Got hit by car, he gave me expired insurance and wont answer, can i take this to small claims court? (school, DMV) - San Antonio - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Kenzine · 11-11-2015, 01:04 AM

On thursday November 5th at 3:20pm i was on my way to pick up someone from school and i was heading out of North star mall taking the exit to san pedro, there was an accident, a 328i had hit an s2000 and a rav4 was in front of me(while on an incline) and the driver of the rav4 decided to be nosy and get out of his car to check out the crash, he gets out of his car and I suppose he must have forgotten to put the hand brake on, naturally the SUV rolls down and as i see it roll down i panic and quickly put my car in reverse only to see an Audi pull up behind me, leaving me no option but to brake and take the hit as i did not want to involve another person in the accident and most certainly didnt want more damage to my brand new car, i get out of my cat to see the damage, its noticable, i told him i didnt not want to block traffic so we proceed to go to the entrance of the parking lot of The Cheese Cake factory, where he tells me that he does not want to involve insurance and i said understand as I didnt want to eaither as it would appear in my carfax, my insurance rate would rise and the value of my car will deteriorate, he gives me his info, i take a picture of his drivers license, he gives me his phone, and i ask just in case to take a picture of his insurance, i get all the info and do not call police to check the accident as i have someone to pick up and businesses to attend to. I've been trying to reach him since then and have gotten no answer, in desperation i proceed to make a claim to his insurance to be only told the next day that he was not covered and that it was expired, it infuriates me not only because i got my car damaged, but because as he saw me being a young person with not much experience in a car accident or such, and for him to take advantage and for him to think that he will be responsible for the damages.

i dont have any idea of what to do

, i've wondered if i can take this to small claims court and for them to locate him through his drivers license or plate numbers and get him to pay me for the quote of my bumper of $1,573 and now for reparations for my time and struggle to reach him and inconvenience to my business as it is a corporate car. Will i be able to take this to small claims court?
Will they be able to find him and get him to pay me?
What other options do i have?

Thank you everyone who can help me with this, i thank you in advance.

CyVaquero · 11-11-2015, 03:38 AM

Life lesson - 9 times out of 10 when someone says they don't want to involve police/insurance, it is for their benefit only and it will probably cost you in the long run. This pretty much applies to every situation, accident related or not.

This is why you have insurance, they do all of this for you. This is also why you call the police, to get statements and an official record of the incident. As it is now, if you take him to court, it is your word against his with no corroborating independent record and your insurance probably won't touch it since there is no incident report it will be a comprehensive claim and will now raise your insurance (barring any forgiveness).

You can try to take him to small claims since you have his name and address (if both are real and current), but the real take away is make sure you have uninsured coverage in this city and call the police when an accident happens on a public road (I don't know if SAPD/BCSD respond to accidents on private property). Vehicles are depreciating assets, not investments, regardless of what advertising and salesmen say.

Soviet · 11-11-2015, 05:50 AM

Always call police because they are an official government entity who can provide you with documentation that you really need in such a situation. And they are the ONLY ones who provide such documentation.

I'm afraid your desire to rush through the situation has cost you. Accidents are not a daily occurrence (I hope). You NEVER rush through it, particularly with significantly noticeable damage.

01Snake · 11-11-2015, 07:02 AM

Suck it up and call your insurance company and file the claim. Trying to take the guy to small claims court will be an enormous waste of time. If your carrier is unable to subrogate against the idiot who hit you, your uninsured motorist coverage will kick in. You might want to check and see what your UM/UIM coverage deductible is as well. I was in a wreck a few years ago and some idiot with no insurance totaled my car. Instead of paying my normal $1K deductible, my UM/UIM deductible was only $500. Doesn't matter if it's covered under collision or UM /UIM, you're not-at-fault so your rates will not be affected.

Kenzine · 11-11-2015, 07:48 AM

Thank you everyone, so the best bet is to contact my insurance and expect them to prosecute the guy? I do have witnesses of the event, im not sure if that would in any way help me if i decided to go through the small claims court process.

ged_782 · 11-11-2015, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenzine

Thank you everyone, so the best bet is to contact my insurance and expect them to prosecute the guy? I do have witnesses of the event, im not sure if that would in any way help me if i decided to go through the small claims court process.

Yes, your insurance company will go ahead and pay your claim, but will pursue collection from another party, if they believe another party is liable for damages. If they are successful at recovery, they will reimburse your deductible. If they believe the other party is liable, but it turns out that party is uninsured, your insurance company may choose to file suit against the other party, and that person could possibly face wage garnishment, if unable to pay.

Kenzine · 11-11-2015, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ged_782

Yes, your insurance company will go ahead and pay your claim, but will pursue collection from another party, if they believe another party is liable for damages. If they are successful at recovery, they will reimburse your deductible. If they believe the other party is liable, but it turns out that party is uninsured, your insurance company may choose to file suit against the other party, and that person could possibly face wage garnishment, if unable to pay.

Wow! Thanks i really appreciate it, this is my first real car damage and had no idea what to do, not even dmv or SAPD were of any help as they just kept redirecting me to different people and none of them sounded 100% sure of their facts. Greatly appreciate it!!!!

steve807 · 11-11-2015, 11:03 AM

steve807 · 11-11-2015, 11:05 AM

I took a pretty hard hit from behind in a school zone while sitting at a red light in my old truck last year.

The sad story from the lady who smashed into me caused me to let her go without further trouble. Traffic was such that she could have easily sped off leaving me with no way to track her down.

She did stop and check on me after we were further down the road.

Looking back it was a bad idea to not make a claim, damage was worse than it looked to my truck and my back.

She probably thought I was wanted by the cops for something given my lack of interest in pressing for an insurance claim.

Neshomamench · 11-11-2015, 04:50 PM

So you were backing up and were about to back into the Audi so you slammed on your brakes but still impacted him?

If that is roughly what happened, this is not the guy in the Audi's fault. You actually made the mistake of not going after the guy in the Rav4. It was his negligence that caused the problem.

This is likely to be the problem with taking this to court.

Lesson learned. Call the cops or run the risk of something like this.