I used the search function and couldn't come up with anything about this.

My spouse was in a vehicle accident back in August. The other party(at fault) showed proof of insurance. We filed the police report and claims with insurance. Her insurance replied that their insurance had lapsed and was no good.

Vehicle was owned by the parents, teen child driving it.

We contacted the police department and they issued the driver a ticket.

I tried to contact her as soon as I found out no insurance... she said she was meeting with insurance company that day and would call back. No return call. So, I called the following day and got cussed and yelled at by a 14yr old. When I hung up , this child called me back doing it again.

So, I mailed a letter certified to the mother and daughter and got a response from the mother that they wanted to settle for $500 and apologized for the 14 yr old and gave me the cell number to call.

I called and explained that we could not settle for $500 as damages exceeded that and the accident was not our fault.

The mother asked for a few days to speak with husband. She never returned a call, so I gave her about a week and called her again. She said that her husband was in the process of getting the money together and should have it by the court date.

Never received.

So, we showed up at her court date with all the information-- estimates, letters from insurance company, police report, letters exchanged with other party, etc--- so that we could ask the judge to order her to pay for our damages. Well her and her lawyer showed up and postponed it for 60 days.

The mother told us outside the court room that we would have the money within a week. Never got.

I gave her a few extra days and called. Mother stated she would mail next day air on Dec. 3rd. Surprise! Never got and now won't answer her phone or return calls.

I know I can take her to small claims for damagers to vehicle or just wait until her court date over the ticket and it cost us nothing.

However, I am tired of waiting and being lied to and having to show up at court, etc. I want my vehicle fixed.

Can I sue them for my time and expenses involved in this matter? Or do I just have to wait until they decide to pay or finally show up in court and NOT postpone?

Their excuse is that they had been paying for insurance and the insurance company never told them it was cancelled... but that is not my fault. I can not collect from insurance company. She will have to do that.

You want it though the traffic court. If you go and win in small claims court and she just still refuses to pay, what are you going to do.

You are having way too much phone talk with these people, that will only get you into sayng something wrong, you mail them demands for the money and that shows you were asking.

In the end who cares what they say, what their excuse was, it is obvious from the fact they are not paying you, they don't have the money and do not intend to pay you.

In traffic court, at least if the judge orders you to be paid, normally the driver will either loose their license and not get one till you are paid.

In small claims court 1000's of people win everyday, but after they win how do you collect, do you expect the person who will not pay you now to just write a check, of course not, they still will just not pay, then you have to go back to court, try to find a bank account or job if your state allows a garnishment, if your state does not allow garnishments, then what do you do

Do you have insurance on your vehicle for an uninsured motorist? Many states now require this insurance, claim with you company and they will go after the other party.

Are you sure you can do this through traffic court? I'm not sure that you can. Traffic court in NYS deals with the traffic violation and the fines stemming from it. It does not handle the civil matters of accident claims. If the traffic court will adjudicate the damages, then you want to go that route, because the court will impose penalties if they don't pay.

What does your insurance say about this? I would think you could file a claim, get your car fixed and let the insurance company go after them.

You could go to small claims court, but when you win, you still have to collect. The court will not force them to pay. However, that may be your only choice if traffic court and your insurance won't deal with it.

Do you have insurance on your vehicle for an uninsured motorist?? Many states now require this insurance, claim with you company and they will go after the other party.


Yes, I do. But damages were only $729.00, my deductible is $1000.

Are you sure you can do this through traffic court? I'm not sure that you can. .

Yes, I am sure... showed up on last court date and they took copies of everything and while I was sitting in the court room, a few other people went up that were in accidents and the judge always asked if the other person's vehicle had been taken care of, etc.

City court clerk is the one who told me to come there. When I called and asked about just going through small claims since they keep postponing and we have to keep missing work to show up, they said you don't have to show up, the city attorney has all your information and estimates and he will speak on your behalf, he will represent you.

And my friend was hit by a drunk driver who had no insurance and they sent her supbeona to appear and the judge asked if if she had to pay for her vehicle repairs and she said only my deductible, and ordered the guy to pay. She didn't even ask, didn't know she could.


What does your insurance say about this? I would think you could file a claim, get your car fixed and let the insurance company go after them.

My insurance company said I could file a claim, but as my deductible exceeds damages then I'd still be paying, if damages exceeded deductible then they would pay the difference and get their money back from the other driver.

Appreciate all the advice... but my question still hasn't been answered... Can you sue someone for your time/expenses?

Appreciate all the advice.........but my question still hasn't been answered......Can you sue someone for your time/expenses?




Time, no - expenses, depends on what the expenses are. A rental car while yours is being repaired? The expenses of Small Claims Court, for example, are reimbursable (within reason). I have seen people pay more to investigate the accident than they have in damages.

This particular situation is a learning experience for me - in all the years I have investigated accidents I have never, ever seen a Judge show even the vaguest interest in whether the personal and/or property damage has been paid for. Interesting -

My feeling is that the less you talk to the other party the better because your own words in innocence and a spirit of cooperation can come back to haunt you -

Do you have insurance on your vehicle for an uninsured motorist?? Many states now require this insurance, claim with you company and they will go after the other party.


As you said, this is not mandatory in all States. NYS is not a "mandatory un/underinsured" State. I also ran into a situation last week - and I never realized this - that although you pick up Un/Under insurance unless you specifically request that rider on your umbrella policy you may not have that coverage.

For example, you have pain and suffering loss above and beyond your basic insurance and look to your umbrella for payment - unless your umbrella has the rider you are out of luck.

