Not at Fault Rear End Collision, Other Party Refuse to Cooperate

[Alexeilb]

My question involves insurance law for the state of: California

I was involved in a traffic collision where I was rear ended by another vehicle. We immediately pulled to the side of the freeway to exchange the information. The damage to my vehicle appeared to be well over $500 so I went ahead and notified the police. The officer took the report and we were all on our way. As I got home I right away filed a claim with my insurance company as well as the other parties insurance. Since then their insurance have not been able to get a hold of the other driver to hear his side of the story. Until then they cannot assume responsibility and pay for my repairs as well as a rental car.
My second option was to go through my insurance company pay the deductible and then let them handle it and eventually return the deductible once the other party finally calls which may never happen. From my understanding this individual can just never call and will never assume the responsibility and will never have to pay for his negligence. Theres gotta be a law against that, other wise I end up having to pay $1000 deductible and rental car out of my own pocket, just because some guy was not paying attention to the road. Thats if I had $1000, I just started my semester and spent great amount of money on books, so I am afraid the only way is through their insurance which is not doing anything for me at this time. Any advice? Please help because I am starting to loose it, too many things at once. Cant go to school without transportation cant go to work without transportation I am stuck.

[cdwjava]

About all you can do is work with your insurance company. You can always go after the other guy in small claims court for your deductible and any rental car costs should his insurance company not pay these as well as any damages.

Your insurer will seek payment from the other insurance company, They can argue that their client is unavailable all they want, but that is the other guy's insurance problem not yours.

No, it is not criminal to avoid returning a call. This is entirely a civil matter.

[Alexeilb]

Thanks for such a quick reply, this has been very stressful so far and I appreciate your help. Since this is a civil issue not a criminal issue, which means this guy can walk away like nothing happened?
Right now I wish I had $1000 deductible because I would rather let the insurance handle the situation, but I don't very unfortunate. Anything else I can do? Would California Department of Insurance be able to help? Don't forget there was a police report which I will get a copy of tomorrow.
Its just doesn't seam right that I have to pay out of my pocket for some once else's mistake. So the only other way is to peruse in a civil court? I cant afford an attorney, would I be able to defend my case, and at that point will the other party be obligated to pay any damages? This is a tort as far as I am concerned, at least what I learned in Business Law last semester.

[cdwjava]

Thanks for such a quick reply, this has been very stressful so far and I appreciate your help. Since this is a civil issue not a criminal issue, which means this guy can walk away like nothing happened?

Well, since his insurance company may be on the hook, he'll ether pay greater rates or be dropped.

And you can still try to take him to small claims court for the deductible and rental car if its worth it for you.

Right now I wish I had $1000 deductible because I would rather let the insurance handle the situation, but I don't very unfortunate. Anything else I can do? Would California Department of Insurance be able to help? Don't forget there was a police report which I will get a copy of tomorrow.

The Dept. of Insurance couldn't help. This is between you and your insurer and the other guy and his insurer.

Its just doesn't seam right that I have to pay out of my pocket for some once else's mistake.

Then you need to get a zero deductible policy.

Unfortunately, this is what happens sometimes. You're lucky. At least he had insurance.

So the only other way is to peruse in a civil court? I cant afford an attorney, would I be able to defend my case, and at that point will the other party be obligated to pay any damages? This is a tort as far as I am concerned, at least what I learned in Business Law last semester.

This is small claims court so no attorneys are generally allowed. However, if the other guy has no assets or income, it may not avail you of much.

[Alexeilb]

So the small claims court is directly aimed at the individual not his insurance? If I go ahead and file and the guy still does not respond ect. What then? If hes not responding now he may never.

From what I learned the court will decide in my favor if the evidence is sufficient, and if the defendant fails to pay then the court will seize property in order to cover the costs.

The zero deductible policy is a better choice, only reason I had $1000 is because I figured if I ever get into an accident it will not be my fault, since I am very cautious driver. Never knew this kind of thing can happen, nor did anyone advice me of it. Live and learn I guess, but still $1000 is a lot of money ATM.

[cdwjava]

So the small claims court is directly aimed at the individual not his insurance? If I go ahead and file and the guy still does not respond ect. What then? If hes not responding now he may never.

That's correct. And if you get valid service and he fails to respond, you may get a default judgment. But, then, you will have to figure out how to collect.

This is why the best bet is to go through your insurer. They know how to get their money. You may be out a deductible, but it's better than being out everything.

From what I learned the court will decide in my favor if the evidence is sufficient, and if the defendant fails to pay then the court will seize property in order to cover the costs.

Uh ... well, the case will go to the side with the preponderance of evidence, but the court is not likely to seize property to enforce a judgement - at least not until you identify it and try to get a court order to seize it to satisfy a judgement Collecting may be difficult.

