Pls Help!

[da1_2004]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? California


2 days back,on the way to work my husband's car was hit from behind while stopped at a signal by a Van which was at 55mph, the Van driver admited this to the cop later. While the Van was approaching, the signal turned green but the vehicles didnt move due to traffic, the van driver didnt slow down. In the impact our car hit on the truck in front and our car was damaged front and rear and it had to be towed away. There were no visible injuries for the 3 drivers involved at the accident scene but my husband has been suffering from neck and upper back pain after the accident.
The driver of the Van who hit our car from behind told the cop who came to the accident scene "it was his fault" but we are not sure whether he was given a ticket for that fault.
At the scene, the driver of the Van told my husband and the driver of the car in front that his insurance will take care of the damages and we need not worry.

After reaching home my husband called up our insurance company and the agent recorded the conversation with our permission. He told us we need to wait till we hear from the Van driver's insurance company, if they dont call us, we need to call them.
We didnt hear from the Van driver's insurance company so we called up and we came to know the Van driver did not pay the payment on time and his insurance was about to get cancelled on that day. They also said they'll contact the Van driver and get back to us ASAP. But they never called. We tried calling the Van driver but he never returned our calls.
His drivers license is from Arkansas and his insurance company is also there.

We called our insurance company and informed about the situation and our Insurance agent is asking us to "get hold" of the Van driver and his insurance agency for our damages.
He informed us that theres only little help he can provide since we have only "Liability" and no "Loss and Damage" coverage.
He advised us if the Van drivers insurance company is not willing to get involved [if his insurance is cancelled] then we will have to take the case to court to claim for damages.
How do we come to that conclusion when the Van driver nor his Insurance company is not responding to us?
This car was the only vehicle we had and this is the first time we are getting involved in an accident.

I have few questions:
Our car was towed to a yard and we are asked to pay for the towing charges and payment on daily basis as long as the car is there. Are we liable to pay for all that or is it the Van driver/his insurance company's responsibility?

Do we need to find some Auto service comapany on our own to estimate the damages or is it the insurance company's job?

What if the repair charges of our car exceeds the amount we actually spend for purchasing the same? What are our choices?

Since our car is damaged my husband has to take a cab to get to work and back home everyday, and due to the pain in Neck/upper back if he goes for medical check up and treatment, can we claim for all the expenses?

What if the Van driver has not yet paid his insurance dues and his insurance is cancelled, what are our rights to claim for damages?
We do not have a lawyer, do we need to get one, if so how soon?

Can anyone please give us some advise on what to do in this situation? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? California


2 days back,on the way to work my husband's car was hit from behind while stopped at a signal by a Van which was at 55mph, the Van driver admited this to the cop later. While the Van was approaching, the signal turned green but the vehicles didnt move due to traffic, the van driver didnt slow down. In the impact our car hit on the truck in front and our car was damaged front and rear and it had to be towed away. There were no visible injuries for the 3 drivers involved at the accident scene but my husband has been suffering from neck and upper back pain after the accident.
The driver of the Van who hit our car from behind told the cop who came to the accident scene "it was his fault" but we are not sure whether he was given a ticket for that fault.
At the scene, the driver of the Van told my husband and the driver of the car in front that his insurance will take care of the damages and we need not worry.

After reaching home my husband called up our insurance company and the agent recorded the conversation with our permission. He told us we need to wait till we hear from the Van driver's insurance company, if they dont call us, we need to call them.
We didnt hear from the Van driver's insurance company so we called up and we came to know the Van driver did not pay the payment on time and his insurance was about to get cancelled on that day. They also said they'll contact the Van driver and get back to us ASAP. But they never called. We tried calling the Van driver but he never returned our calls.
His drivers license is from Arkansas and his insurance company is also there.

We called our insurance company and informed about the situation and our Insurance agent is asking us to "get hold" of the Van driver and his insurance agency for our damages.
He informed us that theres only little help he can provide since we have only "Liability" and no "Loss and Damage" coverage.
He advised us if the Van drivers insurance company is not willing to get involved [if his insurance is cancelled] then we will have to take the case to court to claim for damages.
How do we come to that conclusion when the Van driver nor his Insurance company is not responding to us?
This car was the only vehicle we had and this is the first time we are getting involved in an accident.

