Car Accident

[Linz]

My father was involved in a car accident and the police determined it was my father's fault. (My father was about to make a right turn in an intersection, and a car on the same side of the road hit him on the driver side. ) The problem is that we wanted the insurance company to take care of the problem but the owner of the car is out of the country so the guy that hit my father's car send us a court hearing paper and we have to pay 3500 for his damage! Since my father accepted it was his fault on the day of accident at the police station, what we can do??? If we go to court, is there any chance we can win the case or not to pay the guy???

[ecmst12]

Your dad was driving someone else's car?

[Linz]

Well, the car belongs to my dad, but registered in my uncle's name to get a special license

[ecmst12]

Your uncle's insurance needs to be informed of the suit so they can respond to it.

[Linz]

we already went to the insurance company but in order for them to pay for the damage, they need my uncle to sign the claim and my uncle is not coming back anytime soon.

[ecmst12]

You need to inform your uncle's insurance about the lawsuit so they can respond. They still have a duty to defend him and you need to inform them in a timely manner.

[Linz]

I don't understand, are they going to defend my father even he accepted he had the fault and the insurance is under my uncle's name and the lawsuit is against my father.

[ecmst12]

Yes. Though, if your dad was the primary driver of the car, then he should have been LISTED ON THE POLICY and all this could have been avoided. Never mind that it was probably fraudulent to register it to your uncle in the first place. I would give it a 90% chance that both owner and driver are named in the suit. And if the insurance company needs more time to contact the owner, they can file for a continuance.

Oh and by the way, why haven't YOU contacted your uncle to get him to call his damn insurance company??? They do have phones in other countries, and email, and fax machines.

[Linz]

We went to insurance company today again, and they agree to send the claim to my uncle and sign it.

From your point of view, do you think that it was my father's fault? On the day of the accident the police man did not allow my father to talk, he went inside of the police station with the other guy and when he came out he just told my father to accept the fault or go to court? My father cannot speak English and the police man did not allow any translator to assist him.

[ecmst12]

If dad had a stop sign and other driver did not, he is most definitely at fault.