The zero deductible policy is a better choice, only reason I had $1000 is because I figured if I ever get into an accident it will not be my fault, since I am very cautious driver. Never knew this kind of thing can happen, nor did anyone advice me of it. Live and learn I guess, but still $1000 is a lot of money ATM.

Of course, with zero deductible you may have paid much more than that $1,000 in a year of premiums (maybe two), so it's probably a wash.

[Alexeilb]

once again thank you for the replies, this situation is much more difficult than it should have been. If the individual would have been a responsible honest person this could have been done very fast. I am a bit upset how some bum driving an old truck hits my brand new vehicle one which I had to work very hard for just walks away. I want justice where is it when you need it. Seriously though the dude did not speak any English, had no physical address only a P.O. Box, and as far as I concerned he may not even be here legally, and may not even have any property to seize. Its very sad, I am all for having people move to this country for a brighter future I am an immigrant my self, only been here for 10 years. I chose to be part of this society and contribute to this society, follow laws and live life the way it should honest and clean. I don't want to judge this individual as being scum of the society, but people like him are the once you hear about, and the reason we have problems. I just hate the fact that I am unable to continue with my day, go to work, go to school and build my future because some guy is worried about his premiums going up, so there for he chooses not to cooperate. Sorry I had to vent out, this has all been collecting inside, I am just very disappointed that there is very little once can do, the law does not help in this case. Amazing how someone's negligence and stupidity can cause another suffer and harm. This is only scratching the surface, just imagine how many people loose their life, and loose everything they love over this kind of shit.

[cdwjava]

once again thank you for the replies, this situation is much more difficult than it should have been. If the individual would have been a responsible honest person this could have been done very fast. I am a bit upset how some bum driving an old truck hits my brand new vehicle one which I had to work very hard for just walks away.

He isn't. He has insurance and you have insurance. That's what you each pay them to take care of. If he did not have insurance, that would have been a different ball of wax. If you were expecting him to be put in the stocks or pay a fine, well, that doesn't happen in a collision.

I want justice where is it when you need it. Seriously though the dude did not speak any English, had no physical address only a P.O. Box, and as far as I concerned he may not even be here legally, and may not even have any property to seize.

If the DMV did its job, there IS a physical address associated with his driver's license.

And if he has a valid license, there was some proof at some point in time that he was here legally.

I don't want to judge this individual as being scum of the society, but people like him are the once you hear about, and the reason we have problems.

He did what he was supposed to. He apparently had a valid license and he had insurance - he fulfilled his legal and moral obligation to society. He does not have to answer the phone hen his insurance company calls. They WILL almost certainly have to pay off on a claim. That's why you need to let your insurance company handle it.

Whether he cooperates with his company or not is not your problem. His company will, of course, string you along. That's why you let your company deal with it because they won't fall for that line.

Sorry I had to vent out, this has all been collecting inside, I am just very disappointed that there is very little once can do, the law does not help in this case.

The other driver apparently complied with the law with regards to license and insurance. If he was cited for causing the collision, that is a separate issue between him and the state.

Collisions can be a horrible thing. Even minor ones can cause hardship. This is also why we all need to decide on what kind of coverage we want, just in case. If you can suffer the loss of a car, or it is not worth much, you get the minimum coverage and a high deductible. If you have a pricey car and want to get it replaced in the event of a collision that totals it, you get the max coverage you can. For me, I have high deductibles to keep my rates low, but I also have high caps for paying off others so that I might not have to face the prospect of a lawsuit if, God forbid, I cause injury or serious damage to another.

You're lucky. The other guy could have been unlicensed and uninsured, been without any employment or assets, and you could also have been without uninsured motorist coverage or replacement coverage.

Decompress a little bit. It sucks what happened, but the other guy did what he was supposed to unless you are leaving something out.

[Alexeilb]

Your right, he did what he was obligated to. Its not nice to what he did, accidents happen but he could of been more responsible following the collision. But his within his rights, I guess it all falls down to getting my insurance to take care of it. I guess I am gonna have to barrow money from someone, man this sucks bad.

O yah his license clearly said P.O. Box no home address, same goes for the registration. Strange.

[cdwjava]

Your right, he did what he was obligated to. Its not nice to what he did, accidents happen but he could of been more responsible following the collision. But his within his rights, I guess it all falls down to getting my insurance to take care of it. I guess I am gonna have to barrow money from someone, man this sucks bad.

O yah his license clearly said P.O. Box no home address, same goes for the registration. Strange.

Yep. It sucks. We've been there - my wife and I. But, we were pleasantly surprised because my insurance company did recover my deductible about 6 months after the fact. It can happen.

And his license may have given a PO box, but the DMV likely has a home address as well (it would be on his DMV record but not necessarily his license) ... though, I have found some instances where the DMV failed to follow through with this regulation and had failed to obtain it.