Uninsured Motorist Claim Lawyer — Metairie & New Orleans

You did everything right. You bought insurance, you drove carefully — and then someone with no insurance, or barely any, crashed into your life. In Louisiana, roughly one in five drivers on the road has no insurance at all, and many more carry only the state minimum. When that driver hits you, the compensation often has to come from a place most people never think about: your own policy.

At Bono Law Firm, we've helped injured people across Louisiana since 1980, and uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) claims are one of the largest parts of our practice. If you've been hit by a driver with no insurance or not enough, you talk directly with an attorney named Bono — John or Michael — not a case manager, and you pay nothing unless we recover money for you.

What UM coverage actually is

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is part of your own auto policy, and it steps in when the at-fault driver can't pay: when they have no insurance, when they flee the scene in a hit-and-run, or when their coverage runs out before your damages do. Louisiana law requires insurers to include UM coverage in every auto policy unless you rejected it in writing on a state-approved form — so many people have this protection without realizing it. If you're not sure whether you have UM coverage, that's exactly the kind of question we answer for free.

Why UM claims matter so much in Louisiana

Louisiana's minimum required coverage is among the lowest in the country — $15,000 per person for bodily injury. One night in a hospital can exhaust that. So even when the other driver technically "has insurance," a serious injury quickly becomes an underinsured motorist claim: their policy pays its limit, and your UM coverage is what stands between you and the rest of the bills. This is why we tell every client, friend, and family member the same thing — UM coverage is the most important coverage you can buy in this state.

Your own insurance company is not automatically on your side

Here's what surprises people most: when you make a UM claim, you're asking your own insurer to pay — and they evaluate and fight that claim much like the other driver's insurer would. They may question your injuries, your treatment, or your share of fault. The difference is that Louisiana law holds insurers to a duty of good faith with their own policyholders, and an insurer that arbitrarily delays or lowballs a valid UM claim can owe penalties on top of the claim itself. Knowing when that line has been crossed — and proving it — is lawyer's work, and after four decades of dealing with these companies, we know exactly how they value these cases.

What to do if you were hit by an uninsured driver

  • Call the police and get a report — documentation that the other driver was uninsured or fled matters enormously to your UM claim.

  • See a doctor right away, even if you feel okay. Gaps in treatment are the first thing an insurer uses against you.

  • Don't assume there's no money because the other driver had no insurance. Your UM coverage, other household policies, and other sources may all apply.

  • Don't give a recorded statement — even to your own insurance company — before talking to a lawyer. On a UM claim, your own insurer is the one deciding what to pay you.

  • Call us for a free consultation. We'll read every policy that might apply, for free, and tell you honestly what you have.

Finding every policy that applies

UM cases are policy-reading cases. The coverage available may go beyond the policy on the car you were in — depending on the circumstances, policies in your household, a policy covering a vehicle you occupied, or an employer's policy if you were working can come into play, and the deadlines for UM claims have their own rules separate from the claim against the driver. This is precisely where having a lawyer pays for itself: we find coverage people didn't know they had, and we make sure no deadline quietly closes a door.

No fee unless we recover for you

Since 1980, our family firm has handled UM and UIM claims throughout Jefferson, Orleans, St. Tammany, St. Charles, and the surrounding parishes. Consultations are free, we come to you at home or in the hospital, our phones are answered 24 hours a day, and there is no fee unless we recover compensation for you.

Hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver? Call Bono Law Firm, APLC at 504-835-9909 for a free consultation. Se Habla Español.