Do I have a right to sue?

ang8318 · Jul 17, 2008, 07:41 AM

The other night my parked car was hit by another vehicle, the driver ran. My car is extremely damaged, and his insurance company is giving me a hard time because the owner of the car was not driving, some lady was. The police were involved I have a police report, pictures, and 2 witnesses that his truck hit my car. If his insurance company will not cover this can I take him to court to get just my deductable back? I really am not one to sue, but I think he should at least have to pay my deductable.

N0help4u · Jul 17, 2008, 07:55 AM

Anybody has the right to sue anybody but the question is do you have a winnable case.
I would check into his insurance company policy and make sure he is not covered if he allows somebody else to drive. You definitely need to take somebody to court (ins. Com, the owner or the driver) but need to find out who exactly you need to be suing.

ScottGem · Jul 17, 2008, 08:38 AM

What does your carrier say? They should be helping you recover under his liability coverage. Assuming there is no question of fault, even if he doesn't have uninsured driver coverage, as the owner of the vehicle they are liable for payment.

When did this happen? What has his carrier actually said to you?

ang8318 · Jul 17, 2008, 10:23 AM

This happened last night, there is no question of fault as my car was parked, it was 1am and I was in bed. My insurance company told me to contact his company because they should be the one paying the deductable, but they are saying that the girl should pay it because she was driving. His carrier told me that since he was not driving it is not his responsibility, which I find hard to believe because the way I thought it worked was the car is insured, no matter who drives it, at least that's how my policy works. And I really do hate to sue someone over something so dumb, but I do not feel I should have to pay because, as I said, I had no fault, I was fast asleep and 2 of my neighbors witnessed this happen. Also another problem is that I live in PA and the guy is from Michigan, so I do not know if laws are that different between the two. I just need some guidance, I have never done anything in the court system, and know very little about how it works.

N0help4u · Jul 17, 2008, 10:30 AM

Your insurance company should be going after theirs. The driver is responsible and you should be able to take them both to court if the insurance companies will not deal with it.

If you have insurance for if you are hit by an uninsured or under insured driver maybe you should tell your insurance company you want to use that if they are not going to help you.
They really should be though!

ScottGem · Jul 17, 2008, 11:09 AM

It is possible that he doesn't have uninsured driver coverage. And that could be his carrier's rationale for denying the claim. I would get his carrier to give you a written explanation of why they aren't paying. From there you will have to sue all three of them, the carrier, the truck owner and the driver. And I would sue for the TOTAL cost of repair, including any costs like a rental car etc. You will have to reimburse your carrier if you get any money over the deductible though.

George_1950 · Jul 17, 2008, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by ang8318

This happened last night, there is no question of fault as my car was parked, it was 1am and I was in bed. My insurance company told me to contact his company because they should be the one paying the deductable....

I don't believe there is any 'deductible' when it comes to the other insurance company paying your claim; the deductible comes into play when you file a claim against your own carrier. Don't you have to get two or three estimates? Contact the other insurance carrier and get a claim form. Keep a copy of all correspondence.

ScottGem · Jul 17, 2008, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by George_1950

I don't believe there is any 'deductible' when it comes to the other insurance company paying your claim; the deductible comes into play when you file a claim against your own carrier.

Correct, When you put in a claim against another insurance policy, its covered under the liability portion of that policy which doesn't usually have a deductible.

I'm assuming the OP put in a claim with their carrier and they paid for the repairs less the deductible on THEIR policy. But since the other driver was completely at fault, then the other owner's liability coverage should pay in full.

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