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hit by a driver with no insurance. now what?

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lyndsay0504

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Louisiana

On June 26th of this year, my car (2001 Ford Escort) was rear ended by a Jeep Cherokee. The man that hit me did not have proof of insurance at the time of the accident. 3 months and a million phone calls and road blocks later, we FINALLY get in touch with the guy. He says he had insurance, but it had lapsed at the time that he hit me, so he will have to pay for the damages to my car out of pocket. So I take my car to get an estimate which comes to over $5,000. Part of the reason it is so high is because since we could not reach this guy for 3 months, water (from all the rain we have been having) had gotten into the trunk and everything on the inside of the trunk needs to be replaced as well. I called the guy to tell him this and he says that he doesn't believe he did that much damage to the car and that I need to get at least two more estimates before he will pay anything, which I don't mind doing. However, if this were going through his insurance, my car would be considered totalled since the price of repairs is more than the value of my car (NADA says my car is worth about $2500). I certainly can't afford to buy another car for that amount of money, and I can't afford to repair it for that much either. I am concerned that he will contest the estimate for repairs and only want to pay me the value of the car. My question is, can he legally do that, even though I won't be able to repair it for that much?

Also, I only carry minimum coverage with no uninsured motorist on my insurance so going through my company is not an option. Thanks!
 


JustAPal00

Senior Member
There are a lot of things you should have done differently. You should have fixed it as soon as possible. Since you didn't fix it you should have covered the vehicle after the wreck so that no more damage was done. He is responsable for the damage that he did. You are responsible for the rest. You're probably going to have to sue him to recover the damages, and he will have to pay the value of the car.
 
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racer72

Senior Member
The person that hit you is only liable for the fair market value of the car or the cost to repair the car, whichever is less. He is NOT responsible for the damage caused by the rain, you have an obligation to mitigate the amount of damage that was caused by the rain. If the car is only worth $2500, that is about all you are going to get, that is what you would have gotten if he had insurance.
 

moburkes

Senior Member
What they said. Unless you have $2500 in the bank, then you should have had UMPD or collision on your vehicle. And, no, he is not responsible for the additional damage done to your vehicle because you didn't protect it from the elements. I'm not even sure what you thought he was.
 

anon202

Junior Member
I decided to keep my car after an accident

Can I have my car tow to a place to get it fix BEFORE i actually receive the check from the ins. company? I faxed them all the required information already and they send they should be sending the check next week.


Oh, state is MD

Thanks for any helpful advice or "smart" advices
 

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