What to do if I was driving my friends car and wrecked it due to black ice but her and her family refused to report it to their car insurance or law enforcement?

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What to do if I was driving my friends car and wrecked it due to black ice but her and her family refused to report it to their car insurance or law enforcement?

And now they are suing me for what they owe on the car.

Asked on September 3, 2013 under Accident Law, California

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 10 years ago | Contributor

The law does not require a person to report an accident to his or her insurerer. (Failing to do so may be a violation of the policy and could result in them losing coverage, but if they are willing to risk that, that is their choice.) Instead, people may choose to sue someone whom they believe is at fault for damaging thheir property for the cost to repair it, or if it cannot be repaired, for its then-current value. If you do not voluntarily choose to pay, they will have to sue you for the money; and to win, they'd have to prove that you were at fault in some way, such as by driving negligently or carelessly. If they can do that, however, they can recover money from you.


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