DigiExpert
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? West Virginia
This is kinda a long story, but I really want some advice and perhaps some guidance. I am only a college kid and could really use the help.
I was using a friend's vehicle back in March to do student observations at a local school and to run errands. I had permission to use the vehicle. I was driving it under the reassurance that yes the vehicle had insurance.
When I was finished my errands, I got into a slight fender bender in the parking lot. The accident was my fault, but no traffic ticket was written. I couldn't find the friend's insurance at the time, but was told by the officer to produce it at the courthouse by Monday. I returned to school and talked to my friend. He told me where he kept the insurance, but the card that was kept in the dash was out of date. However, he told me he had a current card in his room and gave it to me. I took it to the courthouse and thought there would be no problems after that.
Unfortunately, I got a call the next day from the owner of the vehicle telling me that the insurance produced was fraud. I talked to my parents and was told that I was under no legal obligation to talk to the owner, so I handed over the phone number and information to my friend. His mother was to take care of it from then on.
During this time, my friend suddenly started telling me about having to pay everything, which I honestly can't afford. The total damage to the vehicle is slightly over $2000, because the vehicle has those rubber guards and the entire thing must be replaced. His mother ended up talking to the insurance company and the reason why the insurance was fraud was because she had defaulted on payment, yet they had never told her that she had stopped paying. I would have never driven the vehicle in the first place if I had known the insurance wasn't there; I am not allowed to. My friend had always assured me there was insurance.
This entire thing has become one big mess. The last thing the friend told me was that his mother wanted me to pay some of the money because I had been the one to cause the accident. I had thought this fine, but I can't afford that much. I don't make a lot of money working and I have college bills to pay as well. In his own words the friend had mentioned small claims court because one of the college professors in criminal justice had told him about it. Now it is August and I still have heard nothing from the friend and I don't know if he will be returning to school in the fall. He lives in the midwest and I thought I would have heard something by now.
My questions:
What kind of case can he present?
Is there anything I can use in my favor?
What can I do?
Any help would greatly be appreciated.
This is kinda a long story, but I really want some advice and perhaps some guidance. I am only a college kid and could really use the help.
I was using a friend's vehicle back in March to do student observations at a local school and to run errands. I had permission to use the vehicle. I was driving it under the reassurance that yes the vehicle had insurance.
When I was finished my errands, I got into a slight fender bender in the parking lot. The accident was my fault, but no traffic ticket was written. I couldn't find the friend's insurance at the time, but was told by the officer to produce it at the courthouse by Monday. I returned to school and talked to my friend. He told me where he kept the insurance, but the card that was kept in the dash was out of date. However, he told me he had a current card in his room and gave it to me. I took it to the courthouse and thought there would be no problems after that.
Unfortunately, I got a call the next day from the owner of the vehicle telling me that the insurance produced was fraud. I talked to my parents and was told that I was under no legal obligation to talk to the owner, so I handed over the phone number and information to my friend. His mother was to take care of it from then on.
During this time, my friend suddenly started telling me about having to pay everything, which I honestly can't afford. The total damage to the vehicle is slightly over $2000, because the vehicle has those rubber guards and the entire thing must be replaced. His mother ended up talking to the insurance company and the reason why the insurance was fraud was because she had defaulted on payment, yet they had never told her that she had stopped paying. I would have never driven the vehicle in the first place if I had known the insurance wasn't there; I am not allowed to. My friend had always assured me there was insurance.
This entire thing has become one big mess. The last thing the friend told me was that his mother wanted me to pay some of the money because I had been the one to cause the accident. I had thought this fine, but I can't afford that much. I don't make a lot of money working and I have college bills to pay as well. In his own words the friend had mentioned small claims court because one of the college professors in criminal justice had told him about it. Now it is August and I still have heard nothing from the friend and I don't know if he will be returning to school in the fall. He lives in the midwest and I thought I would have heard something by now.
My questions:
What kind of case can he present?
Is there anything I can use in my favor?
What can I do?
Any help would greatly be appreciated.