Hi Everyone-
On September 25, 2003 my car was parked along a sidestreet in New Orleans, LA and a delivery truck was parked on the other side. there was about 6ft of space between my car and the truck but a car tried to squeeze through, hitting my car and causing severe paint damage but no body damage and also grazing the truck. I was standing there when it happened, but the woman still drove away. I was able to get the car's license and when the police showed up I told them the number and the type of car and it was a match for a car in Baton Rouge. Although it would seem that the case was over, it took almost 9 more months for the police to complete the case, and indeed i was only just made aware that it was finished earlier this month.
As soon as I knew, I got in touch with the insurance company of the car that had hit me, State Farm, who informed me that a lawsuit had been filed by them against the owners of the truck who apparently were claiming that previous damage on their vehicle had been caused by this new car. The agent said that they had pics of the car that 'supposedly' had hit us but it had no damage to it, and since it had been over 1 year the statute of limitations was over and he would not even look at the case. Additionally, supposedly the man who owns the car provided some sort of proof that he was in Baton Rouge on the day of the accident and not New Orleans. However, it wasn't a man driving the car, it was a woman. So obviously the truck is lying and so is the driver, since i was able to tell them the make and model of the car in correlation to the license and it was right. BUT, since they are not willing to open the case, I am out the $1000 of body work it will take to fix my car, which i haven't done yet.
So, obviously, my question is about what the next step should be. I understand the statute of limitations, but how can that apply in a hit and run accident where the police take so long to investigate. Doesn't the police report matter here? I can understand that they did not find damage to the other car because it was just paint scrapes on mine, and only in a 2" high area that was obviously caused by some trim piece on their vehicle. Thank you in advance for any advice you might have.
Nate
On September 25, 2003 my car was parked along a sidestreet in New Orleans, LA and a delivery truck was parked on the other side. there was about 6ft of space between my car and the truck but a car tried to squeeze through, hitting my car and causing severe paint damage but no body damage and also grazing the truck. I was standing there when it happened, but the woman still drove away. I was able to get the car's license and when the police showed up I told them the number and the type of car and it was a match for a car in Baton Rouge. Although it would seem that the case was over, it took almost 9 more months for the police to complete the case, and indeed i was only just made aware that it was finished earlier this month.
As soon as I knew, I got in touch with the insurance company of the car that had hit me, State Farm, who informed me that a lawsuit had been filed by them against the owners of the truck who apparently were claiming that previous damage on their vehicle had been caused by this new car. The agent said that they had pics of the car that 'supposedly' had hit us but it had no damage to it, and since it had been over 1 year the statute of limitations was over and he would not even look at the case. Additionally, supposedly the man who owns the car provided some sort of proof that he was in Baton Rouge on the day of the accident and not New Orleans. However, it wasn't a man driving the car, it was a woman. So obviously the truck is lying and so is the driver, since i was able to tell them the make and model of the car in correlation to the license and it was right. BUT, since they are not willing to open the case, I am out the $1000 of body work it will take to fix my car, which i haven't done yet.
So, obviously, my question is about what the next step should be. I understand the statute of limitations, but how can that apply in a hit and run accident where the police take so long to investigate. Doesn't the police report matter here? I can understand that they did not find damage to the other car because it was just paint scrapes on mine, and only in a 2" high area that was obviously caused by some trim piece on their vehicle. Thank you in advance for any advice you might have.
Nate
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