What city is this? Like Judy, this is a new one on me. Traffic court takes care of traffic violations, not repairs. I was involved in a case where I ran over some shrubbery, since I didn't think there was any material damage, I just left the scene, but their neighbor got my license so I had to appear in court. No mention was ever made by the judge about reimbursing the people for the damage.

So if your municipality will take care of this I would go through them.

Time, no - expenses, depends on what the expenses are. A rental car while yours is being repaired? The expenses of Small Claims Court, for example, are reimbursable (within reason). I have seen people pay more to investigate the accident than they have in damages.-


Thank you, as of now my expenses are minimal, except for the rental car. Which I did provide a quote to the city with my repair estimate. It aggravates me that someone can fail to follow the law and cause someone all this grief and all they need to pay is to repair the vehilce.



This particular situation is a learning experience for me - in all the years I have investigated accidents I have never, ever seen a Judge show even the vaguest interest in whether the personal and/or property damage has been paid for. Interesting -

I wasn't aware of this either until I called the police department to find out what to do since they didn't have insurance. The officer says, it is a civil matter take it to small claims, or show up at her court date for ticket and the judge can either hear your request or not, up to you. But then after I spoke to some others and called the city clerk she explained that yes if I showed up and let them now that there is damages that have risen out of this accident that are not already taken care of that the judge will address the issue with them and decide if they should pay or not.


My feeling is that the less you talk to the other party the better because your own words in innocence and a spirit of cooperation can come back to haunt you -

Well, I guess she could turn things around somehow, but the only thing we have ever really discussed over the phone was payment and it usually was just something like I've not received payment, just checking in for an update to see how things are coming along... and she'd be you I'm sorry I'll send it ________

What city is this? Like Judy, this is a new one on me. Traffic court takes care of traffic violations, not repairs. I was involved in a case where I ran over some shrubbery, since I didn't think there was any material damage, I just left the scene, but their neighbor got my license so I had to appear in court. No mention was ever made by the judge about reimbursing the people for the damage.

So if your municipality will take care of this I would go through them.


It happened in West Plains, Missouri.

They are not taking care of repairs, they are taking care of "restitution" which occurs anytime you damage another's property if the property owner desires.

Everyone keeps saying traffic court and as I understand it some cities have court just for traffic violations.

Our town does not. It is not specifically the "traffic court".

It is the City Court and anyone charged with anything within the city appears in this court. Of course it depends on the charge as to what day you will appear, just like with county court.

They normally hear the same type of cases at the same time/day.

I see. Small city (Pop 25K) I guess, as you say, they don't have a specific traffic court, but adjudicate traffic violations as part of civil court. Doesn't matter though whether they call it restitution or whatever. It's the same thing.

However, I suspect that you will encounter the same problems you would in small claims court. The judge will order her to pay, but you will still have to collect. And that will probably mean finding a salary to garnish or a bank account to attach.

I see. Small city (Pop 25K) I guess, as you say, they don't have a specific traffic court, but adjudicate traffic violations as part of civil court. Doesn't matter though whether they call it restitution or whatever. Its the same thing.

However, I suspect that you will encounter the same problems you would in small claims court. The judge will order her to pay, but you will still have to collect. And that will probably mean finding a salary to garnish or a bank account to attach.


I am not sure about collecting, but I do know that in my friends case the other person was ordered to pay a certain amount each month for x months and if he missed a payment it was contempt of court and the city called him back in.

I haven't gotten that far yet, so I'm not sure how it will work. I've yet made it to the point of the judge actually hearing the case thanks to the postponements.

I am not sure about collecting, but I do know that in my friends case the other person was ordered to pay a certain amount each month for x months and if he missed a payment it was contempt of court and the city called him back in.

I haven't gotten that far yet, so I'm not sure how it will work. I've yet made it to the point of the judge actually hearing the case thanks to the postponements.


Wow - this is amazing. Does the Judge determine who is at fault? I understand the theory here and it would certainly speed up the process of collecting for damages but how does liability get determined? I have seen situations in which the ticketed driver was not totally at fault.

This certainly sounds like it will simplify the process for you, which is great.

Wow - this is amazing. Does the Judge determine who is at fault? I understand the theory here and it would certainly speed up the process of collecting for damages but how does liability get determined? I have seen situations in which the ticketed driver was not totally at fault.

This certainly sounds like it will simplify the process for you, which is great.

Well, I have wondered this also. The police here do not determine fault if it occurred on private party... which it did because it was a small parking lot of a business... I guess the size of the parking lot has something to do with whether it is private or public... not sure... but anyhow the police did not determine fault... the insurance adjustor that I spoke with at MY insurance company right after the accident, told me that it would be between the two insurance companies to determine fault in this case. Well, after finding out my deductible was more than repairs and that she doesn't have insurance... the insurance companies are out... so I'd assume the judge will determine fault. The adjustor did also say that based on the statement she gave the police and the adjustor, it was her fault 100%. She states... I was backing up and looked to see if anyone was behind me and my passenger began talking to me and I hit vehicle #2.

I'd been meaning to ask the clerk... always forget... I'm going to call them in the morning.

However, unless they can explain how a vehicle may move sideways... not sure how we could have hit her... we were facing north/south... she was facing east/west and her back bumper got our back fender...


As for simplifying the process... it saves me a filing fee... it saves me from having to try to collect... but seems to take a bit longer... been almost 4 months... I had to damn near threaten the police to even get them to go back and give her a ticket... and then when I called the clerk, she says, "oh this involves an accident" I said yes... he didn't mention it on the ticket. So the judge would never have asked about damages because it wasn't noted until I called.

I would think providing false information would get them some sort of ticket... apparently not.