The other driver provided the inactive insurance to me and the police in an accident
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
The other driver provided the inactive insurance to me and the police in an accident
A lady hit me from behind. The police came and wrote a report and said that the lady was at fault and asked me to take the photo of her insurance. I took the photo of her insurance card and her driver’s license. The next day, I called her insurer and filed a claim. They hired an adjuster for it and gave me a claim number. He told that they would inspect the car soon. The adjuster came and inspected my vehicle and said it was totaled and that the senior adjuster would call soon. However, I have had no calls from them, so I called them and asked what was going on with the claim. They said they were in the process and waiting for the police report. I had a police report and provided it to them. Now, 2 weeks later, I called them again. They told me that,
Asked on July 24, 2017 under Accident Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
If she did not have insurance at the time of the accident, the only way to get money is to sue her personally: you would have to prove in court by testimony (e.g. yours, or that of police officers) and other evidence (e.g. police reports) that she was at fault. Since the law presumes that the rear driver in an accident like this was most likely at fault (she had a duty to maintain a safe following speed and distance and to pay attention, so she could stop in time), the odds are good you can succeed in doing this. Assuming you can, you can then recover from her the then-current fair market value ("blue book value") of your car as of when it was totalled. The big hurdle may be collecting: a successful lawsuit does not make money appear where there is none, so since she did not then have insurance, if she is herself too impoverished or insovlent to pay, you might not actually get any money. It may be a good idea to sue in small claims court, as your own attorney, so you do not risk paying legal fees for a case you cannot collect on.
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.