I get calls all the time about people almost being injured in an accident. And it’s clear when I reject the matter that they have heard rejections before.

I got a call once from a woman who’d struck a deer on a winding road in the mountains of North Carolina, and suffered horrible injuries when her car went into the valley.

I had one of those laugh-cry moments when I realized that none of the attorneys she’d called (she must have called many to get to an insurance defense lawyer a hundred miles away) had explained to her that she couldn’t collect from her own auto insurance policy for this. She knew that, and she was pretty smart. She was calling about uninsured motorist coverage, but she’d been given variants on “deer don’t have insurance,” and, “Was it Bambi? We could sue Disney.” . Yet no one had pointed out to her that UM coverage requires an actual motorist.

Honestly, it doesn’t make sense that uninsured motorist coverage doesn’t cover wrecks involving animals. Animals are generally far more responsible than the sort of person who drives a car without insurance.

It’s notable that she is doing this without an attorney, as it is likely that no lawyer would touch it.

I get calls all the time about people almost being injured in an accident. And it’s clear when I reject the matter that they have heard rejections before.