What do I need to do? : Car wreck, no insurance, police report says it not my fault. (sale) - Nashville - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

Deolitus · 09-13-2009, 05:56 PM

I got in a finder bender the other night. They were at a stop sign and I was on a main road turning left onto a side rd that the other vehicle was turning left out of. I had the right of way. The officer got each of our information and processed a report daying that it was the other drivers fault. I have no insurance and I dont even car about getting the slight bend in my back bumper fixed by a company anyway, i can bend it back myself. So i wouldnt even try to get the insurance agency to fix it even if I did have insurance. I just need to know if there is something that I need to do besides get insurance this week. I don't know how it works. I've never gotten into a wreck before.

alleycat · 09-13-2009, 06:16 PM

You can hope that's the end of it (did you not get a ticket for not having insurance?). If you're not filing a claim on the other person's insurance, there's nothing for you to do . . . EXCEPT GET INSURANCE.

Deolitus · 09-13-2009, 08:28 PM

No, I knew the officer. He is in my National guard Unit and it happened to be him that came to the dispatch call, so no I did not get a ticket for that.

groovamos · 09-13-2009, 08:31 PM

File with the other driver's insurance company: (1) in case you decide to get the repair done professionally which you would want to do if you don't want to put your own time in it and (2) to get paid for the damage regardless, you are owed damages. Consider: if your repair is amateur you won't get as much for it on trade-in or upon sale. If they don't have insurance you can file on them in small claims court, and with repair estimates from one or more shops as evidence go after the other party for all expenses including: property damage, your time in court, legal fees, court cost (probably around $100), and collection fees. You may be awarded a couple of thousand or a good bit more. If they own real estate you can file a lien on their property, at the county registrar and upon sale of said property you can get the proceeds from your court award, plus interest. I would not hesitate to take action now, in your situation. You can file on them without a lawyer. I went to small claims court against priceline.com and beat them without a lawyer.

If you decide to go after the other party in court then before filing, send a certified letter to them telling them you are going to file, and tell them how much is the amount for damages, and be sure to tell them it will cost much more if you have to go to court. Keep the receipt for the letter together with all of your documentation, which will include the police report, and everything related to the incident. They may contact you and settle out of court.

RS-1080 · 09-13-2009, 09:56 PM

Even though the wreck was not the original posters fault, the original poster has no insurance and in the state of TN, that is a no-no. Once you go to court to go after the other party, the other party can state that the original poster had no insurance at the time of the wreck. Then, being the original poster was not citated for having no insurance, the system will look into the cop that ''let that slide'' .. and at a crash site to boot. The state of TN has become very strick on insurance laws, and it's no longer upto an officer to overlook driving with no insurance. That officer put his job on the line by letting that slide, and and during a wreck to boot. My brother is a THP Lt., and the state will hang an officer out to dry if they don't write someone up when caught with no insurance. Oh, and when you get a ticket for driving with no insurance, they revoke your DL once you pay the ticket. It cost you some money to gey you DL back, and you can't pay to get them back unless you have proof of insurance to present to the state when you go to shell out big bucks to get them back. Oh, then in short time your new insurance will go up because a flag pops up later in the system that you were in a wreck ( your fault or not ), or even caught driving without insurance. If the other party don't turn it in, and the cop didn't write me a ticket .... I'd keep my ass away from a courtroom .. and forget any damage to my car .. and hope it was the last I heard about it.

rossc · 09-14-2009, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RS-1080

I'd keep my ass away from a courtroom .. and forget any damage to my car .. and hope it was the last I heard about it.

Exactly, especially if the cop is a friend. If a lawyer gets involved on either side, that cop WILL lose his job. Just hope the other driver doesn't turn it into their insurance. I know if I were in a wreck and it was my fault, I would notify my insurance company, then they would look into it to determine if there were any way possible they could go after the other persons insurance company...or in this case, the other person. The no insurance thing WOULD then become an issue.

Really not a smart move on the cops part letting that slide.

Mayor_McCheese · 09-14-2009, 11:56 AM

Leave it alone. I would not file with the other person insurance. They'll likely find out you don't have insurance and cause more trouble than it's worth. If you don't care about the damage to your car then let it go. Trust me.