can i sue the mom???

Question

some guy hit my husband,,,,messed up our car,,,provided false insurance information, he got a ticket from the police, his car was impounded. now,, when we wanted to get our car outa the lot, we called and called him to take care of the problem,,,he never returned the phone calls,,,,we had to pay out of our pocket,,,,now my question is this....the car he was driving was his mothers,,and she has a policy on the car,,,,now their insurance is claiming he was excluded from the policy,,meaning their insurance wont pay for anything,,,is that possible??? it was her car,,,,,can we sue her??? i just want whats fair,,,somebody needs to pay,,,,,

Answer 1

The insurance company is blowing smoke up your tuches. There's no such thing as an excluded driver under a policy: it covers any driver who had permission to drive the car, and permission is presumed unless a police report of theft is made. (I assume you are in the USA on this point.)

So file suit against the owner and driver for your damages. I assume from the question that you know who the real insurance company is. After you win the lawsuit, send a copy of the judgment to the insurance company, wait 30 days, and file a "direct suit" against the insurance company. All 50 states allow the victim of a car accident to sue the insurance company if their judgment goes unpaid for 30 days.

Before the hearing, serve a demand for insurance information on the other side.

At the hearing, if an attorney appears for either defendant, make sure he identifies the insurance company on the record. That way it will be on the record that an insurance company defended the lawsuit, and almost certainly is on the hook for the recovery.

Answer 2

You have a few options in this situation. First off, depending on your insurance policy you can get your car fixed through collision. However, most people choose not to report these incidents to their insurance and raise their rates. If you do report, your insurance company may then seek to retrieve their money from the defendant's insurance company, and you can take the defendant's to Small Claims Court for your co-pay. Also, you may choose to take the defendant's, Mother and Son, to Small Claims Court anyways, if your property damage claim is within the Court limits. This would be alot easier.

As for suing the mother, she can be sued, however, the insurance company can disclaim the son if the mother did not give her son permission to drive the vehicle; this depends on your State's laws. Regardless, you should start the action against the mother because even if she is not the appropriate party, she could find her son for you and bring him into your action if necessary.

These opinions are based upon experience and are not meant to serve as expert legal advice. You are free to accept these opinions which do not form any attorney-client relationship.

Answer 3

You can sue the owner of the car and the driver.

Whether or not the driver is covered by the insurance is not your problem.

You can call an attorney, but I suggest you find out whether or not the amount you would sue for is small enough to go to Small Claims Court. Call the court and ask, they're listed in the phone book. If that's the route you take, you will be suing the driver for their own actions in driving negligently, and the owner of the vehicle for allowing them to drive the car.

If you call your insurance company, it's going to be a claim, whether or not they pay anything, and will probably impact your rates. I don't recommend doing that for a small amount, it may cost you more in premiums than they pay out in the long run.

Answer 4

As long as the other driver is at fault, the insurance company has to pay. If they refuse to pay, then the owner of the car, the mother is held liable. What does the police report say? He is at fault? Make sure they you get receipts for anything that you pay for out of pocket so they way you get reimbursed. I would call your insurance company and ask them. They would be better able to direct you. Does that guy have his own insurance for a car he owns. Maybe he was just borrowing his mothers at the time. If so, his insurance would be responsible. If not, then the mom is responsible to pay. Good luck.

Answer 5

If her insurance policy doesn't cover drivers other than herself, then the insurance company has no responsibility for payment. Now your husbands insurance company should pay for the damages. The insurance covers the person and any vehicle he is driving, as long as his insurance and driver license is valid.

Answer 6

Sue them both. The insurance company may not owe a defense to the son. But they will have to pay to defend the mother. She was negligent in letting him use the car.

Answer 7

whoever it is that the insurance policy of the care is insured after, they are responsible for what ever accident occured especially, if they lend that car to anyone not covered by their insurance. The policy of the car is named to the account of the mom so its her full responsibility to pay for the damages her son had done.

Answer 8

Have you turned this into your insurance? They will know (and understand) the laws of your state, and will handle it as long as you have un and under insured on your policy.

If they don't, then you need to look at the age of the son. If he is of legal age, you will need to sue him. This is a small claims case due to low damages. If you want, you can put both of them on the suit.

Answer 9

You might have coverage under your own policy for when you get hit by an uninsured person

Maybe your insurance company would want to sue hers

Answer 10

You can sue her. Her insurance company won't pay. So make sure she has some kind of assest you can get your hands on or all you will have is court costs and a worthless piece of paper.