If that Van was in the intersection when the light changed, while technically guilty of an infraction, he still has the right of way - you are supposed to wait until the intersection is clear before moving, and the op's story reads like you did not even look at traffic, but just the light. Was he ticketed? Fight it for sure, but there's a possibility you'll lose.
Capt Caveman
Lifer
- Jan 30, 2005
- 34,543
- 651
- 126
No, you don't need a lawyer. You can file the paperwork yourself. You will also need to attend hearings to garnish his wages. It's a pain in the ass and may not be worth the hassle for $1,200.
Svnla
Lifer
- Nov 10, 2003
- 17,986
- 1,388
- 126
Yes. The ads that you saw "we only get pay when we win" are for the cases against deep pockets such as other insurance companies or wealthy people. I am not trying to rain on your parade, just give you a head up based on my personal experience.
For the poster said my line about uninsured driver should be in jail...well, wait until it happens to you then you will sing the same song too <time and money wasted, aggrevation, deal with insurance company and lawyer, and on and on....>
To SmoochyTX, I drive a 4-door sedan, year is 2003. I took it to a body shop and the initial estimate for repairs was $1,200. This is including replacing the front bumper, front right headlight, front right fog light, license bracket, and the front grill, as well as labor and supplies. They said that they could not examine the inner steel structure that holds the front bumper until they took off the bumper, so that may or may not need repairs. We could see scratches on the inner steel structure, however, through the rips in the front bumper. The other driver had a minivan.
To Baloo, he was NOT in the intersection when the light changed. No, what happened is the light turned green, there are no cars in the intersection, hell there are no cars STOPPED on any side of the intersection except for my side. I don't know how I came off as not looking at traffic, but I was not driving around like an air-head. When the light turned green I glimpsed around and started accelerating. I did not see any cars stopped, but I did notice the van moving towards me from the left. It took a split-second for me to judge that it was going way too fast to be able to stop at their redlight, and I hit the brakes, but I was already maybe 5 feet or so out into the intersection, which was enough to have the van swipe the front of my bumper. With all the reaction time and the time it takes for his side to turn red and my light to turn green, he must have blown his red-light maybe 5-10 seconds after it had already turned red.
Also, he didn't slow down at all as he cruised into me, which leads me to believe that he didn't see me nor the red-light. Or, he saw the red-light and badly misjudged his distance and blew the red-light very late. He was ticketed for leaving the scene of the accident and driving with no insurance.
To Baloo, he was NOT in the intersection when the light changed. No, what happened is the light turned green, there are no cars in the intersection, hell there are no cars STOPPED on any side of the intersection except for my side. I don't know how I came off as not looking at traffic, but I was not driving around like an air-head. When the light turned green I glimpsed around and started accelerating. I did not see any cars stopped, but I did notice the van moving towards me from the left. It took a split-second for me to judge that it was going way too fast to be able to stop at their redlight, and I hit the brakes, but I was already maybe 5 feet or so out into the intersection, which was enough to have the van swipe the front of my bumper. With all the reaction time and the time it takes for his side to turn red and my light to turn green, he must have blown his red-light maybe 5-10 seconds after it had already turned red.
Also, he didn't slow down at all as he cruised into me, which leads me to believe that he didn't see me nor the red-light. Or, he saw the red-light and badly misjudged his distance and blew the red-light very late. He was ticketed for leaving the scene of the accident and driving with no insurance.
Sorry, I'm a bit touchy at the moment, no offense intended to anyone. This is my first accident and also my first time really discussing personal problems on an online forum. Thanks for trying to help Smoochy.
Edit: So just to clarify, would it not matter from a legal standpoint if I give out info here online regarding my vehicle and the other parties' vehicle?
Joemonkey
Diamond Member
- Mar 3, 2001
- 8,859
- 4
- 0
i've been in 3 "accidents" (read: not my fault) with uninsured drivers. You're fucked, plain and simple. Make a claim with your insurance due to getting hit by an uninsured driver? your rates go up just because you made a claim. Sure, you get your car fixed, minus the deductible, and "lawyers" go after the person that hit you, but if that lawyer is billing at $100 an hour and your deductible is $500, you really think they are gonna spend the time to get your deductible back?
DarkThinker
Platinum Member
- Mar 17, 2007
- 2,822
- 0
- 0
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but since we have people that are knowledgeable in insurance matters, I was thinking, if a person is involved in a 50 / 50 fault fender bender, would a person be obliged to pay his deductible?
JM Aggie08
Diamond Member
- Jan 3, 2006
- 8,359
- 959
- 136
Ok, I've had a VERY similar incident happen to me recently. I had all my bases covered, uninsured motorist, I got the make, model, color and license plate of the vehicle that hit me, and got the police on the scene to take a account of what happened. Now mind you, this was a hit and run. You know what happened in the end? NOTHING! The cops really didn't want to put any time into it because there was no one injured and they had a LONG list of hit and runs to go through. My insurance company wouldn't cover me under uninsured motorist because they didn't have proof the guy didn't have insurance (WTF?), and I really wouldn't come out ahead taking him to court because most likely the guy didn't have any money anyway. So in the end I got fvcked. But you live and you learn. What have I learned you say? The next time someone attempts a hit and run on me, I'm gonna put him in the wall. I was in pursuit of the guy until 911 told me to stop and pull over so a cop could get to me and take down my information. Fvck that! The next time, I'll put him in the wall, AND THEN the cops can take down an account of what happened. I've got an old truck, so I won't mind disposing of it.