I have few questions:
Our car was towed to a yard and we are asked to pay for the towing charges and payment on daily basis as long as the car is there. Are we liable to pay for all that or is it the Van driver/his insurance company's responsibility?

Do we need to find some Auto service comapany on our own to estimate the damages or is it the insurance company's job?

What if the repair charges of our car exceeds the amount we actually spend for purchasing the same? What are our choices?

Since our car is damaged my husband has to take a cab to get to work and back home everyday, and due to the pain in Neck/upper back if he goes for medical check up and treatment, can we claim for all the expenses?

What if the Van driver has not yet paid his insurance dues and his insurance is cancelled, what are our rights to claim for damages?
We do not have a lawyer, do we need to get one, if so how soon?

Can anyone please give us some advise on what to do in this situation? Any help is greatly appreciated.

My response:

Help now? The "help" you needed was when you had the choice to buy a REAL insurance policy. I cannot believe that you, or anybody, would be driving in California with "California Minimum" insurance!

It's a little too late to help you, and you brought this all upon yourself. You guys were absolutely NUTS for driving in California with "minimum" coverage. That was financial suicide. The only help you're going to need is a wheelbarrow full of money.

Unless the other guy's insurance comes through, you're sh*t out of luck, and your storage fees and repair costs are going to get bigger and bigger. Don't count on that other insurance coming through as quickly as you're going to need them to. It ain't gonna happen.

Get your wallet out - - you're going to need it.

IAAL

 

[da1_2004]

Thank you for the response. Since we are in this country for a short period of time we never got this much insight on issues untill now. No matter how safe we drive someone else can always put us in trouble...just like that.
But for sure, this is not the last statement. I will definitly post a message here and let u know once we reach a decision.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

No matter how safe we drive someone else can always put us in trouble...just like that.

MY RESPONSE: No, you've got the wrong attitude. No one put you in this position except yourself. You are the one who chose the "cheap" route. You are the one who failed to protect yourself, when you had the opportunity to buy better insurance coverages. So, you got what you paid for, which was virtually next to nothing.




But for sure, this is not the last statement. I will definitly post a message here and let u know once we reach a decision.

MY RESPONSE: Why? Do you think I care what you do, or what you may decide to do? News flash - - I don't.

IAAL

 

[da1_2004]

???????????

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

???????????


====================================

My response:

Ah, foreigners. Gotta love 'em!

IAAL

 

[lwpat]

"Our car was towed to a yard and we are asked to pay for the towing charges and payment on daily basis as long as the car is there. Are we liable to pay for all that or is it the Van driver/his insurance company's responsibility?"

If it is worth anything you had better get it out or the storage yard will soon own it.

"He advised us if the Van drivers insurance company is not willing to get involved [if his insurance is cancelled] then we will have to take the case to court to claim for damages."

He is correct and you will have to go to Arkansas to sue him. You need to talk to the officer that investigated the accident and get him to issue a citation to the other driver for no insurance. You will also need a copy of the accident report.

"Do we need to find some Auto service comapany on our own to estimate the damages or is it the insurance company's job?"

What insurance company? You had no insurance and it appears that neither did the other driver.

"What if the repair charges of our car exceeds the amount we actually spend for purchasing the same? What are our choices?"

Sell it for junk.

"Since our car is damaged my husband has to take a cab to get to work and back home everyday, and due to the pain in Neck/upper back if he goes for medical check up and treatment, can we claim for all the expenses? "

You can sue for damages and you will probably win. Collecting is another matter.

 

[azmother3]

actually if the driver had the insurance at the time of the accident they law states that the insurance company still is responsible for damages even if he didn't pay. If they had not yet cancelled the policy then you should be fine and will be able to make a claim on the policy. If not then contact a lawyer regarding this because the insurance company is responsible.

 

[stephenk]

"He is correct and you will have to go to Arkansas to sue him. You need to talk to the officer that investigated the accident and get him to issue a citation to the other driver for no insurance. You will also need a copy of the accident report."

1. you would only need to sue him here, not in Arkansas, because the accident happened in California.

2. the police will not issue any citation for lack of insurance because there is no proof he was uninsured at the time of the accident. His carrier has not sent you anything in writing stating he had no insurance coverage.