What can I do if my wife got into an accident on her way to work on private property so no police report was made?

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What can I do if my wife got into an accident on her way to work on private property so no police report was made?

It was on a back road that runs between businesses. The other driver left a parking lot pulled out in front of her and she hit the driver. He told my wife that it was his fault and told the cop that it was his fault. It was on private property so the cop could not file a police report. The driver did not report it as his fault to his insurance so they deny me of tort. Can I ask the cop for a written statement of the driver admitted to being his fault? What else can I do to get the tort to fix the damages on my vehicle?

Asked on June 22, 2014 under Accident Law, Michigan

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

You can sue the other driver for the damage (assuming that you do not have relevant insurance coverage, such as collision coverage, which will compensate you; if you do, the best thing to do is to let your insurer pay). Whether private property or public, if someone else was at fault in damaging your property, you may sue them for the cost to repair (if it can be repaired) or the then-current value (e.g. "bluebook value") if it could not be repaired. If the officer will not fill out or provide a police report, your option to get his testimony or evidence would be to subpoena him to appear at trial (assuming you sue) and testify. Of course, depending on the cost of the damage, it may or may not be ecomically worthwhile to file a lawsuit.


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