If someone hit my parked car and he was drunk with no insurance, how do I recover the damages?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

If someone hit my parked car and he was drunk with no insurance, how do I recover the damages?

Asked on May 15, 2012 under Accident Law, Illinois

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

If you have uninsured motorist coverage on your auto insurance policy, you can file an uninsured motorist claim with your insurance company, and your insurance will pay for the cost of repairs (property damage) to your car.

If you don't have uninsured motorist coverage, you will need to sue the uninsured drunk driver for negligence.  Your damages (the amount of compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) would be the cost of repairs to your car.  You will need to mitigate (minimize) damages by selecting an auto body repair shop whose fees are comparable to other auto body repair shops in the area.  If you were to select the most expensive auto body repair shop you could find, your damages would be reduced accordingly.  If you need a rental car while your car is being repaired, the cost of the rental car should be included in your damages (compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit for negligence against the uninsured drunk driver).  You will need to mitigate damages with regard to the rental car by selecting a rental car with a reasonable rate.  If you were to select the most expensive rental car you could find, your damages would be reduced accordingly.

If the drunk driver is not the registered owner of the vehicle that hit your car, you want to sue the registered owner for negligence.  Also, if the registered owner has auto insurance, instead of filing a lawsuit, you could file a property damage claim with the registered owner's auto insurance company for your property damage, and have your car repaired.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption