Multiple car accident caused by uninsired driver.

[JummyO]

My girlfriend was in her first accident on Valentine's day. Not her fault - the uninsured driver failed to reduce speed (distracted driving possibly) and hit truck A which hit my girlfriends car and pushed her forward into truck B. Being sandwiched between two larger vehicle did a number on her smaller car and this being our first experience with an accident we are unsure how the car will be fixed/who will pay.

Yes she does have insurance on her vehicle but only the most basic coverage legally required. She is still in school and struggles to buy groceries most weeks so the idea of her having to pay for the damages is stressing both of us out because it simply isn't possible.
My question is: should we be considering alternatives to simply abiding by insurance agency's process, like consulting an attorney for a lawsuit? Are there other alternatives that we are unaware of?

She just feels like a victim of this other driver's negligence and because trucks A and B are fine since they are larger/newer vehicles, she feels like she is the only one left to deal with everything as a result.

Further information - she has no severe bodily injuries. Just a deeply bruised knuckle and jarred arm/hand. This happened in IL. I can try to provide other insight if it will help.

 

[Just Blue]

My girlfriend was in her first accident on Valentine's day. Not her fault - the uninsured driver failed to reduce speed (distracted driving possibly) and hit truck A which hit my girlfriends car and pushed her forward into truck B. Being sandwiched between two larger vehicle did a number on her smaller car and this being our first experience with an accident we are unsure how the car will be fixed/who will pay.

Yes she does have insurance on her vehicle but only the most basic coverage legally required. She is still in school and struggles to buy groceries most weeks so the idea of her having to pay for the damages is stressing both of us out because it simply isn't possible.
My question is: should we be considering alternatives to simply abiding by insurance agency's process, like consulting an attorney for a lawsuit? Are there other alternatives that we are unaware of?

She just feels like a victim of this other driver's negligence and because trucks A and B are fine since they are larger/newer vehicles, she feels like she is the only one left to deal with everything as a result.

Further information - she has no severe bodily injuries. Just a deeply bruised knuckle and jarred arm/hand. This happened in IL. I can try to provide other insight if it will help.

She can file a suit in civil court for her damages...or request that her damages be payed as restitution if the at fault driver was criminally charged.

 

[zddoodah]

should we be considering alternatives to simply abiding by insurance agency's process, like consulting an attorney for a lawsuit? Are there other alternatives that we are unaware of?

There is no "we" here, and I have no idea what you mean by "insurance agency's process." There's no downside in consulting with an attorney. However, your girlfriend has only one real option for getting her car repaired: pay for the repairs herself and sue the at-fault driver for the damage. This is why it's a really bad idea to carry only liability insurance. One other possibility is that there may be some sort of crime victim's restitution fund, so she might call the county district attorney to inquire about that.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

My question is: should we be considering alternatives to simply abiding by insurance agency's process, like consulting an attorney for a lawsuit? Are there other alternatives that we are unaware of?

What insurance agency's process. If she has "the most basic coverage legally required" she probably only has liability coverage. Her insurance isn't going to do much if anything to help her get her car fixed.

 

[HighwayMan]

She can file a suit in civil court for her damages...or request that her damages be payed as restitution if the at fault driver was criminally charged.

Or file a claim with the at-fault party's insurance and see how that goes.

 

[Zigner]

Or file a claim with the at-fault party's insurance and see how that goes.

The OP says that the at-fault driver is uninsured.

 

[Just Blue]

Or file a claim with the at-fault party's insurance and see how that goes.

At fault party was driving with no insurance.

 

[HighwayMan]

Duh! I guess I'm not paying attention today.

 

[Just Blue]

Duh! I guess I'm not paying attention today.

Want me to stop at Dunk's and grab you a large coffee and Boston Cream?