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Hit by red light runner with no insurance. Cops came. Should I pursue it any further?

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Lamperouge

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

Hey, I got in a wreck last Thanksgiving. The lights weren't working at an intersection literally seconds away from my home and they were flashing red (acts as a 4 way stop sign).

Well I did my stop, no car in sight, and then OUT OF NO WHERE a car comes flying down the street and hits me in my left side of the car. I had a passenger with me and my car was marked as totaled. She tried fleeing, but a bystander followed her and brought her back. She came back and said she left because she got scared and didn't know what to do. She ran the red light, had no insurance, expired tags, and tried to leave. The cops said that since she came back, the DA wouldn't do anything about it. They let her drive off while me and my passenger went to the ER for X-Rays. All we had were sores and a bruise or two. Thank god we were okay.

I kept my car in awesome condition. Washed it every week, super clean, low mileage, and my insurance company paid me bare minimum for it since it was all on them.

I was wondering if there was any way to get any additional money out of it? I was just curious. I'm still trying to find a car right now and it seems more expensive than I thought. With the money they gave me, I could get the same car, same year etc, for the same price. But all of the cars have more mileage, smell and look a lot worse, and after taxes and fees, it's still about 3K more than they gave me.

I assume I'm all on my own now, but just wanted to make sure I had all bases covered. If I were you, would you pursue this any further, or am I out of luck.

Thanks!! I'm in Texas.
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
If you can PROVE that the value of the vehicle at the time of the accident was more than you received from your insurance company then yes, you can seek additional compensation from the other party.

...

Let me rephrase:
Yes, you can seek additional compensation from the other party, but in order to be successful, you will need to PROVE that the value of the vehicle at the time of the accident was more than you received from your insurance company. In fact, you can actually sue for the FULL value of the vehicle at the time of the accident, but you will be required to reimburse your insurance company for anything you receive from the the other party, up to the amount you received from the insurance company.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
Any settlement you get from suing here (unlikely) will have to go to the insurance company to cover what they paid out.
 

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