i need some advice about a car accident?

Question

my husband was hit in the back drivers side door 2 weeks ago the driver got out of her car and ran. 2 days later the police said that the woman who owned the car was not the driver she had let a friend drive the car and he had let his girl friend take the car to the mall. where she cut through the parking spaces and hit my husband. neither our insurance nor the owners will cover the damages and we had uninsured motoriest is there a way that we can make some one pay for the damages to our car we dont have the money to fix it. and right now we just cant drive it at all. and we have called several lawers who keep telling us they will get back to us or they only handle the medical part (we live in ga and our insurance is geicko)

we have liability and uninsured motorist.

in short she loaned the car to some one who loaned it to some one else who then hit us then the girl ran leveing the car she was driving and no one seems to know this girls last name.

Answer 1

I think the insurance companies are giving you the run around. The owner of the car that hit your husband is liable even though she let another person drive it. If her insurance company refuses to pay for the accident, then I would take the owner to court. This whole thing sounds fishy to me! I live in the state of Tennessee, and I made the mistake of letting someone drive my car. I didn't know at the time, but this person didn't have a valid drivers license and had an accident while driving my car. My car was insured, and had uninsured as well. The accident report stated that the person driving my car was at fault. OK here comes the tricky part. My insurance company would not cover the damages to my vehicle because I let an unlicensed driver operate the car. What happened next was that the other driver's insurance company filed the claim under the uninsured motorist then took legal action against me to recoup their expenses. If you are confused about what your legal rights are, you can contact your local legal aid services for advice. It's a shame that lawyers are so quick to jump at the opportunity to handle a medical claim...just goes to show you how greedy they really are!

Answer 2

Assuming you don't have collision coverage or uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD) coverage you have an uphill battle on your hands.

I have not handled claims in GA before but in many states the other company would have to pay for your damages. If the owner gives permission to somebody to use their car and that person lets a third person use the car then it is considered "implied permission" (or some phrasing similar to that) for that third person to drive the car as if they had permission from the owner.

I would make sure that the company puts in writing why they are denying the claim. Then you really only have two options after that and a lawyer is not one of them. They are clueless about this type of stuff and only want the easy money from injury cases. Try these ideas for some help.

1. After getting the denial letter, talk to an adjuster at your company and ask them how they would handle the claim if they insured the owner of the other car. If they give you any indication that it should be covered then call the company and ask to talk to a claim mgr. Be polite and unemotional. Yelling and the such will get you nowhere in a hurry. Ask them why this case isn't considered "implied perm ission."

2. If that doesn't work then you can file a complaint with the GA insurance commissioners office to see if that helps. Insurance companies hate answering insurance commissioner complaints.

Here is the GA Ins Commish complaint website.

http://www.inscomm.state.ga.us/ABOUT/ConsumerComplaintInterface.aspx


Good Luck.

Answer 3

it appears you do not have collision coverage on your policy and that is the reason your company may not handle;

as for the other company, they may not cover since the other driver could state he did not give permission for the driver to use the other car;

you state you have uninsured coverage; the question is=is it for uninsured bodily injury or uninsured property damage? some states dont allow uninsured property damage, so once again you company cannot pay;

as for lawyers, forget it, they are not interested in property damage, only injuries; even so, they could charge you 1/3 of the cost to repair your auto or an hourly rate to go after the other woman; since you cant pay for the car, you cant pay for the lawyer also; (even if you did hire an attorney, you cant get any money till the other person pays which could be months or years;; it is a 2 edge sword;

call your company and confirm if you have collision or uninsured property damage coverage on your policy; if you dont, they will do nothing; if you have uninsured property damage, and the other company denies for "no coverage" be it for non permissive use or possibly for no insurance at all, then your company can step in; now it is possible the other company may deny and state the other driver was not at fault also;

if you dont have the coverage, call small claims and ask how you can file a suit on the other driver and owner of the auto; but be aware it could take a year to have your day in court; in the meantime, you will still be out of pocket for your repairs;

good luck, you will need it

Answer 4

There is no need to panic or worry, many people get into car accidents and it's very normal to have back and neck pains. I understand that you don't like doctors, but it's for your safety that you get checked out. The examination takes less then five min. Because car accidents are so sudden and our body was not prepared to be jerked around in that way, the shock value and the pain can last for a while. This will go away, just like any bruise or cut. You should go see a doctor just so they can check you out. They will most likely give you some muscle relaxers or pain medicine. Again, don't worry, what you are feeling is very normal and will go away.

Answer 5

If the other person's insurance company won't cover it and you don't have collision insurance, your only option is to take the driver of the car and/or the owner of the car to small claims court. Uninsured motorist coverage only covers your husband's medical expenses that arise as a result of the accident; NOT car repairs. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but unless you can take them to small claims court and get a court order for one or both of them to pay for your repairs, you'll end up paying to fix the car yourselves. In the future, you may want to consider limited or full collision coverage on your vehicle to protect you against situations just like this one.

Answer 6

You do not say what cover you have. Also there is cover for unisured drivers called the MIB if they take over the claim this will then take the responibility of the insurance company.

Not an easy thing to deal with neither is it quick

Answer 7

Thats is awful. I'm not sure how the law stands with this but I would make sure that the person who was driving with no insurance gets done for this. At least if you dont get insurance out of this you can take a bit of comfort is knowing that she didnt getway completley

Answer 8

The uninsured/underinsured motorist clause only goes into effect if you catch the person that hit you! There's no way those damages would be covered if you didn't catch the driver!

Answer 9

Just turn it in to your insurance company and let them handle things for you. If the woman who owned the car let someone drive it, it's covered. Insurance goes with vehicles, not with drivers. Unless the car was stolen, and reported as such, her insurance will cover your losses. You don't need to involve attorneys in this, just your insurance company.

Answer 10

Insurance and Attorneys both suck especially in Ga.