auto accident

[wundrin]

What is the name of your state? Wisconsin

A couple of days I was involved in an accident in Minnesota. I had no insurance at the time and and was found at fault. The other person did not have collision coverage so her insurance is not helping her. She wants me to pay the blue book value on the truck since it was older and the damages were more than the blue book value. Since Minnesota is a "no fault" state, where do I stand? Do I have to pay anything, is it worth it for her to sue me?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

What is the name of your state? Wisconsin

A couple of days I was involved in an accident in Minnesota. I had no insurance at the time and and was found at fault. The other person did not have collision coverage so her insurance is not helping her. She wants me to pay the blue book value on the truck since it was older and the damages were more than the blue book value. Since Minnesota is a "no fault" state, where do I stand? Do I have to pay anything, is it worth it for her to sue me?

My response:

While morally you should pay her, there's no law that says you must pay her until a judge says to pay her. If she wants her money, let her sue you.

Just remember, if she does, you'll need to defend in Minnesota. So, expect to go back there - - unless you don't mind letting her get a default judgment against you.

IAAL

 

[stephenk]

you owe her the money to either fix her truck or the value of the truck, whichever is lower.

if she files suit and wins, she will get a judgment and record it with the state and your license my get suspended until you pay the judgment. plus, she can record the judgment with credit agencies and affect your credit. plus, she can haul you in for a judgment debtor hearing to determine what assets you do own, your checking and savings account numbers, and your job in order to garnish your wages.

try to negotiate a settlement with her. all the money you saved by not having to pay insurance premiums will come in handy right now to pay for her damages.

 

[wundrin]

what exactly does "no fault" mean

Okay, so tell me about "no fault" since that is what Minnesota is. I did some reviewing and found under a no-fault system of law, it does not matter who was at fault or caused the accident. No-fault states adopt the approach that everyone is to "make themselves whole" after incurring damages as a result of an accident. Doesn't that mean you take of yours and I will take care of mine? Or does not having insurance throw a wrench into this theory?

 

[franklin2003]

she would have No monetary loss, and would still be driving her repaired truck.... if you had insurance, or she had collision...but YOU did cause the accident, so own up to your responsibilty, man!

 

[hkolln]

NO FAULT doesn't mean you aren't responsible for her damages...I live in Florida a NO FAULT state and was hit by a man who didn't have insurance...he refused to pay me, ignored my requests and I took the dummy to small claims court...got a judgement and then took away his license until he paid me....

So, if FLorida is a no fault state it didn't mean a thing to him cause I was able to 1)obtain judgement against him in small claims court 2) take away his driving privileges (license, tag and registration) until he paid up!

I would advise you to settle this or you'll end up without a license and end up with a judgement against you and in some states they can lawfully garnish your wages or place liens on your property...I could do that but taking away his license seemed to work best...

Within 3 weeks of losing it he called me and his good ole daddy loaned him the 900.00 he owed me (785.00 + interest for 2 yrs!)
Don't sit on it or you'll owe more then the actual damages; ie including court costs, attorney fees and/or interest accrued on the judgement as you sit wondering if you should pay up!