TuxDave
Lifer
- Oct 8, 2002
- 10,571
- 3
- 71
I was hit by an uninsured motorist and this is the basic idea of what happened. My insurance company covered my damages under uninsured motorist insurance and I paid my deductible. They then proceeded to sue the other guy for the cost of repairs and for my deductible (basically when I signed on with State Farm they basically said they would do all the necessary legal work and I wouldn't have to bother). In a month, my car was fine and I got my deductible back in the mail in full.
UM (Uninsured Motorist Coverage) FTW!
or if its not too bad, you can take him to small claims
Most lawyers won't take the case since there's a high chance they won't see a dime cuz even if they sue, they guy's probably piss poor and can't afford to pay any judgments anyway. You could try your luck at small claims although the problem still remains, the other party is probably too poor to pay.
or if its not too bad, you can take him to small claims
Most lawyers won't take the case since there's a high chance they won't see a dime cuz even if they sue, they guy's probably piss poor and can't afford to pay any judgments anyway. You could try your luck at small claims although the problem still remains, the other party is probably too poor to pay.
Sorry, didn't really read your thread before answering with my post. Yes, in most states, UM coverage is only for bodily injury, I assumed you were at least a little bit banged up. The reason UM coverage doesn't cover property damage is because then I can easily say I was involved in a hit and run and activate my UM coverage to fix my car when I accidentally backed into wall, for instance. If it's only for 1K, I'd send the bill to the other guy and see if he'd pay for the repairs straight up, that way, I don't have to deal with insurance which involved a lot of time and paperwork to file the claim and get inspected etc. If all else fails, small claims to get your deductible back. Or if you're feeling sympathetic, just let the guy off the hook and swallow the deductible.
get the damage assement to your insurance company, take the $200 check, use duct tape, rope, and a hammer to reattach your bumper and tape up the headlights.
call your insurance company to reduce your insurance coverage to bare min to offset the new premium
call the dude and ask him to pay you the $1200 or $1000 deductable. if he snubs you then file a summons/civil case with your local county court, sue for the $1000 deductable and filing fees. garnish from his salary if you have to. you dont need a lawyer imo.
if you do this right then you can profit $$$
call your insurance company to reduce your insurance coverage to bare min to offset the new premium
call the dude and ask him to pay you the $1200 or $1000 deductable. if he snubs you then file a summons/civil case with your local county court, sue for the $1000 deductable and filing fees. garnish from his salary if you have to. you dont need a lawyer imo.
if you do this right then you can profit $$$
RaistlinZ
Diamond Member
- Oct 15, 2001
- 7,470
- 9
- 91
I don't know why you'd pay a layer thousands of dollars to collect on a $1,200 bill.
You could go to small claims court and try to get his paycheck garnished, but this guy could be crazy for all you know. Who's to say this guy won't have some buddies of his stake out your house when you're coming home one night and shoot you or your family? I'm just saying, there are crazy people out there.
I'd try to see if you can get out of paying your deductible since it was a hit and run and you're clearly not at fault; to have a police report to prove it. But other than that, I think going after the guy will be pointless as he probably doesn't have any money anyway.
You could go to small claims court and try to get his paycheck garnished, but this guy could be crazy for all you know. Who's to say this guy won't have some buddies of his stake out your house when you're coming home one night and shoot you or your family? I'm just saying, there are crazy people out there.
I'd try to see if you can get out of paying your deductible since it was a hit and run and you're clearly not at fault; to have a police report to prove it. But other than that, I think going after the guy will be pointless as he probably doesn't have any money anyway.
Spikesoldier
Diamond Member
- Oct 15, 2001
- 6,766
- 0
- 0
i suggest filing your own claim in small claims court. no need to hire a lawyer.
fix the car with your own money if possible. you can always recover a reimbursement of the repairs as a judgement of the court. if you (although highly improbable) lose the case, or are unable to collect, worst case is that you have a fixed car and are out just $200 net, with no boosted premiums.
considering the information provided that he is out of state, either the guy wont bother traveling to show, or wont hire a lawyer locally considering how bad the police report made him sound and the fact that he wasnt driving with insurance anyway. should be an open and shut case.
if this jackass is poor then its wage garnishment time.
tldr/cliffs: STICK IT TO THE MAN
P.S. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO DRIVE WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (it is the law.)
fix the car with your own money if possible. you can always recover a reimbursement of the repairs as a judgement of the court. if you (although highly improbable) lose the case, or are unable to collect, worst case is that you have a fixed car and are out just $200 net, with no boosted premiums.
considering the information provided that he is out of state, either the guy wont bother traveling to show, or wont hire a lawyer locally considering how bad the police report made him sound and the fact that he wasnt driving with insurance anyway. should be an open and shut case.
if this jackass is poor then its wage garnishment time.
tldr/cliffs: STICK IT TO THE MAN
P.S. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO DRIVE WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (it is the law.)
Spikesoldier
Diamond Member
- Oct 15, 2001
- 6,766
- 0
- 0
yes because risking your life (in a crash or the encounter after you "catch" him) is absolutely brilliant. hope you carry and have a mighty quick draw, McGraw. that is if you survive the impact.
Spikesoldier
Diamond Member
- Oct 15, 2001
- 6,766
- 0
- 0
:roll: @ your whole reply, first letter to the period at the end.
the only entity profiting here in this situation is the insurance company...
Luckily when that happened to me my insurance covered it. Zero out of pocket expenses and no increase in my rates.
The other driver was drunk and ran from the cops (on foot). There was no question whatsoever whose fault it was.
The insurance company sued him and he didn't even show up for the court date. The result was a default judgment for the insurance company. No idea if they ever got any money out of him though.
The other driver was drunk and ran from the cops (on foot). There was no question whatsoever whose fault it was.
The insurance company sued him and he didn't even show up for the court date. The result was a default judgment for the insurance company. No idea if they ever got any money out of him though.
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