How do we punish uninsured motorist who cause an accident resulting in injury or death ?

Question

I was struck on my motorcycle by an unisured motorist that ran a stop sign, breaking a total of 9 bones, I've had 4 operations and I still have 1 more to go. My bills have hit over $ 300,000 the woman that hit me got less than a $1000 in fines and is already driving again. I think it should be a $ 2000 dollar fine and they lose their auto to be sold at auction and drivers license for a year. The fine and money gained from the sale of their car should go into a fund to pay the victim's. Once they are hit with a fine and loss of their car and license maybe they will think twice about getting behind the wheel and not having insurance. Because let's face it, if you can't afford insurance you cant afford to drive.

Answer 1

Your ultimate recourse is via the court.

Fines and suspensions are a function of the municipal justice and have nothing to do with civil matters.

If you can prove your case (not to this forum but to a judge or jury) you can be awarded compensation for your damages and possibley pain and suffering.

You will need to prove she was at fault and to prove or demonstrate your costs (both financial and physical).

Once you get a judgement you will still have to collect but basically any time she owns something you may have the opportunity of taking it away and selling it and keeping the money. If she has a job you will be legally entitled to garnish a portion of her net paycheck, the maximum of that garnishment being determined by your state's law.

Of course, if she has no assets then you may be out of luck for now, but most judgements can be renewied for between 10 to 14 years and that is a loooong time for someone to go without ANY assets.

hope that helps...

.

Answer 2

Oh my gosh, this totally happened to me March 2006. I was hit by a pick-up truck containing 3 Hispanics. One jumped out an ran an the other took off. It just so happened that my cousin was near the intersection and ran to chase them. They pulled into a mobile home park and then fled on foot before the police could find them. The only thing that happened was the police impounded the truck. That did not help me recover my deductible, lost wages, my car was totaled, and I sustained injuries behind it. To top it all off, my car was about 4 months from being paid off and I had to go and get a brand new car loan. That sucked so bad!!! Really the only thing you can do is sue. In your case, the claim amount may be worth it. In my case, the opportunity costs were too high to pursue legal action.

Answer 3

I agree with you that it's unfair there are those that break the law. Since she was at fault in the accident, once you have your total outlay both medical and having your motorcycle fixed, you can bill her for that amount and she does have both a legal and moral obligation to pay you for your losses. You can place a hold on any assets she might have and perhaps get some of your money back. Apparently though you didn't have uninsured coverage on your insurance which would have paid you, and then they, the insurance, would be after her to get paid back. But hind site is always 20/20

Answer 4

Here in the southwest, it is an unfortunate truth that the majority of uninsured drivers are illegal aliens, and, if they are caught before they run away from the accident scene, they are usually simply deported back to Mexico (a free bus ride, courtesy of the U.S. government), then they come back in and use a different name on their forged driver's license. If the crash is really bad, especially with injuries to others, and they don't get caught right away, they usually high-tail it for Mexico, and come back across the border a month or two later and assume a different name altogether. Sorry to turn this into an "illegal immigration" response, but that is the greatest majority of uninsured drivers in border states, including Arizona, California and Texas. Other than that, the fines and jail times are not, usually, very high.

Answer 5

looking on how the motive force is concerning to the vehicle proprietor the effect might substitute. The insurance employer might have had the spectacular to deny the declare for a greater particular reason because of the fact that they insure the vehicle for a definite motive force and not the guy who became easily driving on the time of the accident. submitting a criticism with the dep. of insurance isn't probable going that may well be useful you, they are in user-friendly terms there to confirm that the insurance employer is following the policies set forth by skill of them. you could attempt to pursue the motive force, discover out if he has liab insurance for himself for yet another vehicle if no longer sue him. additionally i could discover out if the owner of the vehicle gave the motive force permission and precisely why the declare became denied, because of the fact he's not on the coverage isn't a valid excuse. in case you ever bypass to liab in user-friendly terms, constantly confirm you purchase uninsured motorist components harm. For a 6 month coverage that factor of it on my own is exceedingly low priced.

Answer 6

this is only in most states but ....You can still sue her for any amount over what your insurances has paid for...If she doesn't pay you can get a lien put against her license, any property etc and she cannot sell the items or renew her license until you are paid.

If she has homeowners insurance or lives with someone who does you can also go after that for payment.

I hope it all works out for you.

Answer 7

In my town, many of them are not in the country legally to begin with. They get a court date, bond out of jail and they are gone with the wind the next day.
I have never heard of anyone losing their tags and the cops often wink at the offence.

Answer 8

You take them to court and sue them. Typically they haven't much net worth, but so it goes. If they work you can garnish their wages for the rest of their lives. Or of course they just go back to mexico.