Car hit while parked with no insurance

[Helpinhawaii]

What is the name of your state? Hawaii
I have a car that I was trying to sell. I don’t have insurance on this car as I was trying to flip it quickly. My car was parked on the street by my place and a guy with a motorcycle hit its side. I heared the sound so I ran downstairs shouting at him for hitting my car. He said he will pay for it but don’t call the cops because I don’t have insurance. My hands were already on my phone and dialed 911 and said someone hit my car send someone to help. The guy didn’t seem honest and I didn’t think about my car with no insurance. The cops came and asked for both our papers the guy who hit me told them he doesn’t have insurance and he is not supposed to be driving as he had a DUI recently. The cops gave me the option to give both of us tickets because we don’t have insurance or to hash it out between us and he pays for my cars damage. I choose the latter. The guy who hit the car said just get an estimate and we can talk. After that he started texting me and saying he doesn’t have to pay for my car because I don’t have insurance and he said he talked to his lawyer and his lawyer said not to pay. I don’t know what to do to fix my car. Should I accept my loss or should I call the police again after almost a week of the incident and tell them to give both of us tickets and I make him pay for my car by suing him or something. I don’t know how much my ticket would be and I don’t know how he will be legally punished for hitting my car.
The cost to fix my car is 1000$ from a basic Bodyshop.
Please help me. I’m trying to avoid going to him in person because I might not control my anger.
The accident happened about a week ago in Honolulu Hawaii.
Thank you

 

[HighwayMan]

You don't have much choice - either you shell out the money yourself or you sue the other guy. Do you even have this guy's information???

At this point it doesn't matter too much if the police are involved, although if you plan on suing this guy you should have a police report.

The police should never have given you a choice - the other driver should not have been driving with no license. But that's that.

 

[Helpinhawaii]

Thank you for helping.
Yes I do have his information and he actually lives close to me. How can I sue him then ? How long the process take and how much a lawyer would cost ?

 

[adjusterjack]

How can I sue him then ?

Go to your local small claims court website for forms and instructions.

How long the process take

Small claims court is rather quick. Shouldn't take more than a month or two.

how much a lawyer would cost ?

$200 to $400 per hour but you shouldn't need a lawyer for small claims court. There's no doubt that he was negligent and is liable for your repair cost.

The guy who hit the car said just get an estimate and we can talk. After that he started texting me and saying he doesn’t have to pay for my car because I don’t have insurance and he said he talked to his lawyer and his lawyer said not to pay

That's probably BS. Nothing jumps out at me in the vehicle insurance statute that says you can't collect if you don't have your own insurance. Read them for yourself:

https://law.justia.com/codes/hawaii/2017/title-17/chapter-287/

 

[NeilTheCop]

As your car was parked I can't see how the officer could give you a ticket for no insurance. I was under the impression that the only offense that could be cited would be driving without insurance.

 

[adjusterjack]

Appears that the Hawaii statute doesn't limit the citation to just drivers:

431:10C-117 Penalties.

(a) (1) Any person subject to this article in the capacity of the operator, owner, or registrant of a motor vehicle operated in this State, or registered in this State,

"Operated" or "registered."

https://law.justia.com/codes/hawaii/2017/title-24/chapter-431/section-431-10c-117/

Even if I err in my interpretation, he admitted that he parked it there to sell it, raising the presumption that he drove it there to park it.

 

[justalayman]

As your car was parked I can't see how the officer could give you a ticket for no insurance. I was under the impression that the only offense that could be cited would be driving without insurance.

If the car is registered it must have insurance. If it is on a public right of way it must be registered. Somewhere along the line op did violate the law.

 

[NeilTheCop]

If the car is registered it must have insurance. If it is on a public right of way it must be registered. Somewhere along the line op did violate the law.

So in theory the police can drive round and run the plate of every parked car and if it shows as no insurance they can write a ticket?
Doesn't seem quite right.

 

[justalayman]

So in theory the police can drive round and run the plate of every parked car and if it shows as no insurance they can write a ticket?
Doesn't seem quite right.

If the technology available to them allows thst info to be known, yes, they could.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

And that technology certainly exists in every state I know of.

 

[NeilTheCop]

And it certainly does in New Mexico. In fact we tended to rely on being able to access the MVD database from our patrol cars. We only had to have a vehicle displaying a valid plate and unexpired tag, there was no requirement to have liability insurance unless it was being driven.

 

[justalayman]

And that technology certainly exists in every state I know of.

It would require a link between what the police can access immediately and the registration and insurance records. In my state, the record of insurance is not immediately available for all vehicles and what is available is not necessarily accurate. If it was available in all states and accurate, there would be no reason for a cop to ever ask for proof of insurance. When stopping a car.

 

[adjusterjack]

So in theory the police can drive round and run the plate of every parked car and if it shows as no insurance they can write a ticket?
Doesn't seem quite right.

Why not?

They can write tickets on parked cars (on the street) with expired registration.

Why not insurance, too?

 

[Helpinhawaii]

As your car was parked I can't see how the officer could give you a ticket for no insurance. I was under the impression that the only offense that could be cited would be driving without insurance.

It was parked on the street. I think if it was parked on private property then they won’t give me a ticket

 

[Helpinhawaii]

If the car is registered it must have insurance. If it is on a public right of way it must be registered. Somewhere along the line op did violate the law.

It does have registration and safety check but I just bought two month ago and I never added it to my insurance since I was just trying to sell it to make an extra 200$ for my family. I know terrible idea and I won’t do it again