Underage Driver Causes Damage to Vehicle

[mikesmom]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

On 11-26, we pulled into a parking space at a Lowe's Hardware Store directly behind a pickup truck (the front of our van was facing the rear of their truck). My husband had turned off the van and gotten out when the reverse lights on the truck came on, and they began backing into us. My husband started yelling to get their attention, and went to the driver's window. He came back to me and said "It's kids". Lo and behold, a little girl, no more than 10, got out of the drivers side, shaking and crying, saying she didn't want to get in trouble. Her older sister (maybe 14) got out of the passenger side, and said it wasn't their fault because they didn't see us. The older girl called her mom inside the store and said "Mom, you know how *** always plays in the truck? Well, she just backed into somebody's van." The mom came out, gave us their insurance information, and that was that. No apology, nothing.

Finally today I was able to contact the insurance adjuster, who informed me that the claim was denied because the other owner stated that their truck never moved and their kids are not old enough to drive.

I called Lowe's to see if they had a copy of the surveillance tape from that day, which they do, but unfortunately the only thing it captured was all of us standing around the van.

Do I have any recourse at this point? Is it a waste of time to file a police report, since they will again deny it? The damages were only $1800, I have collision insurance, but I do not feel that I should have to pay for someone else's mistake!

Thanks in advance!
Melissa

[seniorjudge]

Sue the owners of the car in small claims court.

[mikesmom]

How much (approximately) would that cost? Damage is $1800. It's our word agains theirs. What are our chances of winning?

[moburkes]

Small claims court filing fees are inexpensive (maybe $40-60). You could always use your collision (all you would pay is the deductible), then sue them for the deductible, since that's all you paid. Since it wasn't your fault your premiums should not go up.

Many times we do end up paying for someone else's mistake. Because if you don't get $ back from them, you will have paid for their mistake. The only thing you can do is try to win in court.

Ask the adjuster how he can tell (without looking at both vehicles) that there was no accident. Ask him the owner can tell that her vehicle never moved if she wasn't there, and if it didn't move, why did she share her insurance info with you?

Pursue this.

[Happy Trails]

Originally Posted by moburkes

Small claims court filing fees are inexpensive (maybe $40-60). You could always use your collision (all you would pay is the deductible), then sue them for the deductible, since that's all you paid. Since it wasn't your fault your premiums should not go up.

Many times we do end up paying for someone else's mistake. Because if you don't get $ back from them, you will have paid for their mistake. The only thing you can do is try to win in court.

Ask the adjuster how he can tell (without looking at both vehicles) that there was no accident. Ask him the owner can tell that her vehicle never moved if she wasn't there, and if it didn't move, why did she share her insurance info with you?

Pursue this.

You bring up a good point to tell the at-faults insurance company. I would keep trying to pursue that too.

If they still won't settle then you could sue in small claims court.

You could also turn it into your insurance company and then sue for the whole amount; you would have to pay the insurance company back if you are awarded a judgment.

Go here for some information:
[url]http://www.lawyers.com/legal_topics/browse_by_topic/browse_parent/browse_child/content/show_content.php?site=537&articleid=1001517[/url]

It will give you information on where you need to file as well as other information; if you need to take it that far.

[mikesmom]

I've never been in an accident before, so bear with me.

Tomorrow I will call the insurance adjuster back. What exactly should I pursue?

1. Ask how they can tell without even looking at my car that there was no damage? Can't they just say that we hit them, and the damage was our fault (the truck had none, of course).

2. How the mom knows her car did not move since she was not there? (I believe her statement was that her truck was in exactly the same spot as when she left).

3. And why she was so willing to share insurance information if they were not at fault?

Anything else I should question? Should I get the surveillance tape from Lowe's even though the Loss Prevention Officer said it really didn't show anything? Am I allowed to get a copy of the mom's statement from the at-fault insurance company? If the adjuster still says the claim is denied, then do I look into the small claims court option?

It just really burns me up that not only did she leave her kids in the truck with the keys, but then she is so willing to lie about what happened. Her irresponsibility just burns me up!

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by mikesmom

I've never been in an accident before, so bear with me.

Tomorrow I will call the insurance adjuster back. What exactly should I pursue?

1. Ask how they can tell without even looking at my car that there was no damage? Can't they just say that we hit them, and the damage was our fault (the truck had none, of course).

2. How the mom knows her car did not move since she was not there? (I believe her statement was that her truck was in exactly the same spot as when she left).

3. And why she was so willing to share insurance information if they were not at fault?

Anything else I should question? Should I get the surveillance tape from Lowe's even though the Loss Prevention Officer said it really didn't show anything? Am I allowed to get a copy of the mom's statement from the at-fault insurance company? If the adjuster still says the claim is denied, then do I look into the small claims court option?

It just really burns me up that not only did she leave her kids in the truck with the keys, but then she is so willing to lie about what happened. Her irresponsibility just burns me up!

I sell insurance, but haven't filed a claim against an at fault party either. I was just asking some obvious questions based on your post. There is something missing in the adjuster's response when he takes the word of someone who wasn't there and doesn't look at either vehicle. Usually the vehicles show evidence that disputes what any witness (even though mom isn't one) may have thought they saw.

Keep pursuing. Good luck!

[Happy Trails]

Originally Posted by mikesmom

I've never been in an accident before, so bear with me.

Tomorrow I will call the insurance adjuster back. What exactly should I pursue?

1. Ask how they can tell without even looking at my car that there was no damage? Can't they just say that we hit them, and the damage was our fault (the truck had none, of course). Tell them your side of the story and what the children said.

2. How the mom knows her car did not move since she was not there? (I believe her statement was that her truck was in exactly the same spot as when she left). That's another good point to bring to their adjuster's attention.

3. And why she was so willing to share insurance information if they were not at fault? Tell them your side of the story and how she handed her insurance information over to you after the daughter called her and told her *** backed into your van.

Anything else I should question? Should I get the surveillance tape from Lowe's even though the Loss Prevention Officer said it really didn't show anything? Am I allowed to get a copy of the mom's statement from the at-fault insurance company? If the adjuster still says the claim is denied, then do I look into the small claims court option? Go ahead and ask to view the surveillance tape and find out for yourself. Yes, if the adjuster is still giving you the run around after you have made a few attempts of getting this resolved, then you could sue. (Have you thought about turning it into your insurance company and let them get to the truth.)

It just really burns me up that not only did she leave her kids in the truck with the keys, but then she is so willing to lie about what happened. Her irresponsibility just burns me up!

I agree, it burns most of us up.