Car Accident - No Insurance - Need Small Claims Advice

[Kijona]

For those of you who have been following my thread here: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=65562.0 I now need new advice.

Driver was uninsured at the time of the accident. Taxi driver at that.

Now I have to take him to small claims court. I'm just not sure what exactly I should/need to do. Should I have the repair work done first THEN pursue the driver and/or taxi company? Or get multiple quotes for the work and take THAT to court?

I don't even know if I should pursue the cab company or not. He was their driver but the vehicle belongs to the driver. Cab company claims there was valid insurance on the vehicle at the time of the accident.

I've got a police report that looks REALLY good in my favor, including where the driver admitted he ran into me. Driver tried to say I "stopped for no reason" even though I did NOT AND I had the right-of-way. AND he was trying to do something illegal. AND he had no insurance.

[yamahonkawazuki]

IMHo he was THEIR employee. arent they liable? for one of their own. as much as dominos pizza is liable ( or can be) for the actions committed by one of their drivers while on the clock.

[BockinBboy]

I'm confused why you have to take this to court at all... Don't you have full coverage?  I would think you'd have to on your new car... Anyways, your insurance should be taking care of all this even if it has to go to court... its on them to get their money, its why you pay for it.  You should receive the check to cover the repair and that's about as far as it goes on your end with any of it... whether you even repair it is up to you after that, but separate from any involved party after that check is cut.  Insurance companies can battle it out, but its not your burden... again, that's why you pay for it.

- Bboy

[yamahonkawazuki]

I'm confused why you have to take this to court at all... Don't you have full coverage?  I would think you'd have to on your new car... Anyways, your insurance should be taking care of all this even if it has to go to court... its on them to get their money, its why you pay for it.  You should receive the check to cover the repair and that's about as far as it goes on your end with any of it... whether you even repair it is up to you after that, but separate from any involved party after that check is cut.  Insurance companies can battle it out, but its not your burden... again, that's why you pay for it.

- Bboy

good points here. ( uninsured motorist coverage)

[adidasguy]

Yes - uninsured motorist coverage should take care of it.
If car was financed, I'd think that would be required. I'd do it always because you never know when a cheap ars driver with no insurance will hit you.

Insurance company should pay you then they sue the driver to get their money back.

If you don't have insurance, then you sue everyone (the american way): Driver, cab company (because their name was on the vehicle), a dog, a bird that flew over and distracted you, etc.........

[yamahonkawazuki]

Yes - uninsured motorist coverage should take care of it.
If car was financed, I'd think that would be required. I'd do it always because you never know when a cheap ars driver with no insurance will hit you.

Insurance company should pay you then they sue the driver to get their money back.

If you don't have insurance, then you sue everyone (the american way): Driver, cab company (because their name was on the vehicle), a dog, a bird that flew over and distracted you, etc.........

And that raccoon in the next town over cause you were enroute to finish it off. lol

[codajastal]

I'm confused why you have to take this to court at all... Don't you have full coverage?  I would think you'd have to on your new car... Anyways, your insurance should be taking care of all this even if it has to go to court... its on them to get their money, its why you pay for it.  You should receive the check to cover the repair and that's about as far as it goes on your end with any of it... whether you even repair it is up to you after that, but separate from any involved party after that check is cut.  Insurance companies can battle it out, but its not your burden... again, that's why you pay for it.

- Bboy

+1 on this. In Aussieland the insurance company will fix your vehicle and pursue the at fault driver for the cost. It should not be on you.
I am sure that this is same for you too?

[john]

If you have full coverage then let your insurance cover it, and they will deal with going after the cab company. 

Don't get confused by this.  Tell your insurance company/agent to deal with it.  This is what you are paying for.

If you have to pay a deductible (lets say $500), when the insurance company recovers the money you will get it back.  I know this for sure.

[Kijona]

If you have full coverage then let your insurance cover it, and they will deal with going after the cab company. 

Don't get confused by this.  Tell your insurance company/agent to deal with it.  This is what you are paying for.

If you have to pay a deductible (lets say $500), when the insurance company recovers the money you will get it back.  I know this for sure.

Okay here's the problem...I have a $1000 deductible. Damage is $680.

And no, unfortunately, I did NOT have uninsured motorist at the time due to the insurance agent telling me it would be really expensive for me AND telling me I didn't really need it. I always thought it was for if you got in a wreck it would pay for medical bills. I didn't know it was for the vehicle too.

