The crash occurred on U.S. Highway 136 in a Mountaineer driven by Tamra Roberts.  The Missouri Highway Patrol is reporting that the crash occurred Roberts lost control of her vehicle after trying to avoid an oncoming vehicle that crossed the center line.

Also involved in the crash were passengers Samantha Roberts, 12, Chris Irvin, 37,  Austin Irvin, 16,  Autumn Irvin, 14;, Bronson Irvin, 9, and Haley Roberts, 10.

Certainly we are keeping our fingers crossed for those involved and wish them speedy recoveries.  But this story caught my eye because I wanted to use it to discuss what happens when a Missouri car accident is caused by an unknown driver.  As a Missouri car accident attorney , one of my most important jobs is finding the appropriate insurance coverage.  In this case, it appears that the identity of the driver who cause this wreck is unknown.  What happens in this case is that everyone injured can make an uninsured motorist claim.  Missouri Statute 379.203 requires every car insurance policy issued in Missouri to provide a minimum of $25,000 of uninsured motorist coverage.  When you do not know the identity of the driver who caused your injuries, or the responsible driver does not have insurance, you are entitled to make a claim against your uninsured motorist coverage.  This is a claim made against your own car insurance company.  As a several of those injured in this car wreck were minors, they would be insured by their parents insurance policies.  Finally, all of the occupants of Mountaineer would also be insured by the car owner’s policy.

When your own car insurance company fails to promptly pay your claim, we often file an additional case against them for vexatious refusal to pay.  When you promptly pay your monthly premiums, we expect your insurance company to treat you fairly when you need to make a claim against that coverage which you pay for.  When they try to jerk us around, we do our best to hold their feet to the fire.

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