If someone hits you and has no insurance who pays for your damages?

Question

I have a friend that had an accident about 6 months ago, the guy hit her car but did not do much damage. they had a verbal agreed ment not to get the insurance involved (not knowing the guy had no insurance). the guy paid her 200 dollars that same week and agreed to pay the rest later little by little. every time she calls he gives her the run around and its been 6 months. the only information my friend has is his bussiness card were he works. she didnt get his license info or anything like that. my first question is: is it to late to file a police report? and can she file a law suit with the little information she has?

Answer 1

According to California Law you have 1 year to file a report, so its not to late. This verbal agreement is a business agreement. He can be charged and prosecuted for not having insurance and driving. She can take him to "Small Claims court and sue him, it doesn't cost much and there is an attorney to consult with and guide you at no charge. The maximum you could claim is $5000 I've been through somethings similar, the cops didn't show up, all i had was this phone number, my friend called it and pretended to be my insurance company and needed information to pay for his damages, he gladly gave her all the information and he got sued and i got paid for damages. Sweet....the long arm of the law so, she'll need to write down everything that happened and take pictures of the damage. If you have to go to his work, people don't want others to know their problems there. To file the report you can go down to the police station of call. Be sure to get a copy of it, as the small claims will want a copy also. Best of luck

Answer 2

I would report him to the police, but it really is a little late now to go through the whole process. She could take him to court, but she really should have taken care of it sooner. Why did she NOT get insurance involved? I would have! That's what insurance is for. If he didn't have insurance he should have been reported. Also, anytime you are involved in an accident, you need to get the other drivers information as completely as possible including the vehicle information and license place number. Since he's already paid her money without involving insurance, things are really complicated now, but I would still call and talk to an officer. This most likely will have to be something that will go to court. Oh and to answer the original question: if someone does not have insurance and you are involved in an accident with them, your insurance will pay for the damage, but only if you have full coverage!

Answer 3

I don't think it's too late to file a police report. Some states may have ordinances about when they should file, but she should definitely tell the other guy that if he doesn't pay up in X amount of days (after all, she can assuming he's been saving up to pay her a lump sum these past six months) that she's going to be giving the police a call and report the accident. The police should be able to track him down using his name and business card.

Even to report it on her insurance as an Uninsured claim, she will need a police report. So either way, she's probably going to have to file one.

If she does end up filing on her insurance, she gets to keep the $200 as he reneged on his Verbal Agreement. (In fact, she can use it to pay the deductible for the Uninsured claim.)

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Well if its a hit and run your Insurance does. If you get the other drivers DL# and Liscense plate # you can take the person to court and sue for damages and liability. If you can establish fault with a police report then you can ask the District attorney to file charges and ask for reinburesment. In California it is Law ...You must Have Insurance. Oh yea...Too little too late..Sorry!!! Oh yea also there is a insurance for Uninsured Motorist coverage.

Answer 5

Sorry to hear of the situation. Just remember for next time ALWAYS call the police in an accident. Of course the guy said no because of no insurance. If she has his name and where she can serve him she can go to small claims court and sue him. when he payed the 200 bucks did she write down a reciept proving he owes her money? as for the police report i would say its to late but u never know u can always call and ask. hope this helps.

Answer 6

It's not too late to file a police report and you can also try a lawsuit; however, the fact that it's been 6 months since the accident will not play in your friends favor when it comes to settling out of court.

Answer 7

1. it may not be too late for the report, but many areas consider it a crime not to file on an accident
2. usually one carries insurance for uninsured/underinsured drivers on their own insurance. the uninsured is still liable, but considering they don't take responsibilty well, it's always a good idea
3. this is a typical arguement on Judge Judy. Take him to court for the damages, at least then it's on record

Next time, FOLLOW PROCEDURE AND FILE A REPORT. Police can enforce the laws a whole lot better than your friend. AND they'd have all his info!

Answer 8

The person that is at fault is ultimately responsible for the damages. This happened to me in 1989 when I was driving my dads car that had no insurance. I hit a guys door and did 860.80 worth of damage to his car. I spent a year and half paying the guys insurance company. Lesson, never drive without insurance.

Answer 9

If she did'nt get a written, signed agreement from him then she might be out of luck as far as taking him to court. I think it might be too late to file a police report but don't take my word on that have her call her insurance agency and ask them or go to the local police dept they can tell her her rights.

Answer 10

Yes it is too late to file a police report. That is why you file one when the accident occurs. Also if she has full coverage insurance she probably has uninsured/under-insured coverage which will cover damage by someone without insurance. She tried to be nice & now is getting screwed over. WOW DOESN'T LIFE SUCK!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?