When a Maryland resident is injured in an accident in which the at-fault party does not have insurance to cover those injuries, the Uninsured Division (UD) will help. The UD is a division of the State of Maryland and is administered by Maryland Auto Insurance.
While the majority of claims that the UD handles involve injuries to pedestrians, we occasionally receive claims from individuals who were injured while riding as a passenger on public transportation.
In this case, the injured person was a passenger on a Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) bus. Another vehicle turned into traffic, cutting off the bus and causing the bus driver to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. The sudden braking threw the claimant from their seat onto the bus floor. The at-fault vehicle fled the scene without stopping.
As a result of the accident, the claimant sustained injuries that required a significant amount of medical treatment. They also missed time from work.
Our UD Team reviewed CCTV footage from the bus and police reports as a part of the investigation. The UD adjuster also obtained a recorded statement from the claimant. The investigation concluded that liability for the accident was with the driver of the vehicle that fled the scene and that there was no negligence on the bus driver, whose actions were appropriate to avoid the accident.
Based on this liability decision, the claim was determined to be covered by the UD, and the team negotiated a favorable settlement for the claimant, resolving the case.
This is another example of how the Uninsured Division assists Maryland residents who have no access to insurance. Without the UD, this claimant would have been responsible for the medical costs on top of losing income from missing work due to the injuries.
