Legal Question in Insurance Law in California

Re: Lack of auto insurance

What are the specific details of how your mother was no longer paying for your insurance? Whose car were you driving? Was the owner insured? Were you a named insured on your mother's policy, and did it renew or expire and how did she obtain a new one. Were you a specifically excluded driver? Did you live with your mother at the time, and how old were you then? Were you in the miliary at the time and when did you get discharged?

Perhaps with more information there might be something which you could do.

Re: Lack of auto insurance

You may have underestimated the extent of the damage. Further, the $6,000 figure may include medical bills, pain & suffering, lost income and rental charges.

You can dispute these charges and/or try to negotiate them down, but I don't know how likely you would be to succeed. Alternatively you could hire a lawyer to do this work for you; her chances would be better, but her bills might more than offset any savings she could negotiate.

You could also insist on a court date to challenge the claim, but you might not do very well there without a lawyer. Going to court may also increase the risk that the DMV will learn you were driving without insurance -- a violation which carries serious consequences of its own.

Had you been insured, your insurer would negotiate with the other driver's and would likely pay the damages. If the case went to court your insurer would provide a lawyer to defend you. The mess you're currently in is one of the consequences of being uninsured at the time of the accident. I realize you didn't realize you lacked insurance, but that is beside the point.

I'm sorry I can't be more encouraging.