What legal rights do I have to sue driver and driver’s insurance company who rear-ended by car?

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What legal rights do I have to sue driver and driver’s insurance company who rear-ended by car?

My 2005 PT Cruiser was rear-ended 12/30/17. Car is driveable and is a repairable
at a cost much less than a down payment on a used car or monthly car payments.
Car has over 300,000 miles, was in excellent running condition or it wouldn’t
have been on the road this long, was just painted June 2017. I am now left
without a car to drive and all I want is to have the car fixed. The other
driver’s insurance wants to total my car, and I do not want to accept this.
There’s no reason why the car cannot be fixed. I won’t even be able to put a
down payment on another car with what insurance company wants to give me. Can I
sue the driver to recover cost of repairs? Reason for suing for driver is that
insurance company refuses to cooperate with me. Can I refuse their offer so my
car is not considered a total loss and be considered salvaged? I need advice as
far as what my rights are in this situation. Thank you.

Asked on January 10, 2018 under Accident Law, Pennsylvania

Answers:

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

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

You can reject the settlement offer from the at-fault party's insurance carrier, and file a lawsuit for negligence against the at-fault driver/registered owner of the vehicle.
Your damages (monetary compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) would be the cost of repairs to your car.  
Depending on the amount of your damages, you may be able to file your lawsuit in small claims court.  Upon prevailing in the case, you can also recover court costs which include the court filing fee and process server fee.


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