Needless to say I have it NOW.

So my only recourse now is to go to small claims. Maybe I should try calling him first and telling him I've got a lawyer and I'm going to win the case. Maybe he'll get scared and pay me. He's going to lose either way but if I can avoid court I will. It's $700 freaking dollars. I'd much rather pay $700 than go to court just to have my wages garnished and possibly have other things exposed. He has to know there is no WAY he's going to win.

[john]

Sue the cab company and the owner.  Skip the phone calls, as they will be worthless.  You have a better shot at getting a judgement against the cab company as he was acting as their employee and agent.

Also drop that deductible to $500.

[007brendan]

Yeah, suing the cab company will be easier.  With small claims, you have to find the person and serve them, and it has to be someone other than you who serves them.  It will be far easier to serve the cab company than the guy.  I took the leasing company from my first apartment to small claims, once there was a court date, they ended up settling before it went to trial. 

[Paulcet]

Okay here's the problem...I have a $1000 deductible. Damage is $680.

And no, unfortunately, I did NOT have uninsured motorist at the time due to the insurance agent telling me it would be really expensive for me AND telling me I didn't really need it. I always thought it was for if you got in a wreck it would pay for medical bills. I didn't know it was for the vehicle too.

Needless to say I have it NOW.

Your agent is a dope. Or truly was helping you out cause he was charging too much. May need another agent. 

I would suggest a letter to both the cab company (which will probably tell you to fornicate with yourself, since the driver is a "contractor", not an employee) and the driver spelling out the option to settle out of court or be sued. This should be on an attorney's letterhead. A real or fabricated attorney.

[Kijona]

Okay here's the problem...I have a $1000 deductible. Damage is $680.

And no, unfortunately, I did NOT have uninsured motorist at the time due to the insurance agent telling me it would be really expensive for me AND telling me I didn't really need it. I always thought it was for if you got in a wreck it would pay for medical bills. I didn't know it was for the vehicle too.

Needless to say I have it NOW.

Your agent is a dope. Or truly was helping you out cause he was charging too much. May need another agent. 

I would suggest a letter to both the cab company (which will probably tell you to fornicate with yourself, since the driver is a "contractor", not an employee) and the driver spelling out the option to settle out of court or be sued. This should be on an attorney's letterhead. A real or fabricated attorney.

Well I guess that's the best option. I'll get it notarized and stuff to make it look official. Good thing is my sister and her father (half sister) are both attorneys. Maybe I can have one of them write something up.

I have the driver's address and number and such. Good thing is it's not a PO box. I took a look at the address on Street View and the area is a fairly affluent neighborhood. So obviously he or someone has some amount of money. It's by no means a crappy neighborhood. Though, I guess he could be renting. In which case...I guess I'm screwed.

The only thing I can say positive about all of this is it's not as bad as it could have been. After a car wash and the collision estimator smacking the bumper back in place, you can barely tell it happened.

[radodrill]

A few months ago I switched from Nationwide to Allstate.  The main reason being that Nationwide did Absolutely NOTHING for me when I got sideswiped while riding my bike.  The police didn't issue any citations.  At the time I only had liability and her car had basically no damage.  Her insurance claimed it was my fault and Nationwide accepted liability without even trying to help me.  Many people I talked to have said that she was probably more at fault than I was.  Now I have full coverage, higher liability limits, and more med-pay for essentially the same yearly premium.

At least I found parts on ebay for under $200 and touched up the paint myself.  When I traded it in almost 2 weeks ago I got out what I paid for tires a this early summer and what I paid for the bike last fall.

[Kijona]

Minor update:

I spoke to a traffic accident lawyer and he suggested I try to settle with the company first. Regardless of whose vehicle it is, it's still a VFH (Vehicle for Hire) being used to conduct business for them.

At any rate, I wasn't able to speak with anyone of any importance over the phone so I decided to call the insurance company again and this time asked to speak to a supervisor or manager and they transferred me to the secretary or owner, not sure which it was. Anyway, this person transferred me to an adjuster who then asked for a copy of the police report. I had a PDF of it so I sent it to him. Now I just have to wait to see what happens. If they refuse to pay then I'll just proceed forward with my suit against the driver and the cab company.