DWI hit ME why do I have to pay?

[loralee]

My problem is with insurance companies. The man that hit me has only $10,000 in liability coverage. My car is only worth about $6900. This would be fine in a normal situation, but because the man hit my car (which was parked on the side of the road)and drove it into a telephone pole I may get the short end of the deal. His insurance company is refusing to pay for anything until someone goes and looks at the telephone pole to see if it needs to be replaced. Also since the driver only has $10,000 worth of coverage his insurance company is telling me that the money paid out will be prorated and I'll get a lot less than what I would get if I went through my own insurance company. My insurance company has looked at the car and will pay the value of the car and sue his company for my deductible, BUT of course it won't cover the cost of the loan I have out on the car or the day of work I missed trying to get a rental. Also now this is on my insurance and the rates will go up. Can I take him to small claims court? Help me.

 

[ALawyer]

No, you can NOT sue him, at least not now. Your insurance company, if it pays you, is legally entitled to go after him, known as "subrogated ".

The other guy's insurance company only is out what they promised to pay, $10,000. And it should go to all injured parties, not just you. If he hit car 1 and it ploughed into you, you would not want to learn that all the money went to car 1's owner.

The fault is your state's legislature that allows such a ridiculously low amount of coverage and does not require more.



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