My daughter at college got in an accident, a guy ran into the back of her car when she was stopped at a stop light. He gave her his name and cell phone number, said he would pay for the repairs. We actually talked to him, the number was good, and got an address, and sent him the repair estimate. Haven't heard a word since. Can we take him to court if there was no official report filed?
2007-01-19 18:01:28 · 16 answers · asked by Sweet n Sour 7 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
You can probably take him to court.. but unless you have a way of proving he was the one who did it, you're out of luck.
2007-01-19 18:04:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Call the police now. Explain that your young, naive daughter bought the sob story of the other driver. The absolute worst that can happen is she will get a ticket for not reporting the accident. Then, again, so will the driver of the other car. More than likely, they will give her a break and just warn her since she is the victim and no one was injured. Once you have done that contact your insurance company for assistance.
Since you have his name and cell number, he won't be hard to find; if you have a police department that's worth a damn. I suspect that once the police and your insurance company get on his back he will pay up or a court will force him to.
2007-01-19 18:59:03 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is an unfortunate incident to be sure. Sounds like this guy was probably driving his vehicle without and insurance and did not want the police involved. General rule of thumb is to never believe anyone under any circumstances in these situations. You can take this person to small claims court to retrieve damages by getting a judgement in court and probalbly will have to garnish his wages to recive payment. As far as litigation goes it is a hard thing to say wheather the law would do anything. In order for you to be sucessful you will need his namd and address so a court order can be served. Good luck in this endeaver and hope that this helps you out.
2007-01-19 18:20:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Here are a few ideas: Build up your case and take him to court; Attempt to locate any witnesses to the accident and take them to court with you; hire a professional to secure any paint-transfer evidence from your daughter's car and have it analyzed/compared to the other person's car; perhaps the intersection where the accident occurred is monitored by camera, if so, contact the city/county government, public safety office, or someone who can possibly retrieve the video surveillance and use this as evidence also. Was anyone in the vehicle with your daughter?...they are witnesses also. I wish you the best of luck.
2007-01-19 21:53:09 · answer #4 · answered by aitnaru 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably not. In most States you only have 72 hours to file report. Always file a report when there is damage to vehicles or personal injury. You can try to sue him in civil court. Do you have witnesses? Call your local police dept. and see what they say or contact an attorney. A letter from an attorney may scare him into paying.
2007-01-19 22:26:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most states have laws REQUIRING you to fill out a police report if there were any injuries or if damage to either vehicle is greater than a set amount of $$. If/when you do call the police, they might ask you that same question. Have you tried to contact the guy since the last time you spoke with him? Is he dodging your calls? My advice would be to try and work it out with him and use the police as a last resort.
2007-01-19 18:07:12 · answer #6 · answered by BongH2oBoy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how long ago did the accident happen? A report needs to be filed w/in 10 days ( might depend on where you live) Call him again tell him to get it to you tomorrow or your reporting it. police are not required to car accidents you can file your own report get if from the police station. It's a civilian report.
2007-01-19 19:49:36 · answer #7 · answered by uknowme 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a lawyer I can tell you that you should not be afraid of inaction at the time of the accident. Your daughter was obviously shaken up and because of this you can not be held to fault, especially if the accident was in fact not her fault. The statue of limitations is not over for her to take a civil/legal action.
Get a lawyer to write a letter to him (should be minimal cost, like 25 dollars) telling him of impending legal action. He should cave and pay to avoid the lawyer on his end plus settlement and your court cost. If he is not playing ball I am sure this is causing tons of emotional distress get the same lawyer to in fact go after him for damages plus all related costs and emotional distress, times lost from work etc.
Please excuse language, typing errors, and grammar, as I do this as a free service and I am a little tired.
Good Luck let me know how it ends.
2007-01-20 18:34:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not totally sure on this. But I think if you could it would be hard. Without the poilice report the burden falls on you to come up with the proff it happened at all. Without the police report there is no record of it happening. So basicly it never did. I'd give it a try. Wish ya luck!
2007-01-19 18:07:05 · answer #9 · answered by Jayclark 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You could probably take him to court. You would want to make sure your daughter has statements from any witnesses that saw the accident, otherwise it is her word against his. I don't think she would have much of a case if there are no witnesses. Good Luck. Hopefully the guy will keep his word.
2007-01-19 18:12:37 · answer #10 · answered by tropicalfancy 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
omg don't u ever watch people's court. NOT A GOOD IDEA! but yes u can take him to small claims court. It is a common case on people's court because it happens so much. if the people admit to the accident then they usually end up paying.
2007-01-19 18:08:52 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