What is Prop 213?

Not Carrying Auto Insurance Can Greatly Limit Your Personal Injury Payout

How California Prop 213 limits what some victims can receive after they’ve been injured in an auto collision — even if they are not at fault

If you’ve been seriously hurt in an auto accident, you quite rightly expect to be compensated for what you’ve suffered. Yet many California residents do not realize there are some scenarios where your ability to receive that compensation can be significantly limited.

Let’s take a closer look at California Prop 213 and how it places limits on certain personal injury payouts.

What is Prop 213?

Prop 213 is a state law passed in the 1990s that prevents drivers without insurance from receiving damages related to pain and suffering in the wake of an auto accident.

As you may imagine, the law was passed with vigorous support from the insurance industry, which spent millions of dollars to help ensure its passage.

Prop 213 limits drivers without insurance to claiming only economic damages, such as lost wages or medical expenses (such as surgery or physical therapy) when pursuing litigation. As you may imagine, this may greatly reduce a victim’s potential compensation. In addition to drivers without insurance, Prop 213 also prevents drivers who are illegally intoxicated at the time of the collision, and felons fleeing the scene of a crime, from pursuing pain and suffering damages.

Even if you are 100% not at fault in the collision, Prop 213 still applies. However, if you are a passenger in a car without insurance, rather than the driver/owner, Prop 213 does not apply, and you can sue for pain and suffering.

Exceptions to Prop 213

There are a few important Prop 213 exceptions.

First, if you are in an accident while driving an uninsured vehicle owner by your employer, Prop 213 does not apply.

Second, if the collision occurred on private property, Prop 213 does not apply.

Third, if the owner of a car in a collision does not have insurance, but a driver who borrowed that car has insurance on a vehicle he or she owns, Prop 213 does not apply.

Finding the Right Attorney

With inflation leading to rising prices for food, fuel and other goods and services, more people may be forced to choose between paying insurance premiums and paying for life’s necessitates, leading to an increase in cases where Prop 213 applies.

The right auto accident attorney can help put you in the strongest position to receive the maximum compensation allowed under the law. Finding an attorney with experience in Prop 213 cases, or California auto accident litigation in general, can help ensure that you receive everything to which you are legally entitled.