S
Steiner
Guest
What is the name of your state? California
Can I sue?
My 2002 Nissan was totalled in an accident. The other driver was at fault. There were no injuries. Both of us have full coverage. The other driver was working, making an auto part delivery for his employer when the collision occured. However, he was driving his own vehicle - not a company car. No police report was made, but there was a witness who saw it all that provided me w/his contact information.
I’ve dealt only w/my insurance. They covered the tow and the rental car. My car was leased. After the insurance appraiser declared the car a total loss he determined the market value to be $14,375. I contacted Nissan and was told that the lease buyout amount is currently $14,021. Although I expect to get my $500 deductable back, I’ll have to pay an additional $300 out of pocket (in addition to the money from the settlement) to satisfy the lease buy out.
Per my insurance, I now have only 5 more days of covered rental car costs. In less than a week I will have no car and not nearly enough money to be able to afford to put a down payment on a new vehicle.
It’s my understanding that the law says that I must be made “whole” by my insurer. Have they met this obligation? If so, who can I sue for financial damages since I’m worse off than I was before the accident even though I’m not the at fault driver?
BTW, I have no excuse for not getting a police report. After the accident the police officer called to the scene told the other driver and I in a sorta matter-of-fact way that, since there were no serious injuries, there was no need for a police report. Then he added, "plus nobody wants this on their DMV record". At the time I had a million other things racing through my head...gotta call work, gotta call my fiance, gotta call my insurance, my arms hurts, gotta get a rental car, will the tow be covered, etc...that I made the mistake of trusting an officer of the law. Big mistake. My sister is a police officer in Santa Clara, CA and explained to me that the cop at the scene had no reason except for his own laziness not to file the report. On top of that (and this didn't really dawn on me until the following day), by saying "nobody wants this on their DMV record" he made an irresponsible BS generalization, based on my sporty car and relatively young age (Spec V, 27 years old), that I had been speeding. I was not. The best advice I could give to somene in an accident is to MAKE SURE THE POLICE TAKE A REPORT.
Fortunately for me I had a witness who had enough of a conscious to stick around and give me his info. There were probably 5-10 other driver witnesses who simply swerved around my car like I was a piece of cardboard in the road - not even knowing or stopping to check and see if I was OK or not. If you could see a picture of my car you would be surprised I didn't have to go to the hospital.
Thanks,
Brian
Can I sue?
My 2002 Nissan was totalled in an accident. The other driver was at fault. There were no injuries. Both of us have full coverage. The other driver was working, making an auto part delivery for his employer when the collision occured. However, he was driving his own vehicle - not a company car. No police report was made, but there was a witness who saw it all that provided me w/his contact information.
I’ve dealt only w/my insurance. They covered the tow and the rental car. My car was leased. After the insurance appraiser declared the car a total loss he determined the market value to be $14,375. I contacted Nissan and was told that the lease buyout amount is currently $14,021. Although I expect to get my $500 deductable back, I’ll have to pay an additional $300 out of pocket (in addition to the money from the settlement) to satisfy the lease buy out.
Per my insurance, I now have only 5 more days of covered rental car costs. In less than a week I will have no car and not nearly enough money to be able to afford to put a down payment on a new vehicle.
It’s my understanding that the law says that I must be made “whole” by my insurer. Have they met this obligation? If so, who can I sue for financial damages since I’m worse off than I was before the accident even though I’m not the at fault driver?
BTW, I have no excuse for not getting a police report. After the accident the police officer called to the scene told the other driver and I in a sorta matter-of-fact way that, since there were no serious injuries, there was no need for a police report. Then he added, "plus nobody wants this on their DMV record". At the time I had a million other things racing through my head...gotta call work, gotta call my fiance, gotta call my insurance, my arms hurts, gotta get a rental car, will the tow be covered, etc...that I made the mistake of trusting an officer of the law. Big mistake. My sister is a police officer in Santa Clara, CA and explained to me that the cop at the scene had no reason except for his own laziness not to file the report. On top of that (and this didn't really dawn on me until the following day), by saying "nobody wants this on their DMV record" he made an irresponsible BS generalization, based on my sporty car and relatively young age (Spec V, 27 years old), that I had been speeding. I was not. The best advice I could give to somene in an accident is to MAKE SURE THE POLICE TAKE A REPORT.
Fortunately for me I had a witness who had enough of a conscious to stick around and give me his info. There were probably 5-10 other driver witnesses who simply swerved around my car like I was a piece of cardboard in the road - not even knowing or stopping to check and see if I was OK or not. If you could see a picture of my car you would be surprised I didn't have to go to the hospital.
Thanks,
Brian