Not My Fault, But Other Is Not Insured

I live in Florida and was in an accident with an 18 year old girl in her mom's car. Her mom's car was not insured. She was at fault and was ticketed for failure to yield right of way. She is also going to court for driving an uninsured car. My problem is that my van is undrivable until repaired so I need a rental car. My insurance company only pays $15/day and the price at the place they told me to go is $25.99/day. So now I am paying for a van I can't drive, my $500 deductible, and the rental car. I realize I must pay my deductible and my van payment, but is there any way she can pay for my rental car? None of it was my fault, why should I have to pay?

[JETX]

Q1) "I realize I must pay my deductible and my van payment, but is there any way she can pay for my rental car?"
A1) Yes. She can go down to the rental car counter with you and have the bill charged on HER credit card. However, we all know that won't happen. So, we assume your real question should have been... "Can I sue her for the damages I incur as a result of this accident?" The answer is yes. You can sue her to recover your deductible AND the REASONABLE rental car difference you pay.

Q2) "None of it was my fault, why should I have to pay?"
A2) The obvious answer is that you wouldn't have had to pay if you had decided to not 'low-ball' your own insurance coverage. That is a risk that you took when sitting in front of your agent. If you had paid a little more (at least to cover the rental difference), the insurance company would be out the money and you would have a much smaller cost in this case.

Finally, the most obvious problem you are going to have to ask is... does this 18 year old have ANY chance of being able to pay a judgment if you were to win one????

Consider filing a small claims action against both the girl and her mother. Allege that the mother negligently let her daughter drive the car.

You should schedule a formal consultation with a lawyer. A good means of obtaining an attorney referral is by contacting your State's bar association or your local county bar association. They probably have a web site and charge a nominal fee for the referral. Most attorneys either provide a free initial consultation, or charge a nominal fee.

Good Luck, Elliot Jay Goldstein (Attorney with offices in Tampa and St. Petersburg)

The above information is provided as a courtesy, without any consideration and without knowledge of the specific facts. Do not rely on this information. Seek a formal consultation with an attorney.

[JETX]

I just re-read the original post and see that I missed something....

Does FL law insure the car or the driver?? In Texas the owner of the car provides insurance for HIS car and any authorized driver.

If this is also true in FL, wouldn't the liable party be the OWNER of the car and not necessarily the driver?? And further, wouldn't be VERY important for someone to determine whether the driver (daughter) was authorized to drive the car (for liability) before taking any action???

In florida, if the car is insured then, with few exceptions, any authorized driver would be covered. The theory against the mother would be that as the owner, she negligently allowed the daughter to drive the vehicle. The daughter should also be legally liable since her negligence was the proximate (direct) cause of the mva.

If the driver isn't found to be legally liable then it would be impossible for the owner of the vehicle to be held legally liable. Think about it. If it is determined that the daughter was not negligent, then how can the owner's alleged negligence of letting her daughter drive be a proximate (direct) cause of the mva? That is a legal impossibility.

[JETX]

Elliot, I understand the issue of negligent liability, I was just thinking out loud to my earlier post where there might be difficulties in trying to enforce a judgment against an 18 year old. If the Plaintiff can include the mother in the judgment, there is a higher chance of recoverable assets.